Historic Hopwood Hall remains on Historic England's At Risk Register

Hopwood Hall

The historic Hopwood Hall in Middleton has been named on Historic England's list of the historic sites most at risk of being lost forever.

Despite the efforts of Rochdale Council to restore Hopwood Hall and undo the damaging effects of extreme dry rot, lead theft and roof leaks, the Grade-II* listed 16th century building has remained on the Heritage At Risk Register since 1998.

However, initial works to stabilise the building and provide urgent weather proofing have now been completed.
 

Read more: Hopwood Hall roof renovationsPublished: 15 March 2020

Ongoing work to rebuild the hall by providing urgent weather proofing, jointly funded by both Historic England and Rochdale Council has gone a long way to bringing the dreams of Hopwood DePree, the American actor, writer and filmmaker whose ancestors built the hall, into reality.

Named after his ancestors, Hopwood is working to repair the hall with the ultimate aim of transforming it into an artistic and cultural venue and forging links with nearby colleges.

Back in July, local volunteers, including members of The Friends of Hopwood Hall Estate took part in a workshop on the art of leaded glass window renovation. There are approximately 200 leaded windows at Hopwood Hall dating back many hundreds of years, and many of these are suffering with decay due to age and damage due to vandalism as the hall lay vacant for approximately 30 years.
 

Read more: Volunteers at Hopwood Hall Estate learn the craft of renovating its historic leaded glass windowsPublished: 11 July 2020