This was so fascinating! And the fact that there are still places in the Hall that haven't been opened or accessed yet only adds to the mystery. It's one of the ways history is alive - you're always discovering new things about it.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Josh!!

I highly recommend the book "By What Authority" by Robert Hugh Benson. It deals with the Catholic plight during that time. This was an awful time for Catholics that wished to practice the religion of their ancestors and could not find it in their conscience to convert to this new religion. Catholics lost a lot of their rights and to this day a Catholic can not ascend to the throne of England. England has so many heroes from that time. Margaret Clitherow known as the "Pearl of York was another of those who hid priests. Unfortunately in 1556 she was arrested and pressed to death and she was at the time expecting a baby. Thank you for these programs. Harvington Hall is also rich with history of the Recusancy period.

I did it! I just completed watching all 60 videos, in order! The scope of this project is astounding and you seem to approach each task and adversity with such a positive attitude. And, you've inspired so many people to get involved and share their talents. I am now looking forward to each new step in the process. Who knows, maybe sometime I'll get to see Hopwood Hall in person! Thank you for bringing a ray of sunshine (despite all the rain there) into an otherwise troublesome world.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Haha wow I am so impressed! Thank you for watching and your support! Amazing!! 😀

I can’t imagine being stuck in a small space for long lengths of time. God forbid you were claustrophobic. What a scary time in history.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

I agree! It's very spooky when you get inside of it!! 😬

Great to have an update on the secret room, Hopwood. Really fascinating that it was a priest’s hole after the Reformation, & that the tabernacle base dates back to that time too. Have you heard of Harvington Hall in Worcestershire, where they have a number of priest’s holes? Looking forward to more updates on this in due course! Oh, & I love the symmetry of the shot with you & Ros chatting, against the backdrop of the model of the Hall.. perfectly placed coffee mugs & all!! 😄

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

😀Thanks so much Judith! Yes I have heard of Harvington - would be great to see it sometime!

It's a good thing that you didn't find any priests still hiding after 450 years ! Thanks for the interesting video.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha thanks Marg!

"By Degrees" Sounds like your motto for making progress on restoring Hopwood Hall to its former self! Keep up the good work Hopwood! Richard

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Richard - haha yes agreed on the motto! 😀

DUDE!!! Get the lock-picker specialist over and open that cabinet!!!

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha yes will do! There are so many mysteries to solve and urgent works needed it's tricky to keep up! 😅

@T.Account.356

Жыл бұрын

totally agree!! I want to know what's in there too!! haha

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

@@T.Account.356 ❤

Totally geeking out about this. I picked up your book, Downton Shabby, at the Harold Washington Branch of the Chicago Public Library and read three chapters while riding the Blue Line home. I love history. I love restoration. I love a good story. Hopwood Hall is the trifecta! :D

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Haha thanks Molly! That's great to hear! 😀❤

Sir, an added note to your viewers. I highly recommend reading a brief history of Hopwood on the Wikipedia site. It speaks quite highly of you Mr. DePree. Especially when it notes that the council verified your ancestry to the hall.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thank you for letting me know, I'll have to take a look at it

6:30, the cupboard may have been used to hold shutters to put over the windows.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

That would be very interesting although if they were using it for other purposes in later centuries it seems like they would have then discovered the tabernacle

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Oh haha now I understand! I thought you were talking about the priest hole being a storage space. Yes I think you're right that the door by the window probably could have something to do with concealing the shutters. We'll have to look into it further. Thanks!

What a cool history lesson. I never knew about priest holes.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Emily! Great to hear!

Thank you.

I’ve been binge watching these videos! They’re all so fascinating. I very recently discovered I’m also related to the hopwoods so this is very cool to see :)

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Great to have you along with us on the journey!

That was very interesting. Thanks for sharing it with us.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

cheers Rita - thanks for watching!

Thank you Hopwood - really enjoyed this video on priest holes!!

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Cheers Cheryl! Thanks for watching!

This is awesome 😊 I never knew about priest holes and why they were used 😮. I'm sure you will find a few more in various places. Absolutely fantastic!😉 So glad I found this channel 🎉

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Jeannette! We're so glad to know you're watching!!

