Thomas Law Hodges (1776 – 14 May 1857) was an English Whig Party politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

variously between 1830 and 1852. Hodges was the son of Thomas Hallet Hodges of

Hemsted Park Hemsted Park, historically sometimes known as Hempsted Park,
Benenden, Kent Archaeological Socie ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and his wife Dorothy Cartwright, daughter of William Cartwright of Marnham Hall Nottinghamshire. He was a Deputy Lieutenant for Kent, a J.P. for Kent and Sussex and chairman of the quarter sessions. He was a major in the West Kent Militia.Monumental Inscriptions of Benenden Church and Churchyard, from a book, published in 1889 by Rev Francis Haslewood, Rector of St Matthew's Church, Ipswich
/ref> At the 1830 general election, Hodges was elected as a

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 of ...

(MP) for

. He was re-elected in

1831 Events January–March * January 1 – William Lloyd Garrison begins publishing '' The Liberator'', an anti-slavery newspaper, in Boston, Massachusetts. * January 10 – Japanese department store, Takashimaya in Kyoto establ ...

, and held the seat until it was divided under the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

in 1832. At the 1832 general election he was elected as an MP for

West Kent Kent is a traditional county in South East England with long-established human occupation. Prehistoric Kent Kent has been occupied since the Lower Palaeolithic as finds from the quarries at Fordwich and Swanscombe attest. The Swanscombe skul ...

, holding that seat until

1841 Events January–March * January 20 – Charles Elliot of the United Kingdom, and Qishan of the Qing dynasty, agree to the Convention of Chuenpi. * January 26 – Britain occupies Hong Kong. Later in the year, the first census of the i ...

, when two

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidates were elected unopposed. He was returned for West Kent at a contested election in

1847 Events January–March * January 4 – Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the U.S. government. * January 13 – The Treaty of Cahuenga ends fighting in the Mexican–American War in California. * January 16 – John C. Frémont ...

and held the seat until his defeat at the 1852 general election. Hodges lived at Hemsted Place, Cranbrook, Kent, and died at the age of 80. Hodges married Rebecca Twisden, daughter of Sir Roger Twisden, Bt in 1802. His son

Thomas Twisden Hodges Thomas Twisden Hodges (29 August 1809 – 12 March 1865) was an English Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1835 and 1852. Hodges was the son of Thomas Law Hodges of Hemsted Park, MP for West Kent, an ...

was also a politician.

References

External links

*
Tate Collection - Portrait
by

Sir William Beechey Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was an English portraitist during the golden age of British painting. Early life Beechey was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, an ...

1776 births 1857 deaths UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1847–1852 Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub