Hollywood Producer to Restore Family’s Stately Home in Rochdale

A successful Hollywood director who discovered his ancestors lived in a stately home in Rochdale has started refurbishing the run-down estate.

Hopwood DePree, 47, has secured a grant of £276,000 from Historic England to help fund the refurbishment of Hopwood Hall. DePree discovered he was a direct descendent of the family who built the house in the 14^th century, and who remained in the property until the 1940s.

DePree left his home in Los Angeles after discovering his ancestral link with Greater Manchester, and has launched a project to refurbish the building which could cost between £6 million and £10 million.

The American arrived in the UK last summer on a three-year visa and intends to live in the house while refurbishments are carried out.

He told The Times:

"It would be a really nice retreat for people from many international places, and I think many artists from the USA would like to stay in a place like Hopwood Hall for a week or month as a retreat and also work on projects to benefit the local community."

DePree is the director of TV film Gordo's Road Show and was once named among "20 People To Know" by The Hollywood Reporter.

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