A Visit to Sydney

I left the heat of Brisbane behind last week and flew south to Sydney so that I could finalise my mother’s estate and gather more information about ancestors whose stories continue to elude me.

Some two or three years ago, the descendants of Charles and Ann (née Philpott) Hopwood gathered at “Young”, a rural town located in southern New South Wales and famous for its cherries, for a family reunion. I couldn’t go but from the photographs and from the stories my cousin Dawn has told me it was very well attended and wonderfully organised. One family member had cleverly constructed a large “Hopwood crest” from paper maché. Green and white balloons, matching the crest colours, were used to decorate the hall where the reunion was held. A family tree covered the walls and cleverly used various coloured papers for the name of each family member according to their family line. The folk who organised the event also produced a CD of photographs of the day and of our ancestors. The photograph of Charles and Ann Hopwood shown here, although slightly edited, was taken from that CD.

Inspired by this reunion my cousin Dawn, her husband Albert and I decided that we should get our few remaining aunts and uncles, immediate cousins and their families together for a family lunch / reunion. Within a few hours we had contacted someone from each family group, decided on Sunday May 6th as a suitable date and consequently expect around 60 people to attend. We have chosen a Chinese restaurant located in Dural, north west of Sydney.

Who are the Hopwoods?

This posting has been prepared with the help of Paul Hutley and Ed Hopwood, from the UK, and Farrell Hopwood from Canada.

It is very likely that all ‘Hopwoods’ are related but the connection goes way back before the Parish Registers began in the UK in the 1550, so definite proof of relationships before that time is hard to substantiate. This Hopwood timeline is based largely on information that Paul sent to me that he came across on the Internet; a lot of it taken from "A History of Hopwood Hall" by C. Stuart Macdonald. If you would like to buy a copy use the link to the book’s distributors on the right hand side of the blog site.

You can also find more detailed information about the Hopwoods of Hopwood Hall at Farrell Hopwood’s website, “The Hopwood Connection”. On this same site read about well known Hopwoods the world over. Again, use the link on the right hand side of the blog site.

Included in the timeline is information about significant events in the lives of the ancestors of the various Hopwood descendents with whom I have been in contact.

Paul Hutley’s comments about his Hopwood line
“…by 1600 there were 2 very distinct branches of the family. In the north of England mainly near Manchester and in the south of England there were a large number of Hopwood families, although several lines later died out leaving several large families in the north Essex and south Cambridgeshire area - based primarily on Ickleton, Hinxton, Duxford, Great & Little Chesterford and Saffron Walden”.

“I have details about my complete line back to 1560 and a family tree comprising of over 380 Hopwood's from 1560 to the present but I also have a lot of loose ends.”

Ed Hopwood’s comments about his Hopwood line
“My Hopwood line dates back to Beverley in Yorkshire in the 1700's. They moved out at the end of the century or beginning of the next century to Old Malton which is 30 to 40 miles from Beverley and then to London in the early 1800s. They were all connected with boats and shipping so the Port of London was the draw”.

Farrell Hopwood’s comments about his Hopwood line
“My grandfather immigrated to Canada from London UK in 1908. He and his ancestors were butchers for several centuries (researched back 200 years so far). Many long lost relatives have been found through my investigations and I keep in touch with some current descendants”.

Key Events in Hopwood History

600AD The Hopwood coat of arms has similarities to that of the six Saxon princes of Northumbria .

846AD First known records about the hamlet of ‘Hopwood’.

Norman times

Middleton and several adjoining areas granted to Baron Montegon of Hornby Castle.

1100 An old manuscript refers to Hopwood in during the reign of William Rufus (he was William the Conqueror’s son).

1193 Prince John wanted to be King so he rebelled, unsuccessfully, against his brother Richard I (the Lionheart). The Hopwoods were probably a part of this rebellion given the relationship to their Lords, the Middletons.

1274 Henry de Lacy, a good mate of Edward I, became the Baron over the Hopwoods. (The “de Lacys” were an old noble Norman family. Curiously, they have links to the present day royal Windsor family through Sarah Ferguson). Hopwoods start to appear in court records.

1302 Documents preserved at the Great Abbey of Whalley, founded in 1302 by de Lacy, refer to “Willmus de Hoppewod” and his lord Roger de Middleton. Around the same time William Hopwode was fined at Lancaster with other Manchester gentry for causing a tumult.

1315 Thomas de Hopwode joined a group who rebelled against Thomas Lancaster, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men in England. They were defeated and Thomas de Hopwode was imprisoned until he was ransomed for fifty marks.

1321 Thomas’ son, Adam de Hopwode joined overlord Thomas de Lancaster in a rebellion against the King Edward II in the Battle of Boroughbridge. They were defeated. Thomas de Lancaster was beheaded and Adam was imprisoned, but later fined and released.

1351 Adam de Hopwode rode to Preston along with other Manchester knights to protest against the infringement of their rights i.e. arbitrary fines on property owners.

Thomas de Hoppewode was among those charged for the murder of Richard de Tetlowe who was shot by an arrow from a long bow while walking and died immediately in his wife’s arms.

