Richard Hodgson-Huntley, also known as Richard Hodgson until 1870, (1 April 1812 – 22 December 1877) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Conservative Party politician and railway entrepreneur.

Family

Known as Hodgson at the time, Hodgson-Huntley was the second son of John Hodgson and Sarah, daughter of Richard Huntley. He married Catherine Moneypenny, daughter of Anthony Compton. They had at least one child: Katherine Isabella.

Political career

The then-Hodgson was elected a

protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...

Conservative MP for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

1837 Events January–March * January 1 – The destructive Galilee earthquake causes thousands of deaths in Ottoman Syria. * January 26 – Michigan becomes the 26th state admitted to the United States. * February 4 – Seminoles attack Fo ...

. He held the seat until 1847 when he stood down in order to contest

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, a seat his brother, John Hodgson, was retiring from; he was unsuccessful. Hodgson returned to Berwick-upon-Tweed to contest the 1852 general election and by-elections in

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – ** Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. **U.S. President-elect ...

and

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Under the rule of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, the provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia are uni ...

but failed to recapture the seat. He later returned to parliament for Tynemouth and North Shields, elected at the by-election in 1861 and held the seat until 1865 when he was defeated.

Railways

From 1855 to 1866, Hodgson-Huntley was the chairman of the

North British Railway The North British Railway was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was established in 1844, with the intention of linking with English railways at Berwick. The line opened in 1846, ...

Board of Directors. He joined at a time of particular financial discordance, after former chairman John Learmonth had invested heavily in subscriptions to other railways, with huge sums being written off in failed ventures, and similar sized sums were being sought for new ones.David Ross, ''The North British Railway: A History'', Stenlake Publishing Limited, Catrine, 2014, Hodgson-Huntley's reign saw the company's financial position significantly improved and, within one year of his chairmanship beginning, operating expenses were cut to 44% and he announced the company was free from debt, and a dividend of 2.5% to shareholders. Although the company's dividends varied during his chairmanship – such as in 1862 when capital commitments again swamped the company's financial resources – they regularly hit up to 3%. Yet, twice in 1866, he proposed a 3% dividend on ordinary shares, only for the share price to decline. On the second occasion, a new company secretary, John Walker, alerted the finance committee to poor company finances. A new preference share issue had been flopped, and it was impossible to pay debenture interest and preference share-guaranteed dividends. This revelation saw ordinary shares fall in value by 8% overnight, and widespread financial impropriety and falsification accounts were blamed on Hodgson, causing a special general meeting on 14 November 1866. Hodgson decided not to attend, instead tendering his resignation from the board, while blaming his non-attendance on a headache.

Other activities

He also chaired the Tweed Commissions, and a Justice of the Peace for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

. In 1877, until his death, he was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

. In 1870 he ordered the first rebuilding of

Carham Hall Carham Hall is a grade II listed building near Carham in Northumberland, England. The site, on the Scottish border, was previously occupied by a Tower houses in Britain and Ireland, medieval tower house, built as a defence from border reivers. ...

to create four bays along its Southern Elevation.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hodgson-Huntley, Richard UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1859–1865 1812 births 1877 deaths High sheriffs of Northumberland Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies