Surrounded by Hops

Description

Farnham hops fetched the highest prices because they were the very best – some regarded them as the best in the world – and the fortunes of the Knight family were inextricably linked both to Farnham and the hop industry.

John Knight of Coxbridge established a dynasty that was to become one of the most influential in the town from the middle of the eighteenth century, almost to the middle of the twentieth. They began as maltsters, hop growers, brewers and farmers, but over the years added stationers, bankers and lawyers to their list of professions. While the hop industry flourished, they prospered, but when, in the second half of the nineteenth century, hops became less profitable, so their fortunes also began to wane.   In order to understand what shaped their lives, it is necessary to tell the story of how hops, along with malting and brewing, came to be so important to everyone in the parish of Farnham.

This publication has 100 illustrations, an index and references.