@antoniaswift3995

Жыл бұрын

Unfortunately Catholic History has been conveniently covered up. Thanks to Hopward and Harvington Hall for bringing these to light. A good read is Robert Hugh Benson's " By What Authority."

Just thought be careful when opening priest holes as ones that are known of are the ones that Priest hunters found. And sometimes the priests were in there so long and if family were arrested there was no one to let them out so they could die there. Theres a house near Preston I think that opened a Priest hole and found a skeleton.

@Tawadeb

14 күн бұрын

Oooh awful

Very cool, Hopwood! I've subscribed to all your channels - a few weeks ago, I came across your book during a visit to a library branch i don't usually visit... and was very amazed by the coincidence, as I've been researching my family history, and my 5th great-grandfather, William "Doc" McClelland. Called Doc because he made whiskey, and ran a tavern, where people always left feeling better than when they came in! He was married to Esther Hopwood, apparently of the Hopwood, PA family, although I'm still working on who her parents were... In any case, I look forward to more of your videos, I'm sure there are more secrets to be discovered in the walls of Hopwood Hall!

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Bruce that's amazing! Great to know you're on the journey along with us!

@BruceHays

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV Thanks! I really need to check my messages more often; I see you replied a week ago! I had an interesting (almost creepy!) coincidence just last night - I had watched that show "History's Greatest Mysteries about the Voynich Manuscript, and it was mentioned that one of the possible authors was John Dee...little did I suspect that later in the evening I came across a reference to him while looking into our interesting ancestor Edmund Hopwood...it seems Edmund knew Dee and was borrowing books from him! (I'll put a link in your Facebook message box, since I don't know if You Tube allows links!)

Fascinating!

@HopwoodXIV

5 ай бұрын

Thanks Sondra!

Loved doing this video! Love the Hall.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Ros! We love having you involved!

@rosalynliddle1353

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV We must do some more soon!

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

@@rosalynliddle1353 😀❤

So glad you're doing it up I studied there in the 1990s and went into the hall have you found the Priest hole in the cellar yet

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Chriss - Wow no I didn't know about that one! We'll have to go in search!! 😃

@chriss312

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV I've a old photocopy of a old book of the hall history When I'm down at Dads who is still in Rochdale I will look for it and you can have it. That door in the wooden wall I think leads to the cellar priest hole and tunnel away from hall. The door opens think you move something on the fireplace and it pops open This is all from memory it's 30 years since I was there I'm so pleased you are doing it up I campaigned in the 1990s but RMBC wasn't bothered Love to meet

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks@@chriss312 - some of those areas are currently closed off for health & safety but I can't wait to go looking as soon as possible!

@chriss312

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV I understand it was in such a state 30 years ago it had been left to rot from the early 1980s I'm amazed its still standing and the wooden wall look unchanged Think Lady Susan and William Wicked Monk are looking out for it too

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

@@chriss312 haha yes we definitely have some good spirits on our side!

Hadn't heard of priest holes. Reminded me of a Nancy Drew mystery when you pulled out that piece of trim and said the paneling is a door.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha it did for me too when I first saw it!

Love this, how amazing. I could not sleep until that lock was open and I could see in that cupboard, that would drive me nuts. My imagination is running wild.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Hahaha

This is fascinating, I would be bursting to peek behind the voids. Have you found any secret stairways yet? I am watching another KZreadr who is renovating a convent and they found priest holes behind wardrobes and between walls that had religious icons and crucifixes etc. but I think this was more likely for during the 1st and 2nd world wars as it’s nowhere near as old as your estate. Fascinating none the less. I also want to say That I got your book Downton Shabby today and it will be my holiday read in March (if I can wait that long) and I am super excited to read it. Thank you again for allowing us to come along on your incredible journey. 🙏

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much Ginger! Great to hear from you. There is still much to discover so we'll keep posting as we do!

Great!!

@HopwoodXIV

6 ай бұрын

Thank you!

