Hononton Farm Vineyard

Hononton Farm & Adrian Scripps Ltd: A Kent Fruit Grower Powering England's Sparkling Wine Revolution

If you have come to Hononton Farm expecting a vineyard shop, a tasting counter and a row of guided tours through a winery, it is worth knowing up front: Hononton Farm is not a winery. It is one of five fruit farms operated by Adrian Scripps Ltd, a Kent-based grower and packer whose work spans apples, blackcurrants, Bramleys and grapes. Among the apples and blackcurrants harvested across the group's 750 hectares sit blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that quietly help drive the English sparkling wine revolution. The fruit is grown here; the wine is made elsewhere.

That distinction matters for visitors planning a day out and for anyone curious about the supply chain behind bottles of English fizz. What follows is a full picture of what Hononton Farm and the wider Adrian Scripps business actually do, where they are, how the grapes fit in, and what to expect at the gate.

The Adrian Scripps story

Adrian Scripps Ltd is a family-rooted Kent business with a footprint that has grown steadily over several decades. The company was founded by Adrian Scripps, and its modern chapter began when the current Chairman, Richard, joined the business nearly 40 years ago. At that time the farm was a traditional mixed enterprise of cattle, sheep, arable and hops. Through innovation, expansion and continued investment, it has developed into one of the UK's largest top fruit enterprises.

James Simpson, the current Managing Director, joined as an assistant to the Farm Manager in 1991. He has driven the development and expansion of the group's state-of-the-art storage and packaging facility, which is the most automated of its kind in the UK. Richard's wife, Jane, joined the partnership in 1997 as Director and Company Secretary, taking a particular interest in the strategic and environmental aspects of farming alongside her own sheep enterprise. The next generation is also in training on the farms: Adrian's grandson William, a qualified helicopter pilot, is being brought into the business.

Beyond the family, the wider team is part of the Scripps "family" - many long-serving employees have spent the majority of their working lives within the business.

Five farms, one operation

Adrian Scripps Ltd farms around 750 hectares across five Kent sites. Each farm has its own character, mix of crops and dedicated management team.

Moat Farm

Moat Farm is the company's first farm and its operational heart. It houses the packhouse, the storage facilities and head office, alongside 75 hectares of productive farmland. Crops grown here include Gala, Braeburn, Bramley, Jazz and Red Prince apples, as well as blackcurrants. The site is also where seasonal workers are accommodated in 2- and 3-bedroom mobile homes sleeping 4 to 6 people each, with shared shower blocks, a kitchen and dining facilities.

Address: Moat Farm, Five Oak Green, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 6RR

Parsonage Farm

Parsonage Farm is located in Cobham, Kent, and farms 97 hectares. Crops include Gala, Braeburn and Red Prince apples as well as grapes. The campsite here is around a 5-minute walk from the attractive, historic Cobham village, with its traditional country inns, church, village shop and bus stop. Sole Street station is roughly 15 minutes' walk away, with direct trains to Gravesend, Rochester and London (around 40 minutes).

Address: Parsonage Farm, Cobham, Kent. DA12 3BX

Hononton Farm

Hononton Farm sits in Brenchley, near Tonbridge, and farms 60 hectares. It grows the highest quality of apples - including Gala, Braeburn and Red Prince - alongside grapes. Hononton is in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in West Kent. The nearest village, Horsmonden, is approximately 15 minutes' walk away and has a pub, village shop, doctor's surgery and Post Office. There is also a bus service to Paddock Wood, the nearest small town (8 km away), with two supermarkets, a Post Office and a railway station on the line into Charing Cross in London.

Address: Hononton Farm, Brenchley, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 7BX

The farm is led by Philip Thomas (Assistant Farm Manager) and his dedicated team, who support seasonal workers with allocation of rooms, induction training, campsite maintenance and translation services. They also organise weekly free shopping trips to local supermarkets and help with doctors', dentist and hospital appointments, including translation support.

Accommodation at Hononton

Unlike Moat, Parsonage and Wenderton - which accommodate workers in mobile homes - Hononton uses dormitory-style blocks:

The Top Block has 32 beds spread between four large rooms, with four kitchen and dining rooms (each opposite a bedroom) and separate male and female shower areas.
The Bottom Block has 8 single rooms with a separate kitchen/dining room and shower area.

Both blocks share an on-site communal living area with sofas, tables and chairs, an outside BBQ area, table tennis, a pool table, free Wi-Fi and a laundry room with washing machines and tumble dryers. At the end of the season, the team arranges a farm party to celebrate everyone's hard work.

