King is back

THESE are stirring times for George Hudson, York's much-maligned Railway King.

The National Railway Museum has unearthed a fascinating document which proves, once and for all, that Hudson was not universally loathed, while a new book has just been published praising his contribution to Whitby.

George Hudson's enemies, of whom there are many, will be spinning in their graves.

It is, I suppose, rather ironic that it is the National Railway Museum which has suddenly come running to the rescue of George Hudson's reputation.

Hitherto, just like the ungrateful city of York, which dare not speak Hudson's name, the Museum has airbrushed the Railway King from history. It mattered little that the National Railway Museum would not be based in York, had it not been for Hudson.

Still, that was then and this is now. This month the NRM has rediscovered a long-forgotten scroll of parchment extolling the virtues of the "disgraced" York railway pioneer and shedding new light on his downfall.

The document, which has been in storage at the museum since 1978, brings new evidence to bear about the controversial businessman and politician, who masterminded the creation of much of Britain's railway network, before scandalising Victorian society with his spectacular fall from grace, leading to bankruptcy and exile.

The testimonial letter to the former Sunderland MP is signed by the mayor of the town, eight justices of the peace and nearly 1,000 constituents making it several metres long.

It was given to George Hudson at Newby Park, Yorkshire, on the eve of the investigations into his affairs 156 years ago, on May Day, 1849. The letter speaks of "unjust attacks and unmeasured abuse" levelled against the railway pioneer and insists Hudson had "no intention to do wrong".

It reveals Hudson's huge popularity and support base, suggesting he may have been damagingly misrepresented by those who argued that he was of dubious character.

There is no doubt that this testimonial reaffirms my theory on how popular George Hudson actually was, and rightly so - he achieved many great things during his prime years, including putting York at the centre of the railways.

As we recover from the ordeal of this year's General Election, I wonder how many MPs who sought election this month could claim the same level of unwavering allegiance?

It helps confirm to me that it was, indeed, an elite minority who, motivated by greed and jealousy, managed to bring about Hudson's downfall.

The letter is typical of the rich archive of treasures now stored behind the scenes at the NRM and, as a result, largely inaccessible to most visitors.

If the museum's Search Engine project gets the go ahead, it will make documents like this available for everyone on a daily basis.

A bid for £1 million is being submitted to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) in June to help fund Search Engine, which will be a £3 million project aiming to create a completely new walk-in library and archives information centre on the great hall balcony, integrating general NRM visitors with research users at the museum and making more of the NRM's vast hidden resources open to the public. This bid deserves to succeed.

Meanwhile, I am delighted to report that George Hudson's battered reputation has received another timely boost this week with the publication of a splendid new book called George Hudson And Whitby by Cordelia Stamp (Caedmon Press, £5.95). Just as Hudson was instrumental in the prosperity of York and Sunderland in the mid-19th century, so too did he help in the regeneration of Whitby.

Cordelia Stamp, a tremendous Hudson enthusiast who loves her subject as much as her adoptive town of Whitby, outlines the crucial part that the Railway King played in ensuring that Whitby did not lose out to more illustrious 'southern' neighbours such as Scarborough and Filey.

Hudson established the Whitby Building Company in 1843 and, five years later, the company bought the entire West Cliff Estate.

Cordelia Stamp takes up the story:

"The first item in his agenda was to build a large hotel to accommodate the anticipated influx of holiday visitors.

So the Royal Hotel was built, alongside an equally imposing terrace and East Crescent.

"The official architect was John Dobson, renowned for designing Newcastle Central Station.

"Hudson had planned to erect a magnificent crescent, which would be the equal, if not outshine, that of Bath. Sadly, he owed moneylenders too much money and when the bubble burst, it transpired the West Cliff Estate had been used as security for Hudson's loans. That is why the Royal Crescent remains only half completed today."

That was not the end of Hudson's connections with Whitby. Far from it. In 1865 he returned from exile to contest the Whitby seat for the Conservatives in the General Election.

He would have won the seat, too, but for some Alastair Campbell-like manoeuvring behind the scenes by his opponents on the eve of election day, which led to his arrest and imprisonment on a series of trumped-up charges.

Cordelia Stamp tells the story of George Hudson's adventures in Whitby with verve and compassion. She is helping, together with the National Railway Museum, to rescue Hudson's reputation from the doldrums where it has remained, so unjustly, for far too long.

Now, I suggest, it is the city of York's turn to offer forgiveness to one of its most famous sons. A statue to the Railway King may be a first step.

Robert Beaumont is the author of George Hudson: The Railway King (Headline, £7.99), which is available at all good bookshops

Updated: 11:03 Monday, May 16, 2005