Hop growing regions between the wars

Hop-growing had been concentrated in a few areas of England for more than a century. By the 1930's, Hops were only cultivated in eight counties: Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Hampshire, Hereford, Worcester, Berkshire and Shropshire. More than half of the total crop was grown in Kent. Only a handful of farms grew hops in Berkshire and Shropshire. The Farnham region in Surrey was small but since the 18th century had been renowned for producing the best-quality hops.  

Kent was split into three hop-growing regions, based on the type of Soil. East Kent had light loam over brick earth, Mid Kent loam over ragstone and the Weald loam over clay. Hereford and Worcester had heavier, deeper soil than produced a smaller crop per acre. The aroma of hops from Hereford and Worcester, even when of the same variety, was quite different to those from Kent. Which one a brewer preferred to use was a matter of personal taste.   

Hop harvest by region 1936 (cwt)
Kent	150,800
Hereford	45,000
Sussex	24,200
Worcester	22,300
Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire and Shropshire	9,700
Total	252,000
Source:
"Brewing Science & Practice" H. Lloyd Hind, 1943, page 391

Hop varieties by region
Region	main varieties
East Kent (Canterbury, Faversham)	Goldings, Bramling, Cobb and Tutsham
Mid Kent (Medway valley, Maidstone to Tonbridge)	Fuggle's, Bramling, Tutsham, Cobb, Goldings, Tolhurst
Weald of Kent (Tonbridge to Sussex)	Fuggle's
Sussex	Fuggle's
Hampshire, Surrey	Fuggle's, Farnham Whitebine.
Hereford and Worcester	Mathon, Bramling, Fuggle's
Berkshire and Shropshire	Fuggle's, Goldings
Source:
"Brewing Science & Practice" H. Lloyd Hind, 1943, page 391

This is an excerpt from a book I published a while ago, "Peace!". You can get your copy here.