John Young Stratton (1829/30 – 30 March 1905) was an author, essayist, social reformer, campaigner against rural poverty, and Rector of Ditton, Kent for 48 years.

Educated at Heversham Grammar School in Westmorland (now Cumbria) and Magdalene College, Cambridge, he graduated in 1853 and was ordained deacon the same year.

In 1876, he purchased the Ditton Place estate from Septimus Maitland,[3] renting out the mansion and farmland, and selling off plots of land for development.

[6] Stratton is perhaps better remembered for his work to improve the living conditions and broader wellbeing of a group of seasonal visitors to the countryside, hop-pickers.

Hops were a valuable cash crop, and Kent, with its proximity and transport links to London's breweries, produced more than any other county in England.

By the 1870s, so many people headed for the annual hop harvest that railway companies ran ‘Hop-Picker Specials’ to transport the workforce to Kent.

Despite the support of numerous prominent people, including peers, members of parliament and even the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Society initially struggled to persuade hop-growers to spend significant sums of money on improving facilities.

They were essential for the harvest, but as soon as they returned home, the permanent populations in hop-growing districts breathed a huge, collective sigh of relief.

Hop-pickers brought with them petty crime, vandalism, violence and foul language, and their behaviour, in general, could outrage delicate Victorian sensitivities.

Growers were fed up of being held responsible for the behaviour of ‘their’ hop-pickers, and it occurred to Stratton that their poor reputation might, strangely, prove their salvation.