Wenderton Farm

Wenderton Farm is situated in Wingham, East Kent, cropping 80 hectares. Crops include Gala, Braeburn and Kanzi apples, 22 hectares of blackcurrants, plus grassland and woodland. The historic village of Wingham (with its shop, church, pubs, doctor's surgery, dentist, takeaway and mobile bank) is around a 10-minute walk from the campsite, which is also within reach of historic Sandwich and Canterbury. Canterbury offers a twice-hourly High-Speed train to London in under an hour.

Address: Wenderton Farm, Wingham, Kent. CT3 1EL

Sherenden Farm

Sherenden Farm, in the village of Tudeley near Tonbridge, farms 54 hectares of blackcurrants. There is no on-site accommodation here.

Address: Sherenden Farm, Tudeley, Kent. TN11 0PE

The produce: more than apples

Apples dominate the portfolio, but the range is genuinely diverse.

Apples

Pink Lady - with their rosy blush, crisp juicy texture and natural sweetness, Pink Lady apples are sold as a snacking apple and work well for baking. They retain colour in cooking.
Gala - the most popular apple in the UK, a super dessert apple that "looks good and is very tasty", available from October to April in supermarkets and greengrocers.
Braeburn - a bi-coloured variety combining sweetness and acidity for a rich, tangy taste; a long-standing family favourite.
Jazz - crisp and juicy, marketed as deliciously refreshing eaten as a snack and equally good in pies and tarts.
Bramley - the definitive English cooking apple: green with a white flesh that cooks down to a tart purée. Available all year round.
Red Prince - a bright red apple that is both sweet and juicy and stores well.

At Hononton specifically, the apple varieties grown are Gala, Braeburn and Red Prince.

Blackcurrants

Adrian Scripps has been growing blackcurrants continuously for the high-vitamin-C Ribena drink since the 1960s, supplying berries specifically grown to make the juice. Harvesting at Wenderton (where 22 hectares of blackcurrants are grown) and other sites uses state-of-the-art picking platforms that have transformed efficiency.

Grapes - for English sparkling wine

The grape-growing side of the business is the part most often misunderstood. Adrian Scripps grows two of the three classic Champagne varieties:

Pinot Noir

The name derives from the French words for pine and black, alluding to the clustered, pine-cone-shaped bunches of fruit. The thin skins of Pinot Noir result in a lighter-bodied, delicately aromatic wine that pairs brilliantly with pheasant, partridge, game and roast lamb.

Chardonnay

Originating in Burgundy, Chardonnay has a relatively neutral aspect, allowing winemakers to flex their technique and leave their own imprint. It pairs with oysters, pan-fried fish and delicately flavoured chicken dishes.

The third classic variety, Pinot Meunier, is not part of the Hononton or wider Scripps planting. The grapes grown here are sold on contract to English sparkling wine producers rather than being turned into a Scripps-branded wine. The position is simple: great wine starts with great fruit, and Adrian Scripps is proud to grow grapes that are part of the English sparkling wine revolution.

Packhouse and stores: where the fruit goes next

The group's state-of-the-art packhouse sits at Moat Farm. Storage conditions are monitored twice a day, 365 days a year, and fruit within each store is sampled every month to check performance by variety, store and orchard. Apples are floated on water over the grader to prevent damage, then stored and gently packed to individual customer specifications before despatch.

The business has 71 stores spread over two sites at Moat and Hononton Farms, capable of holding just over 42,000 fruit bins or 14,000 tonnes. 41 of the stores are computerised Controlled Atmosphere low-oxygen stores, while 30 use the new-generation Ultra Low Oxygen System known as DCA/CF (Dynamic Controlled Atmosphere / Chlorophyll Fluorescence). This system monitors the condition of the fruit in real time, allowing the team to set the atmosphere and temperature to optimise storage life.

The packhouse is BRC accredited, and all produce is grown to Assured Produce and LEAF Marque standards, as well as the Tesco Nurture standard. The group has also received European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development support for its top fruit processing line development.

Caring for the environment

Sustainability is a recurring theme across the business. The group is passionate about its natural surroundings and wildlife and works "with Mother Nature" to ensure practices remain fruitful for future generations.

Wildlife and biodiversity

Pollinating insects such as bees are essential to fruit growing, alongside beneficial insects like lacewings, ladybirds, hoverflies and earwigs. The team creates and improves habitats across the farms to encourage and sustain them. Wild bird, pollinator and nectar-rich seed mixes, along with cover crops, support wildlife through winter and help reduce carbon release. Nesting boxes and suitable habitat have retained a wide range of bird species, including the severely threatened Turtle Dove. Irrigation reservoirs are designed to attract wildfowl, aquatic insects and fish.

