US filmmaker loses UK court fight over ancestral mansion he restored for £750,000

US filmmaker Hopwood DePree has lost his High Court battle to regain access to ancestral Hopwood Hall in England. After securing the 15th-century mansion for £1, he spent nearly a decade restoring the derelict property and invested around £750,000. The council locked him out in 2024 following a planning dispute, while legal costs could reach £114,000.