The Hopper Family
The Hopper Family was one of the pillars of the British community in Moscow in the 19th and early 20th century. Just like the McGills, the first Hopper, William - or Vassily Yakovlevich Gopper, as he was known in Russia - was originally from Scotland. Together with his partner Mr. Wrigley, he opened a machine works in Moscow in 1847. William Hopper always played an important role in the English chapel in Bolshoy Chernyshevsky lane (he died the year the brand new St.Andrew's was consecrated), and one of his sons - Allan - was St.Andrew's warden from 1896 to 1901. Hopper's legacy is a little easier to trace in Moscow, since his factory still exists, and inside it... there is a museum!!!
The factory, or rather, the plant has been bearing the name and the patronymic of Lenin since 1922. This was a cradle of revolutionary movement in Moscow, and Vladimir Lenin was a frequent and beloved visitor to the plant. The workers loved to listen to his speeches. It was after one of such visits, when Lenin was leaving the plant building, that Fanny Kaplan shot and wounded him. The workers put a commemorative stone in the spot where that happened:
Later the elders of the plant asked the permission to name the plant after Lenin. It was still when Lenin was alive, and it took some time and persuasion. They did not want it to sound too official, though, they wanted it to be more intimate, the way they addressed him in their talks - by his name and patronymic, this is why it is not Lenin plant, it is Vladimir Ilyich plant. The plant was one of the biggest and most important in the Soviet times. During WWII it manufactured ammunition, rockets for Katyushas in particular. Thanks to all that, the plant has a museum. And the museum's exposition begins with the founding 'exploiter and oppressor of the workers': William Hopper! Although, not with his younger years.
William Hopper
About his younger years we learn from his obituary by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers of which he became a member in 1867:
William Hopper
William Hopper
- was born at Penicuick near Edinburgh on 22 June 1816;
- at the age of 15 was apprenticed as a millwright to Mr. Trotter, Broomhouse Paper Mills, Berwickshire;
- served his apprenticeship both there and at Kelso;
- in 1838 went to Manchester and served with Sir William Fairborn; Messrs. Wren and Bennett; and Messrs. Gordon and Davis;
- in 1842 went to Mr. Benjamin Hick, Bolton, by whom he was sent in June 1843 to Russia;
- in Russia he first undertook the erection of the gearing in a cotton-mill being built near St. Petersburg by Messrs. Egerton Hubbard and Co;
- then went to Moscow and performed the same service at Mazurin's mill and subsequently at Lepioshkin's;
- in 1847, having finished the latter mill, he entered into partnership with Mr. Wrigley and started a foundry in connection with a small weaving mill.
In the museum there is a copy of the cover page of the document from the office of the Chief of Moscow Police which says that On the orders of Moscow Military General-Governor the case of foreigner Wrigley and his partner Hopper on founding an enterprise for preparation of machines was started on June 8, 1847 and closed on July 5, 1847 and contains 5 pages. The other pages were not on the display, but the decision was obviously positive since the enterprise was indeed founded and in September 1847 manufacturing began.
Earlier the same year, on May 25, 1847, Wrigley and Hopper were granted by the Russian Ministry of Finance a guild fee waiver for 5 years for running a mechanical enterprise. I first found this information in the book called History of Moscow Merchants Society 1863-1913:
But in the museum there is a copy of the original hand-written document!
From another document in the museum it is clear that it was a "merchant Colley" who sold the land with the buildings to Wrigley and Hopper to start a foundry - another Scot whose family was so well-known in Moscow (see The Colley Family).
In 1867 William Hopper bought Wrigley's share of the enterprise and became the owner of the whole company. His steam engines were exhibited at Russian and European exhibitions, and even though in the 1860s and 1870s they were not the most powerful ones (600 horsepower, while the most powerful ones, 800 and 1200 horsepower, were produced by the Bromley brothers in Moscow (originally from Hannover) and at Putilovo plant in St Petersburg, which was founded in the early 1800s by three Scots), they were very high quality.
In 1896, 11 years after William Hopper's death, the company was represented at the famous Nizhny Novgorod Exhibition by his sons, but in the Exhibition Album we still see his own portrait, as the company still bears his name: Vassily Yakovlevich Gopper & Co. By this time (in 1886) the plant had acquired an additional location at Orekhovo, not far from Moscow.
