Hopper Hut - Construction

Construction

The standard size of a Hopper Hut was either 9 feet (2.74 m) by 9 feet (2.74 m) or 8 feet (2.44 m) by 10 feet (3.05 m), though some were as large as 14 feet (4.27 m) by 14 feet (4.27 m). Early huts were of timber, and during the latter half of the 19th century corrugated iron sheets were used to clad them. Following the abolition of the brick tax in 1850, brick huts were built. Exterior walls were 9 inches (230 mm) thick and partitions between individual huts 4½" (115mm) thick. During the 1930s and 1940s, some Hopper Huts were built of 18 inches (460 mm) by 9 inches (230 mm) breeze blocks, these being cheap and plentiful after the end of the war. A few huts were made from pre-cast concrete at this time. Nissen Huts were also used as accommodation for hop-pickers.

The huts generally had an earth floor, and were lit by either candles or paraffin lamps. Water would be via a standpipe which had to be within 150 yards (140 m) and sanitation provided by a dedicated toilet block, usually with an earth closet. There would generally be a dedicated cookhouse which the hop-pickers would use to prepare their meals. It was generally discouraged by the farmers for the pickers to have fires in their huts. A few brick built huts were provided with custom built fireplaces and chimneys. The interior of the huts was generally limewashed or distempered.

The furniture within the huts was provided by the pickers. Only very basic bedding was provided - hay and ferns, faggots and straw, then faggots and a palliasse. Some pickers built themselves basic beds of scrap timber with a palliasse. In the late 1940s and 1950s ex-army steel frame beds were used.