HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE-L Archives

From: "Andrew Sellon" <>
Subject: Re: [HWE] The Huguenot/Velvet Connection
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2003 15:15:27 -0000
References: <015201c2d546$073f2140$5661aecc@Vogel.island.net> <007e01c2d547$94b85d60$35c760cb@co.nz>

Shirley -

Please excuse the lateness in responding, but I am a attempting to catch up
on some 2,500 messages on my return from hospital I thought this subject
(beer) too important to let go another sixty seconds (forgotten how to spell
min....).

That being so I visited http://www.hops.co.uk/sectionone/History.htm , the
site of The National Hop Association of England, from which I took the
following:

822 AD The first reference to hops is a document by the Abbot Adalhard of
Corvey (Westphalia, Germany) releasing the millers from their duty of
gathering hops and malt. Despite this early reference, hops did not come
into general use in brewing until the end of the 15th Century, at which time
the brewing techniques used in Flanders found their way to Britain.

1450 AD The presence of hops in beer was accused of stirring up Jack Cade, a
Kent man with the alias 'john Mortimer', to launch his ill-fated rebellion
against corruption. Despite his hop- inspired victory over government forces
at Sevenoaks and his alias's subsequent pardon from King Henry VI, this did
not save Cade from being hunted down in his own name and mortally wounded by
the Sheriff of Kent.

1520 AD The weavers of Flanders settled in Kent to take advantage of that
county's prosperous wool industry and brought with them new varieties of
hops and the knowledge of how to use them effectively in beer. Several
centuries passed between the introduction of hops into England and their
acceptance in standard brewing technique. Traditional Ales such as Burton
Ale, which have been famous since the 13th Century, were still brewed
without hops at the time of Henry VIII. 'Ale' at that time denoted strong,
sweet brews of malted barley flavours with spices , herbs and bark of trees.
The more recent drink of 'beer', which Henry VIII effectively outlawed by
banning the use of hops in brewing, remained in abeyance until his son,
Edward VI, passed special legislation in 1552 to permit the use of hops
again by British brewers.

1710 AD Duty was imposed on hops for the first time and bittering materials
other than hops were excluded. Smuggling of hops became a valuable pastime.

and, at http://www.purplesage.org.uk/profiles/hops.htm : Additional
Comments: Pliny referred to hops as 'willow wolf', because of its tendency
to twine around willows and other trees. Hops have been used in brewing
since Roman times, although their introduction to brewing in England was not
until the 17th century. Female hop-pickers first drew attention to the
effect of the herb on the reproductive organs - they suffered disrupted or
absent menstruation whilst working with the plants due to the absorption of
the oil through their hands. Mrs Grieve recommends hop tea as a tonic for a
sluggish liver.

(I'm not aware of having heard of this affecting the hoards of London East
Enders that descended on Kent annually before WW II to harvest the hops).

Yours Aye Andrew Sellon East Anglia
What two ideas are more inseparable than Beer and Britannia? Rev. Sydney
Smith 1771-1854, Canon of St. Paul's.

From: "Shirley Arabin"

> When we were in London in 1985, Huguenot Heritage year, there was a
display
> in Kew Gardens where we learned that the Huguenots had introduced hops to
> England for brewing beer. (no more detailed source to quote)
> Shirley Arabin
> Mount Maunganui, New Zealand .

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• Re: [HWE] The Huguenot/Velvet Connection by "Andrew Sellon" <>