Fascinating! Have you been able to find any history from your family that dates back to when they originally occupied that gorgeous castle? Letters? Historical references? Pictures/drawings? Its' mention in 'other' families records who lived in the area at the time? Thanks for another step back in time. Ohio

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Hi - yes we have found a lot but there is much more to discover! I wrote about a lot of it in my book and we also made a KZread video about some of it called "Uncovering My Family History" that you can watch here: kzread.info/dash/bejne/gY6XuqeTn6W2ZKg.html

@RLU-wt8vi

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV Thank you! My apologies. That must have been the one episode I missed. To know your family brushed elbows with royalty. What glorious times they must have been.

Hopwood, have you done a historical explanation of that mantle? what's up with the "by Degree's" "by Degree's"????

Cool

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Terry!

grand of lady will look nice when fixed up

If I hid in there they would have found me. I snore.

Must of been scary to of hid in there knowing one cough or sneeze could cost you and the familys life.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Agreed James - I can't imagine -especially since it is cold, damp and musty in there it would be so easy to cough or sneeze

my friend had secret walls filled w pot back in the 80's.. he did retire early.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

😅

open that possible priest hole i’ve gotta know!

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

The hole in the door where a key would fit, take a photo of the hole within the hope that a locksmith could identify the type of lock it is by usually looking through the hole and looking at the actual key way of the lock, for that period it's probably a warded lock, post the photo on the community bit id like to see for myself if possible, maybe a Joseph Bramah lock

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Ok thanks Clinton! We'll check it out!!

@Clinny-

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV I am also thinking with just a hole, if there's no key way, search for a "Roman Key" Demonstration it could be similar to that but without seeing it I can't tell

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

@@Clinny- thanks so much- great to know!

@Clinny-

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV Have none of you're film crew got an endoscope type camera thin enough to place inside the hole to see what locking mechanism it is

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

@@Clinny- not yet but that's a good idea. It would have to be a very small camera to work. That area is currently closed off for works but as soon as we can get back in there we'll see what we can find and hopefully make a follow up episode about it

My Father told me a story that my Great Grandfather was sending money to England on a regular basis to maintain the castle of our family ancestors. He even sent money during the Great Depression. Unfortunately, that's all I know. I would love to find out if this is true but don't know where to start. I'm also concerned if I find out it is true, I'd be responsible for millions in taxes, restoration costs, etc. What would be a good place to start my research?

🤔 Priest holes 😅

Under Queen Elizabeth I in England, technically it wasn't actually a crime to be (Roman) Catholic. It was a crime to celebrate the Mass.

I'm curious how many priest holes a residence of this size would normally have had? This is both a fascinating subject and a sad one. It's tragic that the Protestants and Catholics couldn't have worked out their theological differences. But absent that, what the Apostle Paul instructed was that we are to avoid heretics, not to kill and persecute them -- so both groups should have taken the Apostle's instruction to heart. In the end, more harm than good came out of this clash.

@rosalynliddle1353

Жыл бұрын

Who knows how many priest holes may be in a Hall of this size, it's impossible to say really....but there were often decoy priest holes to detract the searchers away from the real priest holes.I do feel that there will be more priest holes yet undiscovered at the Hall..... it's fascinating.

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Suzanne - Ros knows a lot about this subject so I defer to her! 😀

@HopwoodXIV

Жыл бұрын

Thanks @@rosalynliddle1353 - all good information to know!

@rosalynliddle1353

Жыл бұрын

@@HopwoodXIV Yes! There must be more priest holes yet undiscovered....

@joejones9520

5 ай бұрын

henry the 8th created the conflict, it wasnt really over religion, it was about greed and power.

It has never been illegal to be a Catholic in England. It was illegal to attend a mass and of course, to hide a priest would incur severe penalties or even death. A priest's hide would not be detected by tapping on the wood panelling, because the wooden beams behind the hide entrance would have been thick enough to cancel out any hollow sounds. It would not have been possible to hold a "little mass" inside a hide because, with very few exceptions most of them could only hold one or two priests due to the very cramped space.

@HopwoodXIV

3 ай бұрын

Thanks Patricia!

She added erm...not a great deal. Not sure that is a result of editing or lack of anything to say.

Not that interesting, should had try to open the last spot. 😒