Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, 1st Viscount Devonport, (1 September 1856 – 5 September 1934), styled Lord Devonport between 1910 and 1917, was a British grocer and politician. He founded the International Tea Company's Stores, became the first chairman of the Port of London Authority, and served as

Minister of Food Control The Minister of Food Control (1916–1921) and the Minister of Food (1939–1958) were British government ministerial posts separated from that of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Minister of Agriculture. In the Great War the Minist ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

Early life and business career

Devonport was the tenth and youngest child of George Ewbanke Kearley (1814–1876) and his wife, Mary Ann Hudson. He studied at Surrey County School (now

Cranleigh School Cranleigh School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) in the village of Cranleigh, Surrey. History It was opened on 29 September 1865 as a boys' school 'to provide a sound and plain education, on the principles o ...

) and joined Tetley & Sons in 1872. In 1876, Devonport founded a tea importing company, known as Kearley and Tonge from 1887, and began retailing his own goods in 1878. In 1890, he had over 200 branches trading as

International Stores International Tea Co. Stores was a leading chain of grocers based in London. It was an original constituent of the FT 30 index of leading companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The business was founded in 1878 by Hudson Kearley ...

and in 1895, both companies were combined to form International Tea Company's Stores and shares were offered to the public.

Marriage and family

Hudson Kearley married Selina Chester in 1888. They had three children: daughter Beryl, and sons Gerald, 2nd Viscount Devonport, and Mark.

Public service

Devonport was elected as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Devonport in the 1892 general election. He was appointed a deputy lieutenant of Buckinghamshire in 1901. In 1903, he was appointed

Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Trade in the United Kingdom was a member of Parliament assigned to assist the Board of Trade and its President with administration and liaison with Parliament. It replaced the Vice-President of the Board ...

, assisting the President of the Board of Trade,

David Lloyd George David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...

. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14t ...

, of Wittington in the Parish of Medmenham in the County of Buckingham, on 22 July 1908 and became a member of the Privy Council in 1909. He retired from the lower house after the January 1910 general election. He played an important part in the passage of the

Port of London The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North Se ...

Bill in 1908 and served as unpaid chairman of the Port of London Authority from 1909 until 1925. He was elevated to the peerage as Baron Devonport, ''of Wittington in the County of Buckingham'' on 15 July 1910. It was reported in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' that he declined to contribute to party funds in return for the peerage, feeling that his party contribution and unpaid services in relation to the Port of London were great enough to warrant the distinction without payment. After proposing to submit the related correspondence to the press, no money was exchanged. This did not save him from being the subject of a savage epigram by

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc (, ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a Franco-English writer and historian of the early twentieth century. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. H ...

: ''The grocer Hudson Kearley, he'' ''When purchasing his barony'' ''Considered first, we understand,'' ''The title of Lord Sugarsand,'' ''Or then again he might have been'' ''Lord Underweight of Margarine:'' ''But being of the nobler sort'' ''He took the title Devonport.'' He was appointed as

in December 1916 by Lloyd George and he submitted a proposal for compulsory

rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

in May 1917, seemingly delayed as to protect the interests of retailers. He came under attack, particularly from

Noel Pemberton Billing Noel Pemberton Billing (31 January 1881 – 11 November 1948), sometimes known as Noel Pemberton-Billing, was a British aviator, inventor, publisher and Member of Parliament for Hertford. He founded the firm that became Supermarine and promoted ...

, with insinuations of

war profiteering A war profiteer is any person or organization that derives profit from warfare or by selling weapons and other goods to parties at war. The term typically carries strong negative connotations. General profiteering, making a profit criticized a ...

. On 1 June 1917 he resigned due to "ill health". Announced in the

1917 Birthday Honours The 1917 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of The King, and were ...

he was created Viscount Devonport, ''of Wittington in the County of Buckingham'' on 22 June 1917. Wittington was his estate where Wittington House was constructed in 1897 based on Sir

Reginald Blomfield Sir Reginald Theodore Blomfield (20 December 1856 – 27 December 1942) was a prolific British architect, garden designer and author of the Victorian and Edwardian period. Early life and career Blomfield was born at Bow rectory in Devon, w ...

's design. Bloomfield was asked to significantly enlarge the house in 1908. The gardens of Kearley's estate were maintained by hundreds of gardeners.

References

* * In the 1890s he built a shooting lodge called Gwylfa Hiraethog on the top of the Denbigh Moors. Although abandoned since the 1950s, its ruins are still a prominent landmark for miles around.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Devonport, Hudson Kearley, 1st Viscount 1856 births 1934 deaths Deputy Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Viscounts in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Kearley, Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, Hudson Ewbanke Kearley, Hudson Ewbanke UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Cranleigh School Parliamentary Secretaries to the Board of Trade Liberal Party (UK) hereditary peers Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George V