Brewery boss used 'bounties of ample purse in elections'

Revealing the fascinating stories behind the faces that hang on Barnstaple's Guildhall walls, researcher Nigel Salsbury continues our series on past notable figures from the town

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THE main chamber of the Guildhall has 41 large portraits around the walls. They portray some of the old worthies of the borough.

One of these shows Frederick Hodgson who was MP for Barnstaple on five occasions over some 17 years. In 1885 his portrait was donated to the council by two nephews.

Frederick Hodgson was born into a family of brewers in Bromley by Bow in East London and in 1816 he inherited the business.

With the brewery being near the London Docks his father had built a very successful business supplying captains of the East India Company (EIC) ships with a light beer which was then shipped to India and widely distributed across the country to the British expatriates. It became known as Hodgson's India Pale Ale (IPA).