1376 Geoffrey de Hoppewode was outlawed for life for felony and forfeited his estates in Hopwood.

1485 Bosworth Field (Wars of the Roses) Thomas Hopwood and his three young sons John, Robert and Ralph fought under the banner of Sir Ralph Assheton (the Black Knight) at Bosworth. The battle was lost. Sir Ralph was beheaded but fortunately for the Hopwoods they were spared.
1513 John Hopwood of Hopwood probably led many Hopwood men at Flodden Field. The local parish church at Hopwood Hall contains the "Flodden Window" depicting each of the archers, and the priest who accompanied them, by name in stained glass.

1560 Thomas Hopwood born in Ickleton, Cambridgeshire UK. Common ancestor to Paul Hutley (UK), Rosie Frost (UK), Darren Andrews (UK), Jennifer Barnes (France) and Colleen Blums (Australia).

1541-1612 Edmund Hopwood (Edmund the Puritan) became a Protestant and was honoured with positions of prominence for his efforts in searching out Catholic gentry and fining them. Was apparently also a witch hunter.

1642 An Order of Parliament made Edmund Hopwood one of the deputy-lieutenants of Lancashire. He was known to have raised money for the Roundheads. (This was the time in history when Charles I was executed, Charles II was exiled and Oliver Cromwell became the Great Protector).

1644 Edmund Hopwood was known to assist in the enforcement of the Presbyterian Religion.

1694 John Hopwood was on the jury that heard the case against Lord Molyneux of Sefton for plotting a rebellion on behalf of James Stuart. The trial was rigged. Lord Molyneux was acquitted.

1700 John Hopwood dies suddenly.

1729 Ed Hopwood’s ancestor Richard born in Yorkshire.

1762 Dr Robert Hopwood dies and bequeaths Hopwood to his widow Mary, then to his friend Edward Gregge (he was probably descended from a daughter of Edward I).

1773 Edward Gregge took over Hopwood on the death of the widow Mary Hopwood, and assumed the name Hopwood by act of Parliament.

1798 Edward Gregge-Hopwood died and his son Robert succeeded him. The new squire was a friend of Byron.

1811 Lord Byron visits Hopwood during a visit to conclude the settlement of the Byron family estate in Rochdale. While there he finished draft of 'Chide Harold's Pilgrimage', the poem which was to give him his first great success.

1853 Charles and Ann Hopwood arrive in Victoria, Australia along with their sons Frederick, Robert and possibly Joseph. Charles junior died during the sea voyage.

1880 The Great Will Case resulted in a family feud. Captain Edward Hopwood legally inherited the estate.

1893 'Lady' Susan Fanny Hopwood fought against industrialization and became a pioneer of smoke abatement.

1846 – 1942 Colonel Edward Robert Hopwood was purported to be the finest shot in Europe.

1875 Charles Hopwood born in London in 1875. He was Sheila Love’s (née Hopwood) grandfather.

1908 Farrell Hopwood’s grandfather arrives in Canada from London UK

1922 Hopwood Hall put up for sale, but failed to sell. It is taken over by the Lancashire Cotton Corporation during World War II.

1946 Hopwood Hall became a training college for Catholic teachers under the De La Salle Brothers.

1957 Hopwood Hall was officially scheduled as a building of historic interest in.

1990 The property was sold to Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council during the 1990's. It is now a college of further education .

Ickleton

...from Paul Hutley

Ickleton is a village on the Cambridgeshire-Essex border in England. It grew at the point where the ancient Icknield Way crossed the River Cam, so it is likely that some form of habitation has existed on the site since prehistoric times. However, the present layout of the village probably dates mainly from the late Saxon period.

History
There has been a settlement at Ickleton for at least two thousand years. The pre-Roman Icknield Way runs through the parich, and in Roman times there was a villa in the village, not far from a nearby Roman fort at Great Chesterford. The Domesday Book of 1087 shows that the village then had a population of about 250. By the time the railway arrived in 1845, the population had grown somewhat and today Ickleton is home to about 650 people.

Location
Cambridge lies about 20 km (12 miles) to the north, and Saffron Walden about 8 km (5 miles) to the south. The River Cam (or Granta) forms the eastern border of the village. Houses are mainly grouped around three streets, Abbey Street, Frogge Street, and Church Street, which leads into Brookhampton Street. The village itself lies at the eastern end of the parish which stretches for 3 km (2 miles) to the west amidst rolling farmland.

Economy
Throughout its history, agriculture and related trades have been almost the only economic activity. It was only after the Seond World War that farming ceased to predominate. Today, Ickleton's farms are hugely more productive than they were, even in the 1940s, yet they employ only a small number of people. Like many other rural villages, most of the working population is now employed elsewhere, in Cambridge, other towns nearby, or in Londond. There are a few small businesses in the village, as well as a pub and a village shop.

Architecture
The focal point of the village's architexture is its parish chruch, which is undoubtedly one of the most important in East Anglia. It dates from the 11th century and contains a series of early wall paintings of the 12th and 14th centuries revealed after a serious fire in 1979.

Editor's note: Paul tells me that at one time there were possibly as many as 10 pubs in Ickleton. Ann Philpott, the wife of Charles Hopwood*, was the daughter of the publcian of one of these establishments. Whether it was the 'Ickleton Lion' , as shown in the photograph, or not is a story for another day (* see "From Ickleton to Australia: the Beginning", posted below)