After William Hopper's death his company was inherited by his widow Elizabeth (Elizaveta Ivanovna) and his four sons: Allan, James Russel, Willie and Sydney. The factory continued to belong to the Hoppers until 1916 when they sold it to a Russian lawyer L.A. Michelson.
In some sources I see one more name - Timothy (Timofey Vassilievich), and it is difficult to figure out whether this is his fifth son (which is unlikely), or his grandson, Willie's son. The first mentioning of Timothy in Moscow Address books dates back to 1913, the last one - to 1923, both years he lived outside of the family main property, far away from the factory.
In some sources I see one more name - Timothy (Timofey Vassilievich), and it is difficult to figure out whether this is his fifth son (which is unlikely), or his grandson, Willie's son. The first mentioning of Timothy in Moscow Address books dates back to 1913, the last one - to 1923, both years he lived outside of the family main property, far away from the factory.
In the factory museum I found excerpts from the memoirs of Evgeny Vasssilievich Yarunin, Senior engineer-designer of the factory (during the Soviet times), who was Chief mechanic of the factory when it belonged to the Hopper family. He wrote his memoirs in 1947 at the age of 64, and although he is complaining of his fading memory, many of the facts that he mentions I was able to trace to other original sources, while his general descriptions provide a fascinating historic first-hand view. Evgeny Yarunin started working for Hopper & Co in April 1905, when the factory belonged to the four Hopper brothers: James, Willie, Allan and Sydney.
Here's one of his observations. Evgeny Yarunin writes:
'I remember that big workshops of the factory had an icon of a saint hanging in each of them - St. Nicholas or St. Andrew, or St. George, and the workshop would be called by the name of this saint... Usually on the day of the saint the workshop would be thoroughly cleaned, the floors would be sprinkled with sand, tables and benches would be brought in. In the morning around 9 or 10 a priest would come and hold a service... After that there would be refreshments served which usually ended in a lot of drinking. The priest drank as much as the workers and I remember that afterwards the workers would noisily take him home in a workshop trolley... During the celebration the owners usually raised toasts; as a rule, it was Allan Vassilievich, and then they drank as much as the workers. The toasts were of the most almond character: to faith, the czar and the merchants.'
It is interesting that out of the 3 saints that Evgeny Yarunin mentions, St.Andrew is a patron saint of both Scotland and Russia, St. George is a patron saint of both England and Moscow, and St. Nicholas is a patron saint of Moscow, Russia and Aberdeen.
'I remember that big workshops of the factory had an icon of a saint hanging in each of them - St. Nicholas or St. Andrew, or St. George, and the workshop would be called by the name of this saint... Usually on the day of the saint the workshop would be thoroughly cleaned, the floors would be sprinkled with sand, tables and benches would be brought in. In the morning around 9 or 10 a priest would come and hold a service... After that there would be refreshments served which usually ended in a lot of drinking. The priest drank as much as the workers and I remember that afterwards the workers would noisily take him home in a workshop trolley... During the celebration the owners usually raised toasts; as a rule, it was Allan Vassilievich, and then they drank as much as the workers. The toasts were of the most almond character: to faith, the czar and the merchants.'
It is interesting that out of the 3 saints that Evgeny Yarunin mentions, St.Andrew is a patron saint of both Scotland and Russia, St. George is a patron saint of both England and Moscow, and St. Nicholas is a patron saint of Moscow, Russia and Aberdeen.
Allan Hopper
Allan Hopper mentioned by Evgeny Yarunin in this religious context, was St.Andrew's church warden from 1896 to 1901. He was married to Esther Agnes Bernard, whose brother Henry Bernard was St.Andrew's chaplain from 1878 to 1888. Henry Bernard was married to Maida Mirrielees, daughter of Archibald Mirrielees, founder of the famous department store in Moscow Muir & Mirrielees Co.
Evgeny Yarunin continues writing about Allan Hopper:
'Allan Vassilievich Gopper was responsible for all of the manufacturing at the factory and was always present in one of the workshops. He was a severe man, not familiar with moderation: he liked drinking Russian vodka, usually started in the morning and by the evening was quite intoxicated. He was married to an English woman who lived in England together with the children. In 1910 Allan Hopper committed suicide, and I only saw his wife and children once - at his funeral.'
