Richard Filmer was born in Kent and educated at Ashford Grammar School. He still lives in Kent and has a keen interest in building construction, vernacular architecture and traditional trades and skills of both the town and the country. He has written extensively on the subject of Kentish craftsmen and has compiled an illustrated survey of Kentish Rural Crafts and Industries (Meresborough Books, 1981). Many of his photographs and articles on topographical, agricultural and architectural themes have appeared in both regional and national magazines and journals.

The hop has been intimately involved in social history for many centuries: it has caused controversy due to its role in the brewing process and was for centuries the centre of a social phenomenon, with thousands descending on hop-producing regions during harvest. It is a branch of agriculture requiring intensive labor and great skill, and this book examines its history from the earliest times to the present day, describing the traditional tools of the trade, the growers, the pickers and all those whose versatile skills have through the centuries made the hop industry a success.