4. North Wales.
The suggestion is that the first Hope in Scotland the John Hope that signed the Ragman's Roll in 1296 - See Section 3 The Border Hopes - possibly came from the area of Hope in Flintshire North Wales. 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 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 following website has interesting details:-
www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northwest/sites/familyhistory/pages/gordons.shtml
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 in the thirteenth century. The clan motto is "Monte Alto" meaning on a high mountain. For view of Hope Mountain visit:-
www.bbc.co.uk/wales/northeast/panoramics/pages/hope_mountain.shtml
www.geograph.org.uk/photo/358470
Coincidentally on the southern shore of the Moray Firth 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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