Natural capital and carbon

The business has commissioned an independent study by a local ecological consultancy to ascertain its natural capital, providing a baseline for future environmental enhancements. Carbon sequestration is treated as a natural part of the operation, with minimal soil tillage when replanting orchards and windbreaks, and the use of cover crops. The group bales cardboard and plastic for recycling and has installed roof-mounted solar panels.

Community

The business is "deep rooted in the heart of Kent" with a long-standing relationship in the local community. It supports community projects, clubs, societies, sports teams and local events, and counts Cancer Research UK among its charity partners.

REVO: harvesting innovation

One area where Adrian Scripps has moved beyond pure farming into equipment design is its REVO platform. The REVO is a multi-level harvesting machine that gently conveys fruit from picker to bin, reducing labour and picking time and improving the experience for pickers. After harvest, the same machines are adapted for pruning, thinning and operating hail nets. The platform is sold and distributed worldwide by Hortus Machinery Ltd, a subsidiary of Adrian Scripps Ltd.

Sales contact for REVO is James Simpson (James@adrianscripps.co.uk) on the office line 01892 832406.

Work with us: seasonal and permanent roles

Adrian Scripps employs over 100 permanent staff and many additional seasonal workers. Both permanent and seasonal opportunities are available.

Permanent roles

The current vacancy is a Line Leader in the packhouse, managing a packing line and a team of packhouse operatives. The role pays £13.45 - £14.75 per hour basic, with overtime after 48 hours paid at 125% of basic rate, paid fortnightly. Holiday allowance is 28 days including bank holidays. Hours are a 07:30 start, 40 hours per week across a flexible 5-out-of-6-day pattern on a Monday - Saturday operation.

Seasonal work

Seasonal work at the farms includes apple thinning (June to August), apple picking and supervisor/QC/tractor driver/fork-lift driver roles (September to October). The work is usually a maximum of 8 hours per day, 5 or 6 days a week. Pay is in line with current UK legislation and includes holiday pay, with opportunities to earn more on some tasks through performance-related pay.

Accommodation is provided on most farms (Hononton, Moat, Parsonage, Wenderton; not Sherenden). On-site accommodation is charged at £9.99 per day for the provision of facilities. A welcome pack of essentials is provided on arrival; ongoing food is not supplied. Workers must be 18 or over and have the right to work in the UK - Adrian Scripps does not hold a sponsors licence, so non-British/non-settled-status workers typically come through a Tier 5 Seasonal Worker Visa and a sponsorship agency for 6 months. FAQs are provided in English, Romanian, Bulgarian and Polish, and the team supports translation services and airport pickups from Gatwick, Stansted and Luton by prior arrangement.

Quality and accreditations

All produce is specifically grown to Assured Produce and LEAF Marque standards, as well as the Tesco Nurture standard. The packhouse is BRC accredited. The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development has supported the development of the group's Top Fruit Processing Line.

What Hononton Farm is, and what it is not

It is worth being clear about what visitors will and will not find:

Yes

An active 60-hectare farm in an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty near Brenchley and Tonbridge.
Apple and grape production, with the grapes going into the English sparkling wine supply chain.
A working seasonal-worker accommodation site.
REVO harvesting machines in operation during the season.

No

No winery on site. The grapes are grown for, and sold to, English sparkling wine producers.
No vineyard shop, no tastings, no cellar door.
No public tours of any kind.
No events open to the general public. The "seasonal party" is a private end-of-season event for workers.

Visiting and getting in touch

Hononton Farm is not set up as a visitor destination, and there is no online booking system or visitor centre. The group's contact details, which cover all five farms including Hononton, are:

Phone: +44 (0) 1892 832406
Email: mainoffice@adrianscripps.co.uk
Head office: Moat Farm, Five Oak Green, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 6RR
Hononton Farm: Hononton Farm, Brenchley, Tonbridge, Kent. TN12 7BX

The bottom line

Hononton Farm is part of a serious, well-run and well-accredited English fruit business with a clear role in the UK supply chain. It happens to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes among its apples and blackcurrants, and those grapes play a small but real part in the country's sparkling wine story. It is a grower and packer whose fruit underpins some of the better-known bottles of English fizz, but whose own customer-facing offering is limited to commercial sales, careers and seasonal work rather than tourism.

Blackcurrants · other	-
Braeburn Apples · other	-
Bramley Apples · other	-
Chardonnay Grapes · other	-
Gala Apples · other	-
Jazz Apples · other	-
Pink Lady Apples · other	-
Pinot Noir Grapes · other	-
Red Prince Apples · other	-