Name

Lord Devonport (South 1867)

CLAIM TO FAME

Chairman of the Port of London Authority, at the time an important role, from 1909 to 1925, and served as Minister of Food Control from 1916 to 1917 when he proposed compulsory rationing.

PROFILE

Hudson Kearley came to Cranleigh in its second year and went on to become one of the pioneering grocers of his age.  In 1876 he founded a tea importing business and a retail company, and by 1890 he had over 200 outlets across the country trading as International Stores, including one in Cranleigh which remained trading under that name until 1976 – the site is now the Curry Inn.

The joint company was floated on the stock market in 1905 and eventually became part of the Somerfield chain. He became MP for Devonport in 1892, retiring after the 1910 election when he was elevated to the peerage. He was chairman of the Port of London Authority, at the time an important role, from 1909 to 1925, and served as Minister of Food Control from 1916 to 1917 when he proposed compulsory rationing.

He was closely involved in Cranleigh life and when funding for the extensive building plan of the 1920s faltered, he underwrote the cost of what became the Devonport Speech Hall.  He died in 1934 aged 78.