In 1730 Charles Hopton (1654-1731), a wealthy member of the Guild of Fishmongers, bequeathed the bulk of his fortune to his sister Elizabeth, with the instruction that after her death the money was to be passed to trustees and used to build almshouses for poor single men of good character living in Southwark.

Elizabeth Hopton died in 1739 and, in 1743, the trustees purchased land near the Green Walk on which to build almshouses. The existing properties were demolished and almshouses built in their place between 1746 and 1749. The cost of the land and the buildings was around £2,700.

The buildings, consisting of 26 almshouses and a committee room, were arranged around three sides of a quadrangle containing lawns planted with shrubs and rosebushes. The site was surrounded by a brick wall.

At the first committee meeting on 10th July 1752, 26 poor elderly single men were chosen to occupy the dwellings (each almshouse consisted of an upper and a lower room). The applicants included gardeners, watermen and fishermen. Each received a stipend of not less than £6 a year, as well as 32 bushels of coal.

The almsmen were allowed to marry but, according to the rules, any children resulting from the marriage were not permitted to be chargeable to the parish.

In 1825 the almshouses were extended, when two extra houses were added to the site.

By the 19th century each almsman received a stipend of £10 a year and a chaldron of coals.

In the late 19th century the Green Walk was renamed Hopton Street.

During WW2 (1939-1945) an air-raid shelter was built in the garden. During the Blitz, in April and May 1951 four almshouses were destroyed (Nos. 1, 2, 27 and 28) and three more seriously damaged (Nos. 3, 4 and 5).

In 1988 the almshouses were rebuilt and modernised, while preserving the external appearance. The trustees provided a communal kitchen and a common room named the John Fry Room (John Fry founded the Hopton's Charity Comforts Fund in 1927 to provide aid for poor almsmen and their wives), with living accommodation above.

Since the modernisation, 20 one-bedroom almshouses have been available for men and their wives from the Southwark area.

In 2012 the residents voted to end the ban on women applying to live in the almshouses.

Current status