(114) Allsopp of Hindlip Hall, Barons Hindlip

During the 18th century the Allsopps were prosperous tradesmen in Derby and Worcester, with investments in land at Birlingham Hall and elsewhere. In the 19th century, the 1st Lord Hindlip claimed that they were descended from the Alsops of Alsop-en-le-Dale (Derbyshire), who owned that estate from the 12th century to the late 17th century, when Anthony Alsop's creditors forced the sale of the estate to meet his debts.  It has not been possible to establish a certain connection between Anthony Alsop (c.1618-91) of Alsop-en-le-Dale and Samuel Alsop (d. 1728/9) of Derby, but the link is certainly plausible and in view of the family tradition, perhaps even probable.

Alsop Hall, Alsop-en-le-Dale

Samuel Alsop (d. 1728/9) was a tobacconist in Derby whose will left substantial bequests to his numerous grandchildren.  His great-grandson, James Allsopp (1751-1800), married Anne, the only daughter of Benjamin Wilson of Burton-on-Trent (Staffs), who built up a substantial brewing business, based on export sales to the Baltic countries, in the late 18th century. James's son Samuel Allsopp (1780-1838) joined the business, and in 1807 - at a time of difficult trading conditions when Napoleon's blockade was limiting the Baltic trade - he bought the firm. 

In the 1820s he successfully copied the India Pale Ale brewed by Hodgson of London, and this opened up a new market for exports to India, as well as being popular at home.  The firm expanded throughout the 19th century and by 1876 Samuel Allsopp & Sons was the second largest brewer in England, producing over 30 million gallons of beer a year.  Henry Allsopp (1811-87), who succeeded his father as head of the firm, was able about 1862 to buy and remodel Hindlip Hall near Worcester as a country seat, and went on to become MP for East Worcestershire, 1874-80. When he retired from Parliament he was honoured with a baronetcy and six years later, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Hindlip. He died in 1887, leaving a fortune of over half a million pounds to his widow and ten surviving children.

Henry's career marked the high water mark of the brewing business,  His son and successor, Samuel Charles Allsopp (1842-97), 2nd Baron Hindlip, who took over as chairman of the company in 1882, encountered much more difficult trading conditions. The public limited company which was formed in 1887 went into receivership in 1911, but was restructured and continued trading until 1935 when it was merged with Ind Coope Ltd to form Ind Coope & Allsopp Ltd; the Allsopp name was finally dropped in 1959.

The 1st Baron seems to have divided his wealth among his many children in the expectation that the brewery business would continue to support his eldest son and the Hindlip Hall estate, but the declining fortunes of the brewery meant this was not the case. When the 3rd Baron inherited in 1897 he was comfortably ensconced at Doveridge Hall in Derbyshire and did not immediately move into Hindlip. In 1921 he announced he had sold much of the estate and was going to rent out the house, which became a school, and in 1939 he sold it to the Government, which planned to use it as ministerial offices in the event of the Government being evacuated from London. After the War it was sold to Worcestershire County Council, and became the headquarters of the West Mercia Constabulary.

Hindlip Hall, Worcestershire

Hindlip Hall: the house completed in 1572 and demolished in 1818

The large brick house, built for John Habington and completed in 1572, and riddled with priest-holes in which the Babington Plot conspirators were arrested in 1586, was demolished about 1818. Its successor, built about 1820 for Lord Southwell, had a two-and-a-half storey, five bay centre of pale brick with ashlar dressings and one-and-a-half storey wings of three bays, articulated by blind arches and originally linked to the house by quadrants. The central block survives, and has on the entrance side a projecting centre with pediment, a portico of four unfluted Ionic columns, and plain giant pilasters; the garden side has a raised parapet with Grecian detail. The wings were replaced in 1864-67 by balustraded three-bay, two-storey wings in line with the house, and with pediments on the garden side.  

