United Kingdom. A Sheriff Of London Badge, Attributed To Sir George Edmund Hodgkinson C.1850

An absolutely outstanding badge finely crafted in 22k gold,with highly ornate hand etched detailings, proudly presenting the coat-of-arms of the City of London, the County of Middlesex, both with finely detailed white and red enamels, with white enameled banner inscribed in Latin "IN DEO SPES" (Faith in God), centre with the family crest of the Sheriff of London George Edmund Hodgkinson as well as his wife Ellen Hopkinson, each in enamels with gold details, of hollow construction with the elaborate obverse mounted to a 14k backplate by 10 pins, edge of badge hand etched, reverse with single stay behind large prominent slider, measuring 59 mm (w) x 71 mm (h), 68.8 grams, with only very minor enamel loss to family coat of arms, 2 side pins loose inside badge, nonetheless, a badge of superior quality that is difficult to compare. Highly aesthetically appealing and extremely fine. Rare.

Footnote: George Edmund Hodgkinson was born on February 24, 1817 in Southwell, Nottinghamshire (Derbyshire on his grave marker), England, the only son of George Hodgkinson (1792-1870), Esquire and Julia Beevor Hodgkinson of Dorset Square, Regent's Park. He was baptized a week later, on March 3, 1817. At the age of 31, he married Ellen Hopkinson (born 1824), the daughter of Luke Hopkinson, Esquire and Elizabeth Wrightson of Bedford-row, London, on August 16, 1848. The couple would later have two sons: George Luke Hodgkinson (1849-1917, who married Eveline Isabella Pidock in 1896) and Edmund Hugh Hodgkinson (1857-1943, who married Florence Tritton in 1888). George Edmund Hodgkinson became one of two Sheriffs of London and Middlesex in 1850-1851, the other being Robert Walter Carden, Alderman, both of which served under Lord Mayor Sir John Musgrove, Baronet. An inauguration dinner for both Sheriffs was held at the London Tavern in London. In The Times of London, dated Tuesday, October 1, 1850, an article described the previous evening's festivities, which included a "banquet of a sumptuous character", the dinner attended by upwards of two hundred gentlemen. The Lord Mayor took the chair, flanked by the Sheriffs on either side, graced by the "occasional musical performance, both vocal and instrumental" throughout the evening. George Edmund Hodgkinson was knighted after the Queen's visit to the city in 1851 and created a Knight Bachelor. After finishing his term as Sheriff, he was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant (D.L.) of Middlesex in 1852, also serving as a Justice of the Peace (J.P.). As of 1854, his stated residence was 8 Upper Wimpole Street, Cavendish Square, London. Sir George Edmund Hodgkinson was a Shipowner and Insurance Agent by trade at 74 Cornwill and was formerly in partnership with the late Sir John Pirie, 1st Baronet. Hodgkinson chartered ships to Her Majesty's Government, for transporting troops to war in the Crimea and in India, along with delivering convicts to Australia. When settlement of Australia and New Zealand followed, he charter ships for this as well. He and his wife had country homes in Caterham and Warlingham. Lady Ellen died on June 9, 1864 in Godstone, Tandridge District, Surrey, at the age of 39. Sir George Edmund Hodgkinson was a widower for almost twenty-two years, when he died on March 26, 1886, in Bournemouth, Bournemouth Unitary Authority, Dorset, at the age of 69. He was buried in All Saints Churchyard, Warlingham, Tandridge District, Surrey, the same cemetery where his wife, Lady Ellen Hodgkinson, was buried. His grave marker is inscribed "SACRED to the Memory of SIR GEORGE EDMUND HODGKINSON, J.P.D.L / BORN 24th FEBRUARY 1817 AT SOUTHWELL DERBYSHIRE / DIED 26th MARCH 1866 AT BOURNEMOUTH / AND THEY THAT KNOW THY NAME WILL PUT THEIR TRUST IN THEE FOR THOU, LORD HAST NOT FORSAKEN THEM THAT SEE THEE". Nineteen years after their father's passing, a letter from the law firm of Hollams, Sons Coward & Hawksley was issued from the sons of the late Sir George Edmund Hodgkinson, dated March 21, 1905, issuing a cheque in the amount of One Thousand Pounds, to St. Luke's Hospital for Mental Diseases in London. The letter indicated that it was the senior Hodgkinson's desire that a certain part of his property should be applied by his sons, who were also his executors, for religious or charitable objects or personal charities. The sons distributed the amount among institutions and in personal charities, "in accordance with what they believe to have been his wish". All Saints Church in Warlingham, Surrey, England held a churchyard festival in May 2008, the bishop blessing some land which had been given to the church by Edmund Hugh Hodgkinson, in memory of his father Sir George Edmund Hodgkinson. Sir George, his wife, Lady Ellen Hodgkinson, their two sons George Luke Hodgkinson (1849-1917) and Edmund Hugh Hodgkinson (1857-1943) and George Luke's wife, Eveline Isabelle Hodgkinson (1857-1903), are all buried there.