Origins of the Surname of Hope - Section 6
6. North Wales.
The suggestion is that the first Hope in Scotland the John Hope of Peeblesshire that signed the Ragman Roll in 1296 possibly came from the area of Hope in Flintshire, North Wales - however recent DNA evidence indicates otherwise and that John Hope was of Scottish Border stock. The origin of the surname of Hope is covered extensively in the Hope Origins page - the enclosed valley is probably the most likely source for the origin of the surname in Wales. What is very interesting is though it was called Hope in the Doomsday Book of 1086 it subsequently appears in the records as Hopp in 1283, Hob in 1580, yr hope in 1628 and Yr Hob c1700 as it is today. The interchange of Hope and Hob is significant - particularly for the Scottish Borders - see Scottish Borders after 1286 page..
Were there any lead mines in this area - see the English Hopes page for a possible connection between hope and lead mines.
The castle and lands of Hope at this time were extensive and apart from the parish of Hope (Yr Hob in Welsh) the lordship extended from the outskirts of Hawarden to the north of Wrexham. The Lordship was held at this time by Eleanor, beloved Queen of Edward I. It is recorded in 1297 that Edward ordered levies of men to be raised in Wales for the expedition in Scotland and one of the locations was Hope and adjoining lands of Inglefield and the Monte Alto valley.
There is recorded a Hope family in Hawarden known as the The Hopes, of Broughton. The earliest recorded member of this family was Hugh Hope of Hawarden, 1297. The last of this line was Penelope Hope the only child of George Hope who married the Rev. John Eyton c1752. At this time the Hope estates were sold including the Hope Family seat of Broughton Hall. The heraldry of this family as indicated with the armorial at the head of this page is covered in the North Wales section of Section 9 Hope Family Heraldry where it is noted that the armorial is very similar to that of the Hope family of Derbyshire and also to the arms of Flintshire.
The area of Hope in North Wales may have in more recent times (eighteenth century)been adopted as part of the surname of another family - namely the family with the surname of Gordon Hope.
The lands of Hope or at least the Monte Alto (Haut Monde) (Hope Mountain) part of them is the origin of another Scottish family namely the Mouats (Mowat). the name Mouat and also the name of the town of Mold in North Wales are corruptions of Monte Alto. The Mouats originally came from France, settled in Wales and moved on to Scotland, first to Peeblesshire in the Borders then on to Moray, in the thirteenth century. The clan motto is "Monte Alto" meaning on a high mountain. The Mouats left there mark in Peeblesshire by being a signatory of the Ragman Roll of 1296 - more about this on page 2.2.The Hopes of the Borders after 1296.
Coincidentally on the southern shore of the Moray Firth in North East Scotland there is a Hautmonde, the old name of an estate. Nearby is the village, founded in 1805 of Hopeman, a corruption of Hautmonde. (The fact that the french word haut for high can be corrupted to Hope in both North Wales and in Scotland is interesting)
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