Court rules in ownership row over Hopwood Hall

A court has ruled that Rochdale Council did not act unfairly in its decision not to pass ownership of Hopwood Hall to one of its descendants.

Today marked the end of a two-day trial in the High Court in Manchester after Hopwood DePree took legal action against the council which ended an exclusivity agreement to sell the historic Grade II-listed hall to him.

Following the decision, Mr DePree said: “This is of course incredibly disappointing and a huge blow to our community, our supporters around the world, as well as the UK’s charitable heritage rescue groups in general.

“However, please know that my team and I are already determining our legal options and next steps.

“We will be watching closely to keep an eye on Rochdale Borough Council’s efforts to save Hopwood Hall for the community, and restore it to its former glory.”

Mr DePree is a descendant of the Hopwood family which build the manor house in the 1420s. The family owned the hall and surrounding land — which is now Hopwood Hall College — until 1922. The house was sold 20 years later.

It was occupied by a variety of temporary residents, including the de la Salle Brothers, who ran it as a Catholic teacher training college until the 1980s. It had fallen into disrepair and was bought by Rochdale Council, which still owns the Grade II-listed property.

Mr DePree launched legal action after he spent seven years working with the council to carry out vital repairs on the dilapidated site with a view to purchasing it.

In November, 2024, the council ended its exclusivity agreement with Mr DePree, and said it would explore other options because no “commercially viable” business model had been presented.

Mr DePree and volunteers who worked on the hall have been barred from returning to the site since then.

In the meantime, the council has spent £640,000 making the roof watertight.

A council spokesperson said: “We are pleased with today’s judgement. It’s a shame that we had to endure a costly court battle to get to this point, as the time and money invested into this process could have been better spent on the hall itself.

“We’re now focussed on moving forward. More than £1.6 million has been spent on the hall by ourselves and Historic England since 2017 and we will continue to invest in vital repairs to this historic building.

“Feasibility studies have already been completed and options for Hopwood Hall’s long-term future will be considered in due course.

“Whatever the future holds for Hopwood Hall, this building, once restored and refurbished, will be used for the benefit of the wider community of Middleton who rightly cherish it as an important part of Middleton’s rich and varied heritage.”

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