Hindlip Hall in 2005. Image: Sally Lloyd via Wikimedia. Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

The house sold to the Ministry of Works in 1939 as a possible location for ministerial offices in the event of the Government being evacuated from London.  After the Second World War it was sold to Worcestershire County Council and became the headquarters of West Mercia Police. The house was reconstructed after a fire in 1967 with a copper-covered mansard roof, and with the addition of a plain two-storey south-west wing carrying a huge radio mast. Further buildings were added in 1991-94 creating a headquarters complex for the West Mercia Constabulary.  

Inside, the house has a large entrance hall with Ionic columns to the rear, and an open-well staircase with a wrought-iron balustrade. On the south-facing garden front, the morning oom is flanked by drawing and dining rooms, each with a single-storey canted bay.  There is a stuccoed lodge on the A38 which must date from about 1818; it has a shallow hipped roof and plain pilasters.

Descent: Thomas Solley (d. c.1538); to son, Thomas Solley (d. 1557); to cousin, Humphrey Coningsby, who sold 1562 to John Habington (d. 1582); to son, Edward Habington (d. 1586); to brother, Thomas Habington (d. 1647); to widow, Mary Habington; to grandson, Thomas Habington; to cousin, Sir William Compton (d. c.1698), 1st bt. of Hartpury (Glos); to son, Sir William Compton (d. 1731), 2nd bt.; to son, Sir William Compton (d. 1758), 3rd bt.; to son, Sir William Compton (d. 1760), 4th bt.; to brother, Sir Walter Abington Compton (d. 1773), 5th bt.; to sisters, Catherine Compton (d. by 1779), wife of Edward Bearcroft, and Jane Compton, wife of John Berkeley; to daughters, Catherine Berkeley, wife of Robert Canning, and Jane Berkeley (d. 1853), wife of Thomas Anthony Southwell (1777-1860), 3rd Viscount Southwell; sold after his death to Sir Henry Allsopp (1811-87), 1st Baron Hindlip;to son, Sir Samuel Charles Allsopp (1842-97), 2nd Baron Hindlip; to son, Sir Charles Allsopp (1877-1931), 3rd Baron Hindlip, who let it as a school; to son, Sir Charles Samuel Victor Allsopp (1906-66), 4th Baron Hindlip, who sold 1939 to Ministry of Works; sold 1947 to Worcestershire County Council.

Allsopp family of Hindlip Hall, Barons Hindlip

Allsopp, Samuel (1688-1716) of Worcester. Son of Samuel Alsop (d. 1728/9), tobacconist of Derby, and his wife Mary, baptised 10 June 1688. Grocer at Worcester. He married, 26 March 1702, Bridget (1679-1747), eldest daughter of Thomas Bearcroft of Upton-on-Severn (Worcs) and had issue including:
(1) Bridget Allsopp (b. 1702/3), baptised 19 January 1702/3; married, 1 December 1723, Samuel Buller/Bullier; living in 1728;
(2) Thomas Allsopp (1706-83) (q.v.);
(3) Richard Allsopp (b. 1710), baptised 20 August 1710; living in 1728
(4) Samuel Allsopp (b. 1712); died before 1728;
(5) Mary Allsopp (b. 1714), baptised 20 March 1714; living in 1728.
He lived in Worcester.
He died 3 March 1716; his will was proved in PCC, 23 March 1716.

Allsopp, Thomas (1706-83) of Derby and Birlingham Hall (Worcs).  Son of Samuel Allsopp (1688-1716) and his wife Bridget, daughter of Thomas Bearcroft of Upton-on-Severn (Worcs), baptised 2 February 1706. He married, 8 December 1733, Anne (d. 1786), daughter of William Challinor of Faulde (Staffs) and had issue with other sons who died young:
(1) Mary Allsopp; married, 2 April 1761, Rev. Richard Fowler, vicar of Brewood (Staffs) and had issue a daughter.
(2) James Allsopp (1751-1800) (q.v.);
He owned Birlingham Hall, a farmhouse near Pershore.
He died in December 1783; his will was proved in the PCC, 5 February 1784. His widow died in May 1786.

