Hopton Street

Hopton's Almshouses were built in 1752 by trustees appointed under the will of Charles Hopton. Little is known about the founder. He was born circa 1654, a Fishmongers' Company member who never lived in Southwark but left his estate here to benefit the poor. Walking along Hopton Street today, it would be easy to assume it's all new buildings, but there are two historic survivors worth looking out for—a tiny survivor, dating from 1702 and built by James Price, and the Grade II* listed almshouses that still shelter residents and define this corner of Bankside.

2011

Hopton St, London SE1, 30 May 2011

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0

2018

Number 61 And Attached Railings And Overthrow To Gate — near Hopton Street

Wikimedia Commons · CC0

2023

Hopton Street, Southwark (2)

Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 2.0

Today

Blackfriars Station

Geograph · CC BY-SA 2.0

The street itself is a palimpsest of names and eras. It was originally called Green Walk, then Holland Street for the better part of two centuries, before taking its current name in the 1930s. Above the modern buildings, the curve of the street still traces the outline of a vanished millpond, and underground lie the fragmentary remains of glass-making workshops that once made this corner a centre of industrial innovation. But all this history comes after something older still: a path between monasteries that would become a street, and then a street that would shed its disreputable past to take on a charitable name.

The money (and name) for these came from one Charles Hopton who on his death left a large sum of money to his sister, and on her death the money was used to build the Almshouses. Hopton was born around 1654 into a wealthy merchant family and was a member of the Guild of Fishmongers. He does not seem to have lived in Southwark at any time. He was, however, admitted in 1706 as a copyholder of the piece of ground near the Pudding Mill previously held by Edmund Dunch. This tenuous ownership—inherited through trust and stewardship rather than residence—would eventually anchor his name to the street. In Grace Golden's history of Old Bankside, published in 1951, she refers to: "An apparently puritanical drive has recently changed Holland into Hopton Street, named after Charles Hopton." Also, the licensing records for the Founder's Arms state that the original address was 8 Holland Street and the address was changed to 56 Hopton Street between 1934 and 1938.

Towards the end of the 17th century a path was made across this land from the Mill Pond in Upper Ground to Christ Church, which became known as Churchway or Green Walk. In 1699, Austin Oldesworth, acting on behalf of William Austin, junior, the heir of the property, sold the ground on the east side of the way to James Price and John Morgan. This marked the beginning of residential development. In around 1700, they had built houses and were covering up the open sewers, and on a side passage, built five houses by 1702/03. Of these, one survives, this one in fact on Hopton Street.

The 19th century brought industry. Falcon Glass Works of Messrs Pellat and Green covered the area of the Manor moat and mill stream. It was an extensive works noted for the 'elegance of their productions' and they were an important innovator in cut glass. Nos. 1 and 2, and 27 and 28 were demolished by enemy action in April and May, 1941, and Nos. 3, 4 and 5 were seriously damaged. The post-war years saw rapid redevelopment, leaving only fragments of the Georgian period standing.

Formerly No.61 Hopton Street (and even earlier than that, 9 Green Walk) is the tiny survivor, dating from 1702 and built by James Price. Over the centuries it's been home to Edward Knight, a trustee of a charity school nearby c.1720, Henry Batterson a bricklayer c.1744 and Eliza Reynolds, a vellum binder (fine animal skin used for binding books) in 1895. The house and attached railings are Grade II listed. It's the oldest surviving house in this area, second only to 49 Bankside, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century according to Historic England. The British History Online Survey of London provides the most comprehensive documentation of the street's development and ownership patterns.

Hopton Street today is a study in contrast. Despite almost the whole area being bombed out in the 1940s and since reconstructed, sometimes several times, 67 Hopton Street is an authentic old building as you could ever hope to find. It was built sometime between 1699-1702 by James Price and thoroughly dwarfed by 21st century developments but it is safe for future generations as both the house itself and even the railings outside are both grade ii listed which in effect means they can't be damaged or modified in any way. The almshouses, slightly set back from the street behind their historic gardens, continue their original charitable work amid a landscape of apartments and offices.

The street is sandwiched between major transport corridors and development sites. Sampson House was a commercial office building in Hopton Street, Southwark, London, United Kingdom. It was sited just west of the Tate Modern art gallery, by the railway lines running onto Blackfriars Bridge, though the Brutalist structure has since been replaced. The street itself remains quiet, residential in character despite its commercial surroundings, with river access via the pedestrian underpass built beneath the railway viaduct.