Recorded History seems to have passed Hopton by,until the English Civil War,when,garrisoned for Parliament in 1643,by Henry Wallop,with 31 men under Samuel More.In 1644 Sir Michael Woodhouse,led a Royalist force,which breached the bailey wall and burned the porch of the keep.The garrison surrendered,but were then tied back to back and thrown into the moat.The castle was mostly demolished then.The keep sits on a former motte,suggesting that the castle started out as a motte and bailey castle.
see http://www.ecastles.co.uk/philipdavis/English%20sites/3125.html