Hopkins, who became one of the most prominent townspeople of Warwick, probably came from a local family, although his earliest known property dealings (in 1372) concerned tenements which his wife had inherited in Kenilworth. In 1383 he purchased two messuages in Warwick, and in later years either he or a namesake rented a house there from St. Mary’s college.
In 1363 Hopkins had witnessed at Warwick the grant of the manor of Moreton ‘Daubeney’ to the lord of the borough, Thomas, earl of Warwick, and within a few years he had become the leading burgess (probably holding office as senior bailiff, by the earl’s appointment). In 1374, 1377 and 1380, when royal grants of portage were made for the repair of the ‘great bridge’ over the Avon, on each occasion the group of five townsmen put in charge of the collection and disbursement of the money was headed by Hopkins. Furthermore, in 1383 he headed the list of 13 townsmen who, with the aid of the earl, procured a royal licence to found a guild in honour of the Holy Trinity and St. Mary in St. Mary’s church, a guild which was subsequently to assume considerable importance in the life of the community.
It is difficult to ascertain when the career of this William Hopkins ended and that of a namesake, of equal prominence in the affairs of Warwick, began. One of them was appointed bailiff of the town by Richard, earl of Warwick, some time before the autumn of 1408, and continued to hold that office for at least ten years. A William Hopkins witnessed several local deeds (notably on behalf of Robert Hugford, the supervisor of the earl’s estates), served on juries (for instance on that of 1417 which provided information to the royal commissioners investigating lollardy), and attended parliamentary elections for the borough on no fewer than 12 occasions between 1410 and 1433.