I found the proof of this information on one of the sites about Allan's daughter Margaret Esther (1888-1980):
By 1907 the family had acquired a residence in England - 'The Caen', The Common, Ashtead (later called 'Lavendon', the first house on the corner of Ashtead Woods Road with an acre of which part became The Ridings development along Links Road). Reportedly, Allan Hopper took his own life during 1910* and for the 1911 Census Margaret is found with her Mother enumerated at Gwynne House, 11 West Street, Epsom.
'Allan Vassilievich Gopper was responsible for all of the manufacturing at the factory and was always present in one of the workshops. He was a severe man, not familiar with moderation: he liked drinking Russian vodka, usually started in the morning and by the evening was quite intoxicated. He was married to an English woman who lived in England together with the children. In 1910 Allan Hopper committed suicide, and I only saw his wife and children once - at his funeral.'
I found the proof of this information on one of the sites about Allan's daughter Margaret Esther (1888-1980):
By 1907 the family had acquired a residence in England - 'The Caen', The Common, Ashtead (later called 'Lavendon', the first house on the corner of Ashtead Woods Road with an acre of which part became The Ridings development along Links Road). Reportedly, Allan Hopper took his own life during 1910* and for the 1911 Census Margaret is found with her Mother enumerated at Gwynne House, 11 West Street, Epsom.
James Russel Hopper
Of James Russel Hopper Evgeny Yarunin writes the following:
'Yakov Vassilievich Gopper was the technical director of the factory. He received his school education in Moscow and his higher education at Oxford. To gain and then use experience with steam engines he worked for several years in England at John Musgrave's factory and it was from there that he brought his experience to our factory in Moscow. He was a great specialist in steam engines and even designed a special steam engine that was used to provide lighting at the 1896 Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. Yakov Vasilievich was a confirmed bachelor and only liked French women. He left Moscow in autumn 1918, until which time he continued working at our factory.'
'Yakov Vassilievich Gopper was the technical director of the factory. He received his school education in Moscow and his higher education at Oxford. To gain and then use experience with steam engines he worked for several years in England at John Musgrave's factory and it was from there that he brought his experience to our factory in Moscow. He was a great specialist in steam engines and even designed a special steam engine that was used to provide lighting at the 1896 Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod. Yakov Vasilievich was a confirmed bachelor and only liked French women. He left Moscow in autumn 1918, until which time he continued working at our factory.'
It is interesting that Evgeny Yarunin should mention John Musgrave's factory. John Musgrave & Sons happened to be located in Bolton, a place that had a solid connection with the Moscow British industrialists.
The only other thing that I can add about James Russel Hopper is that in 1888, together with his brother WiIlie, he was a member of the technical committee of the Moscow River Yacht Club (first located at Dacha Studenets, and later at Dacha in Vorobyovy Gory), and in 1908 - its Vice-Commodore (=vice-president).
In 1916 James Russel Hopper was the chairman of the Yacht Club's Racing Commission, and in 1917 - the chairman of both, its Racing Commission and Rowing Council.
Willie Hopper
And again, Evgeny Yarunin describes yet another Hopper brother - now Willie Hopper:
'Vassily Vassilievich Gopper was the head of procurement at the factory and also headed the Hopper factory at Orekhovo-Zuyevo. He was separated from the other brothers and received his inheritance, which he very quickly spent (he owned racehorses ). He worked for his brothers as a simple employee - he had a salary. He was married to a Russian lady and had a daughter called Vera who was shot in Moscow in 1919. There were rumours that Vassily Gopper drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in a shipwreck while fleeing from the Revolution.'
'Vassily Vassilievich Gopper was the head of procurement at the factory and also headed the Hopper factory at Orekhovo-Zuyevo. He was separated from the other brothers and received his inheritance, which he very quickly spent (he owned racehorses ). He worked for his brothers as a simple employee - he had a salary. He was married to a Russian lady and had a daughter called Vera who was shot in Moscow in 1919. There were rumours that Vassily Gopper drowned in the Mediterranean Sea in a shipwreck while fleeing from the Revolution.'
Another interesting thing worth mentioning here is that for many years (at least from 1898 to 1916) Willie Hopper was a member of the Committee on Maintenance and Care for the Non-Orthodox cemetery.
