George Hudson his time as Mayor of York is still displayed in the York Mansion House, once found in the basement and currently at the top of the main staircase. The painting has itself survived the years following his fall from grace in remarkable condition, but its frame, bearing a description of his accomplishments and titles has been disfigured, thought to be the work of disgruntled successors. George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known
George Hudson of 5%. The merger was agreed in September 1843 despite some opposition from the Midland Counties directors, and Hudson became the Midland Railway’s first chairman. Royal assent was given to the merger on 10 May 1844. In 1845, as a result of work by vice-chairman John Ellis, the Midland leased the Bristol and Gloucester Railway and Birmingham and Gloucester Railway and Hudson's railways linked Gateshead in the north with Bristol in the south. In May of that year a company was formed to build a line from Manchester via Buxton and Matlock to Ambergate on the Midland line just north