• American actor, screenwriter and producer Hopwood DePree discovered his family’s ancestral home while researching online.
• When DePree moved near Manchester, England, to save Hopwood Hall, the 600-year-old estate was virtually ruined.
• Downton Shabby: One American’s Ultimate DIY Adventure Restoring His Family’s English Castle is released with William Morrow (HarperCollins) on May 31.

LONDON — Many people researching information about their ancestors on genealogy websites come across poignant geographic details, long-lost relatives or historical insights — good, bad and ugly.

Michigan-born actor, screenwriter and producer Hopwood DePree found an abandoned housebut once resplendent 50,000 square foot estate in the English countryside – his family’s ancestral home where his 14th great-grandfather was born.