Sydney Hopper
Judging by the amount of information one can find in Moscow Address Books, Sydney Hopper was the most active and well-known of the brothers. Not only was he a hereditary honorary citizen, but also member of the Moscow Duma (City Council), member of the Merchant Governing Body, an elected member of the Moscow Stock Exchange Society, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Soldatenkov's Trade School, member of the Committee on the Creation of the Polytechnic Museum, member of the Ladies' Charitable Prison Committee, etc. Here's an add in the 1905 Moscow Address book of the Mutual Insurance Union, where Sydney Hopper is listed as a member of the Board:
Here's what Evgeny Yarunin has to say about him:
'Sydney Vassilievich Gopper was the main person at the factory. He was responsible for all the commercial part of the enterprise, but at the same time was the Director of the Russian Industrial Bank. He was present at the factory every day until 12 noon and then spent the afternoons at the bank. All the brothers were afraid of him and obeyed him, his command was their law. Sydney Vasilievich became a Russian citizen, was married to a Russian princess and had several sons.'
'Sydney Vassilievich Gopper was the main person at the factory. He was responsible for all the commercial part of the enterprise, but at the same time was the Director of the Russian Industrial Bank. He was present at the factory every day until 12 noon and then spent the afternoons at the bank. All the brothers were afraid of him and obeyed him, his command was their law. Sydney Vasilievich became a Russian citizen, was married to a Russian princess and had several sons.'
The Russian princess that Sydney Hopper was married to was Antonina Mikhailovna Vadbolskaya (b.12 Feb 1864), a descendant of a very old and noble Russian family. According to this site, they had three children: Cleopatra Kislovskaya (1891-9 April 1981), Nina Hendrikova (b.1895) and Vassily (1898-1928).
Lucy Hopper Cazalet
Lucy Hopper was one of the two Hopper sisters. According to this website, she was born in Moscow on 2 August 1870 and died in Surrey, England, 23 October 1956, and had four children: Gerildine Yvonne Cazalet, Vincent Arthur Cazalet (1911-1990), Ralph Mirrielees Cazalet (1902-1967) and Elizabeth Russel Cazalet (1903-1909 - in the old registry book at the Vvedensky Cemetery there is an entry for Bessie Cazalet who died 5 April 1909, but I haven't managed to find her grave). She was married to Frederick Archibald Cazalet, cashier and then one of the directors of Muir and Mirrielees Department store in Moscow. It was probably the high position of her husband as well as his family relation to the owners of the store (he was Archibald Mirrielees's grandson) that made Evgeny Yarunin believe that she actually owned the whole store:
'The Gopper brothers had a sister - Lucy Vasilievna Gopper (Cazalet). She owned the Muir and Mirrielees Store in Petrovka (now - Mostorg #1). Once a year she came to the factory, and her arrival was always celebrated with a certain addition to our salaries.'
'The Gopper brothers had a sister - Lucy Vasilievna Gopper (Cazalet). She owned the Muir and Mirrielees Store in Petrovka (now - Mostorg #1). Once a year she came to the factory, and her arrival was always celebrated with a certain addition to our salaries.'
Lucy Hopper studied at Stroganoff Art College and was an avid collector of old Russian art. She was mostly interested in Russian porcelain and pewter. Her article in Connoisseur (Journal on antiques published in London), in summer 1916, was dedicated to Russian pewter:
She is also the author of A Short History of Russia:
On the British Museum site one can find a picture of a Russian apron with the information on the donor. The donor - Maggie Cook - is listed as a great granddaughter of the original owner of the collection (besides the apron there are 7 other items which are not on the site) - Lucy Hopper Cazalet. And it is on this site that we find information about the second Hopper sister - Florence.
Florence Hopper
Florence Hopper, also referred to in different sources as Flo or Florrie, was 8 years older than Lucy, and the textile collection from the British Museum supposedly had belonged to her.
House at Bolshaya Ordynka
According to the Moscow Address Books, as well as this book, the Hoppers also owned a house at 38 Bolshaya Ordynka (built in 1880) from around 1895 to 1912. Surprisingly, this house has survived and can still be seen, the address is 38 Bolshaya Ordynka: