England · Restored
Hopton Castle
Hopton Castle is a small medieval stone keep and bailey near the village of Hopton in Shropshire, England. Originally a motte-and-bailey, a rectangular two-storey stone keep and fortified bailey date from the 13th century; the castle was besieged during the English Civil War and fell into ruin in the early 18th century before conservation and partial restoration in the 21st century.
Its prime
1265
Today
Restored
As it stood in 1265
What Hopton Castle looked like in its prime.
A compact, rectangular two-storey stone keep built of irregular grey-brown rubble with red-sandstone dressings around its openings; the principal (south) face has a pointed-arch doorway with moulded surround, narrow slit and lancet windows set asymmetrically, and a heavily weathered upper wall where the parapet and roofline have collapsed. The keep stands on a low grassy motte with traces of the surrounding bailey and vegetation in wall crevices; masonry is coursed but roughly finished, with signs of later repairs.
Its story
The story of Hopton Castle.
From Motte and Bailey to Stone Keep, 12th Century to the Wars of the Roses
The castle may have been founded in the 12th century as a motte and bailey by one of the Hoptons, holding as a mesne lord of the Says of Clun Castle. Walter de Hopton possibly built the stone castle during the Barons' War of the 1260s. The bailey was fortified in stone and a rectangular two-storey keep was built. The last Walter Hopton died during the Wars of the Roses, and Hopton passed by marriage to the Corbet family of Moreton Corbet.
The Wallop Inheritance and a Parliamentary Stronghold, to 1642
From the Corbets the castle came to Henry Wallop, who married Elizabeth Corbet, daughter of Robert Corbet. Wallop fortified Hopton as a parliamentary stronghold at the outbreak of the English Civil War but died in 1642 before he could take part in the conflict, leaving it to his son Robert Wallop, the regicide.
Sir Michael Woodhouse's Siege and the Killing of the Garrison, 1644
During the Civil War Hopton was one of the few castles held for Parliament in the west. In 1644 Sir Michael Woodhouse laid siege to Hopton Castle with a force of about 500. It was defended by about thirty Roundheads under the command of Samuel More, who eventually agreed terms and surrendered.
Accounts of what followed vary. By More's own account, all those who surrendered apart from himself were killed and buried. Other accounts give the siege three weeks, with More delaying surrender until the bailey had been taken and the entrance to the keep was on fire; the garrison then surrendered to Woodhouse, who at his discretion, his prerogative under the laws of war as they were practised at that time, decided not to grant the majority of his prisoners quarter, and they were killed by their captors.
Ruin and Protection, 1700-1951
The castle was still habitable in 1700 but fell into disrepair soon afterwards. It was scheduled as a monument on 17 October 1930 and listed Grade I on 1 December 1951.
The Preservation Trust, Time Team and Reopening, 2006-2011
The Hopton Castle Preservation Trust, founded in 2006, took ownership of the castle in November 2008 and raised one million pounds for conservation work and the future of the site, half of it a National Lottery grant. Tom Baker, a founding member of the trust, was made MBE for his services to heritage in the preservation of Hopton Castle. Time Team excavated the remaining keep over three days for series 17, episode 6, The Massacre in the Cellar, broadcast on Channel 4 on 16 May 2010; the dig clarified the shape of the castle and the history of its construction, and found no evidence of a massacre. The keep had been captured by the Royalists during the Civil War.
The conservation and repair of the ruin, funded principally by the Heritage Lottery Fund and English Heritage, entailed significant structural stabilisation and rebuilding of the masonry together with conservation of surviving medieval plaster. The work revealed a sophisticated and possibly unique garderobe chamber, and evidence found within it has led to the belief that a siege breach may have taken place there. The Duke of Gloucester officially reopened the castle to the public as a visitor attraction in December 2011.
Step inside
6 places to explore in 1265.
The record describes 6 distinct spots at Hopton Castle, including 2 interiors: interior of the keep, central chamber, garderobe chamber revealed in conservation. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Hopton Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Hopton Castle.
The families that held Hopton Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Hopton
Founded by the Hoptons, possibly in the 12th century; held until the last Walter Hopton died during the Wars of the Roses.
Corbet
Passed by marriage to the Corbets of Moreton Corbet after the Wars of the Roses.
Wallop
Came to Henry Wallop (d. 1642) by marriage to Elizabeth Corbet; his son Robert Wallop, the regicide, inherited it.
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