Laburnum Terrace, Thornbury

George Hodges

George was born in Tockington about 1820.  We have not been able to trace any record of his birth or baptism.  His parents were John Hodges, a builder and his wife, Sarah.  Click here to read more about John and Sarah

George chose to follow in his father's footsteps and take up carpentry as his trade.  The 1841 census shows he is a carpenter journeyman living with his parents in Laburnum Terrace.

George married Mary Fairbrother in Thornbury on 1st June 1850.  Mary had been born in Abingdon, Berkshire, the daughter of James Fairbrother, an ironmonger.  She was to die within a year of the marriage, perhaps caused by the birth of their daughter, Mary Fairbrother Hodges who was born about the same time.

In the 1851 Census, George was a carpenter employing 2 men.  On 24th May 1853 he married again, this time to Tracey Staley, who was 10 years younger than George who was then aged 33.  She was the daughter of Joseph Staley, a farmer from Kington.

By the time of the 1861 Census, George and Tracey had had four children of their own, but one these, Joseph Staley Hodges died within a few months of his birth in 1856.  The other children were; John Hodges who was baptised 4th June 1854, Sarah Ann Hodges, baptised 15th July 1857, Fanny Staley Hodges, baptised 2nd February 1859.

By the 1851 Census George was  employing five men and two boys.  It is likely that he had he had now taken over the building of the last few houses in the house.

The family continued to grow.  George Hodges junior was baptised 12 February 1862, followed by; James Albert Hodges baptised 13th May 1863, Emma Jane Hodges 14th June 1865, Austin Edgar Hodges 29th January 1868 and Laura Evelyn Hodges 14th April 1869.

This means that by the 1871 Census, George and Tracey had five more children.  They were now all living in Laburnum House (now 6 Gloucester Road) which was to be their home for the remainder of George's life.  The size of his carpentry firm had grown in line with his family.  He was now employing 10 men and 1 boy.

By 1881, he was calling himself 'a builder' and employing two of his sons, John and James as carpenters.  George was still working as a builder in 1891 when he was aged 71, and his third son, Austin was following in the family tradition by becoming a carpenter.

In 1892 on February 10th George's son John Hodges died in his home in Castle Street after a long and painful illness, aged only 37 years.  He left a widow and a baby son, also called John Hodges.

By 1901 George had retired. Tracey had died in 1898 aged 68 years.  George died on 22nd June 1905 aged 85 years and he was buried on 26th June 1905.  Tracey and George were both buried in Thornbury Cemetery.

George had become a celebrated member of Thornbury Society.  He was a mace bearer for the Town Corporation for 40 years.  He had the honour of leading the Town processions on days of national importance.   He first carried the Union Jack at the Coronation of Her Majesty the Queen Victoria in 1838 when only 18 years old.  He carried it on 5 more occasions of national importance including the marriage of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales in 1863, Victoria's Jubilee in 1887; the marriage of the Duke of York in 1893 and Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897.  The final occasion was in 1902 at the Coronation of the new King when George was aged 82.  He was also involved in loyalist celebrations such as those following the announcement of the Relief of Ladysmith in 1900 - here George led the 'feu de joie', a gathering and firing of guns in salute.  Apart from his ceremonial duties as Sergeant of the Mace, George was responsible for letting the property belonging to the Town Trust and collecting rents from the tenants.

George was involved in many areas of Thornbury life.  St Mary’s School records show that in 1894 George Hodges "donated peas for the soup at the National School" and various newspaper articles in Gloucester Records Office show that he was a Committee Member for the Thornbury Flower Show in 1884, 1885 and 1888.  In the obituary printed in the Gloucester Journal dated 19th August 1905 it mentioned that George was “a retired builder and an expert connoisseur of old coins, paintings and antique furniture”.  Another obituary in The Dursley Gazette of July 1st 1905 has more about the coins; "A somewhat singular coincidence of the funeral was the fact that his valuable collection of old coins, which he for a number of years had made it one of his greatest hobbies to collect at considerable expense, was sold by auction at Messrs Sotherby’s in London on the same day that his remains were laid to rest.  Sometime previous to his short illness, which terminated in his death, he had consigned his collection of coins to the above firm, and the arrangement for the sale was so far advanced that it was found unpracticable to postpone the sale."

Click here to see more information on the Trustees who managed George Hodges' estate after his death.

Click here to read about George's son John Hodges
 

This page was last updated: 23/01/2012