Hartlake Bridge Tragedy, 1853

Date: 1853 to 1853
Location: Hadlow, Kent, England, United Kingdom
Surnames/tags: Gypsies Romany Hadlow_Kent

The Hartlake disaster was an accident in Hadlow, Kent, England that resulted in the death of 30 hop-pickers on 20 October 1853. Believed to be mostly Gypsies and some Irish.

The deceased were buried in the nearby St Mary's Church, where a monument in the form of an oast house has been erected. On the 160th anniversary of the disaster, a new plaque carrying the names of the dead was added to the by now weathered memorial.

The disaster was recorded in a folk song, recorded in the 1970s by Romani Jasper Smith.

Sources:

• Wikipedia, accessed 21 April 2022.
• BBC News, Tribute to drowned hop pickers, 2003, accessed 21 April 2022.
• New memorial to hop pickers, 2013, accessed 21 April 2022.
• Hartlake Memorial, News Coverage 1853, accessed 21 April 2022.
• List of names on memorial, accessed 21 April 2022.
• BBC, Kent, accessed 24 Apr 22.
• Leatherland Ancestry, accessed 25 April 2022.

Surnames and profiles:

EAST SIDE

• Samuel Leatherland, aged 59
• Charlotte Leatherland (nee Herne), aged 50
• Comfort Leatherland, aged 24
• Selina Leatherland, aged 22
• Alice Leatherland, aged 18
• Herne x 4

SOUTH SIDE

• Sarah (Fisher) Taylor (1785-1853), aged 69
• Thomas Taylor, aged 28
• William Taylor, aged 4
• Elsley
• Manser
• Read
• Howard
• Knight

WEST SIDE (all native of Ireland)

• Donovan
• Roach
• Flinn
• Collins
• Quinn
• Murphy
• Devine
• Mahoney
• Preswell
• Catherine Clare, 28
• Donohue
• King

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