Allsopp, James (1751-1800) of Derby and Birlingham Hall (Worcs).  Youngest son of Thomas Allsopp (1706-83) and his wife Anne, daughter of William Challinor of Faulde (Staffs), baptised 23 July 1751. He married 30 June 1778, Anne (1753-1845), only daughter of Benjamin Wilson of Burton-on-Trent (Staffs), brewer, and had issue:
(1) Anne Allsopp (1779-1846), baptised 13 June 1779; married, 28 August 1805, Edward Moore Noble (1774-1842) and had issue at least one son and one daughter; died 6 July 1846;
(2) Samuel Allsopp (1780-1838) (q.v.);
(3) Thomas Allsopp (1782-1855), born 21 March and baptised 4 August 1782; died unmarried and was buried at St Alkmund, Derby, 24 February 1855; will proved in PCC, 14 June 1855;
(4) Robert Allsopp (1783-1854), baptised 13 April 1785; possibly the person of this name who married c.1810 Mary Allcroft (1792-1835) and had issue seven sons and two daughters; emigrated to America, 1835; died at Seneca, Ontario, New York (USA), 27 August 1854;
(5) James Allsopp (b. & d. 1785); died in infancy, 1 October 1785;
(6) Hannah Allsopp (1789-92); died young, 22 December 1792.
He inherited Birlingham Hall from his father in 1783.
He died 24 April 1800. His widow died 2 September 1845.

Allsopp, Samuel (1780-1838) of Burton-on-Trent (Staffs).  Son of James Allsopp (1751-1800) and his wife Anne, daughter of Benjamin Wilson of Burton-on-Trent, brewer, born 12 August 1780. Brewer at Burton-on-Trent.  He married, 6 September 1804, Frances (1784-1862), only daughter of Charles Fowler of Shrewsbury and had issue:
(1) Charles James Allsopp (1805-44), born 5 June 1805; married, 29 December 1836 Sarah Emma (d. 1879), daughter of John Drewry (who married 2nd, 5 May 1852, Rev. William Belcher of Wensley (Derbys)); died without issue, 20 October 1844;
(2) Frances Allsopp (1807-48), born 22 October 1807 and baptised 24 February 1809; married, 23 January 1828, William Whyburgh How of Shrewsbury, gent.; died 28 July 1848;
(3) William Allsopp (1809-15), born 7 June 1809; died young, 21 October 1815;
(4) Sir Henry Allsopp (1811-87), 1st bt. and 1st Baron Hindlip (q.v.).
He lived at Burton-on-Trent (Staffs).
He died 26 February 1838; his will was proved in PCC, 22 June 1838. His widow died 10/12 June 1862; her will was proved 6 October 1862 (estate under £16,000).

Allsopp, Sir Henry (1811-87), 1st bt. and 1st Baron Hindlip.  Third son of Samuel Allsopp (1780-1838) of Burton-on-Trent, brewer, and his wife Frances, daughter of Charles Fowler of Shrewsbury, born 19 February 1811. Brewer at Burton-on-Trent. Conservative MP for East Worcestershire, 1874-80; JP for Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Derbyshire; DL for Staffordshire and Worcestershire. He was created a baronet, 7 May 1880, and raised to the peerage as 1st Baron Hindlip of Hindlip and Alsop-en-le-Dale, 16 February 1886.  He married, 21 August 1839, Elizabeth (d. 1906), second daughter of William Tongue of Comberford Hall (Staffs) and had issue:
(1) Samuel Charles Allsopp (1842-97), 2nd Baron Hindlip (q.v.);
(2) Lt-Col. Hon. William Henry Allsopp (1843-1909) of Oxenden House, Herne Bay (Kent), born 9 and baptised 10 November 1843; educated at Oxford (MA); Major (later Hon. Lt-Col.), 3rd Battn, Worcestershire Regiment; a member of Lloyds; married, 19 April 1888, Isobel Margaret Hutton; died without issue, 20 February 1909; will proved 15 March 1909 (estate £25,242);
(3) Hon. George Higginson Allsopp (1846-1907) of Foston Hall (Derbys), born 28 March 1846; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1868; MA 1871); director of Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd., brewers; Conservative MP for Worcester, 1885-1906; JP for Staffordshire, Derbyshire and Worcestershire; DL for Staffordshire and Worcestershire; married, 16 July 1895, Lady Mildred Georgiana Ashley-Cooper (1867-1958), third daughter of Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 8th Earl of Shaftesbury, and had issue one son and one daughter; died 9 September 1907; will proved 28 October 1907 (estate £110,433);
(4) Lt-Col. Hon. Ranulph Allsopp (1848-1911), born 27 July 1848; Major in Royal Artillery, 1885-89; Lt-Col. Hon. Artillery Co., 1891-93; married, 5 January 1898, Margaret (1868-1941), second daughter of William Whitbread and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 25 December 1911; will proved 6 February 1912 (estate £39,978);
(5) Hon. Frances Elizabeth Allsopp (1850-1932); married, 23 August 1877, Rev. Melville Russell Moore (1845-1923), vicar of Preston (Glos), son of Rev. Charles Moore of Garlewick House (Cornwall); died 13 December 1932; will proved 3 March 1933 (estate £526);
(6) Hon. Elizabeth Sydney Allsopp (1852-1928), born 19 February 1852; married, 7 July 1874, Thomas Eades Walker MP (1843-99) of Studley Castle (Worcs) and had issue three sons and four daughters; died 10 December 1928; will proved 14 February 1929 (estate £1,733);
(7) Hon. Ada Katherine Allsopp (1854-1903); married, 10 February 1881, Edward Waldron Heywood (d. 1908) of Sillins, Redditch (Worcs); died without issue, 2 January 1903; will proved 13 February 1903 (estate £659).
(8) Hon. Herbert Tongue Allsopp (1855-1920) of Walton Bury (Staffs), born 5 December 1855; educated at Cheltenham College and Trinity Hall, Cambridge; officer in 10th Royal Hussars, 1877-90 (Lt., 1881; Capt., 1887); JP for Staffordshire; married, 11 August 1891, Edith Mary (d. 1935), fourth daughter of Haughton Charles Okeover and had issue a daughter; died at Barnwood House Asylum, 31 January 1920; will proved 21 May 1920 (estate £36,639);
(9) Hon. Frederick Ernest Allsopp (1857-1928) of Hadzor House (Worcs), born 21 September 1857; officer in Royal Artillery; died unmarried, 20 December 1928;
(10) Hon. Alfred Percy Allsopp (1861-1929) of Battenhall Mount, Worcester, born 26 August 1861; educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1880); MP for Taunton, 1887-95; chairman of Samuel Allsopp & Sons Ltd., 1895-1900; JP for Worcs and DL for Staffs; Mayor of Worcester, 1892, 1894 and 1909; served in WW1 as General Staff Officer (Capt.); married, 23 July 1890, Lillian Maud (1871-1962), daughter of Rev. John Stanley Chesshire, rector of Hindlip, and had issue a daughter; died 22 February 1929;
(11) Henry Allsopp (1864-65), born 23 February 1864; died in infancy, 11 May 1865.
He purchased Hindlip Hall (Worcs) in about 1862.
He died 3 April 1887 and his will was proved 18 June 1887 (estate £557, 577). His widow died 19 and was buried at Hindlip, 24 August 1906; her will was proved 7 November 1906 (estate £17,006).

2nd Baron Hindlip
by R.P. Ellis

Allsopp, Samuel Charles (1842-97), 2nd Baron Hindlip.  Eldest son of Sir Henry Allsopp (1811-87), 1st bt. and 1st Baron Hindlip, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Tongue of Comberford Hall (Staffs), born 24 March and baptised 16 June 1842. Educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1865; MA 1869).  Chairman of Samuel Allsopp & Co., brewers and Deputy Chairman of Great Northern Railway. Conservative MP for Taunton, East Staffordshire, 1873-80 and Taunton, 1882-87; JP for Derbyshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire; DL for Staffordshire. He married, 28 April 1868, Georgina Millicent (1846-1939), eldest daughter of Charles Rowland Palmer-Morewood of Alfreton Hall (Derbys) and had issue:
(1) Henry Allsopp (b. & d. 1876), born 27 March and died in infancy 7 November 1876;
(2) Charles Allsopp (1877-1931), 3rd Baron Hindlip (q.v.)
He inherited Hindlip Hall from his father in 1887. His London town house was 33 Hill St, W1.
He died of cancer, 12 and was buried at Hindlip, 16 July 1897; his will was proved 22 October 1897 (estate £432,149). His widow died 15 January 1939; her will was proved 27 February 1939 (estate £24,348).

Allsopp, Charles (1877-1931), 3rd Baron Hindlip.  Only surviving son of Samuel Charles Allsopp (1842-97), 2nd Baron Hindlip, and his wife Georgina Millicent, daughter of Charles Rowland Palmer-Morewood of Alfreton Hall (Derbys), born 22 September 1897. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge (BA 1898). JP for Worcestershire and Derbyshire; DL for Worcestershire; County Councillor for Worcestershire. Captain in 5th Battn, Worcestershire Regt.; Lieutenant in 8th Hussars during Boer War; General Staff Officer in WW1; awarded Legion d'honneur; OBE, 1919. Aide de camp to Governor of Victoria; junior Unionist whip in House of Lords, 1907-14. Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Zoological Society. He married, 19 April 1904, Agatha Lillian (d. 1962), second daughter of John Charles Thynne and had issue:
(1) Charles Samuel Victor Allsopp (1906-66), 4th Baron Hindlip (q.v.);
(2) Hon. Diana Joan Allsopp (1908-2006), born 19 December 1908; married, 2 June 1930, Sir Rupert John Hardy, 4th bt. (1902-97) and had issue one son and one daughter; died 8 February 2006; will proved 24 July 2006;
(3) Hon. Nancy Marion Allsopp (1910-2006), born 15 October 1910; married, 27 July 1936, Peter Geoffrey Brooke (1909-92), son of Maj-Gen. Geoffrey Francis Hereman Brooke CB DSO MC and had issue one son; died 16 December 2006; will proved 20 April 2007;
(4) Henry Richard Allsopp (1912-93), 5th Baron Hindlip (q.v.).
He inherited Hindlip Hall from his father in 1897, but let the house at some periods. In 1911 he was living at Doveridge Hall (Derbys). His London town house was at 33 Hill Street, W1. In 1921 he announced that he would have to give up Hindlip Hall and had sold 2,000 acres of the estate.
He died 2 December 1931; his will was proved 7 April and 25 June 1932 (estate £193,591). His widow died 11 December 1962; her will was proved 20 May 1963 (estate £46,360).

Allsopp, Charles Samuel Victor (1906-66), 4th Baron Hindlip.  Elder son of Charles Allsopp (1877-1931), 3rd Baron Hindlip, and his wife Agatha Lillian, daughter of John Charles Thynne, born 5 November 1906. Educated at Eton. Major in Royal Army Service Corps; Lt. in Royal Artillery in WW2.  He married 1st, 23 February 1932 (div., 1934), Bridget, daughter of Harold Nickols and 2nd, 16 February 1939, Hansina Elfrida Cecilia (Tulla) (1910-88), daughter of Frederick William Harris and had issue:
(2.1) Hon. Penelope Jane Allsopp (1940-2009), born 2 April 1940; married, 1 July 1965, Theodore Demetrios Velissaropolous, son of Demetrios Velissaropolous of Athens (Greece); died without issue, 15 October 2009;
(2.2) Hon. Elizabeth Tulla Allsopp (1942-2012), born 20 June 1942; died unmarried, 4 September 2012.
He inherited Hindlip Hall from his father in 1931, but sold it in 1939. At the time of his death he lived at Botches, Wivelsfield Green (Sussex).
He died 30 March 1966; his will was proved 10 August 1966 (estate £253,330).  His widow died July-September 1988.

Allsopp, Major Henry Richard (1912-93), 5th Baron Hindlip.  Younger son of Charles Allsopp (1877-1931), 3rd Baron Hindlip, and his wife Agatha Lillian, daughter of John Charles Thynne, born 1 July 1912. Educated at Eton and RMC Sandhurst; served in Coldstream Guards, 1932-48 (Major, 1941); JP and DL for Wiltshire. Succeeded his brother as 5th Baron Hindlip, 30 March 1966. He married, 12 April 1939, Cecily Valentine Jane (1910-2000), daughter of Lt-Col. Malcolm Borwick DSO and had issue:
(1) Charles Henry Allsopp (b. 1940), 6th Baron Hindlip (q.v.);
(2) Hon. John Peter Allsopp (b. 1942), born 16 November 1942; educated at Eton; married, 1976, Daryl G., youngest daughter of Leonard Shawzin of Cape Province, South Africa and had issue one son and two daughters;
(3) Hon. Sarah Cecily Allsopp (b. 1944), born 13 March 1944; married, 27 July 1967 (div. 1984), Hugh Robert Myddelton and had issue four daughters.
He lived at Tytherton House, East Tytherton (Wilts).
He died 19 December 1993. His widow died 1 November 2000.

Allsopp, Charles Henry (1940-2024), 6th Baron Hindlip.  Elder son of Maj. Henry Richard Allsopp (1912-93), 5th Baron Hindlip, and his wife Cecily Valentine Jane, daughter of Lt-Col. Malcolm Borwick, born 5 August 1940. Education at Eton. Served in Coldstream Guards, 1959-62. Career with Christies, auctioneers, 1962-2002 (Chairman, 1986-96; Group Chairman, 1996-2002); Deputy Chairman of Agnews, 2003-04. Trustee of Chatham Historic Dockyard, 1988-2000. He was appointed Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur, 1998. He married, 18 April 1968, Fiona Victoria Jean Atherley (1947-2014), younger daughter of William Johnston McGowan, 1st Baron McGowan, and had issue:
(1) Hon. Kirstie Mary Allsopp (b. 1971), born 31 August 1971; television presenter and property agent; partner of Ben Andersen, property developer, and has issue two sons;
(2) Henry William Allsopp (b. 1973), 7th Baron Hindlip, born 8 June 1973; art dealer; married, 28 May 2012, Hon. Naomi Gummer, daughter of Peter Selwyn Gummer, Baron Chadlington, and has issue one son and one daughter;
(3) Hon. Sophia Atherley Allsopp (b. 1980); television presenter; married Robert Fletcher and had issue one son
(4) Hon. Natasha Fiona Allsopp (b. 1986).
He lived at Lydden House, King's Stag (Dorset).
He died 5 June 2024. His wife died 6 January 2014.

Sources
Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 2003, pp. 2058-9; Who's Who, 2013, p. 1070;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirstie_Allsopp; 

Location of archives
Allsopp family of Hindlip Hall, Barons Hindlip: Worcestershire and Derbyshire estate papers and family papers, 19th-20th cents. [Worcestershire Archive & Archaeology Service, BA9875]

Coat of arms
Sable three pheons in chevron or between as many doves rising argent, each holding in the beak an ear of wheat of the second.

Revision and acknowledgements
This post was first published 9 March 2014 and was updated 21 February 2015, 26 February and 8 June 2024.