I felt it important to also look up facts concerning Henry's father, Walter
Leveridge Hodgkinson who married in 1869. Henry was the eldest child ( or
perhaps the eldest surviving child). Walter's own father was George, an Edge
Tool Manufacturer. Walter was in 1871 described as secretary to a
manufacturing company, in 1881 as a brewer. It was a dramatic change of
employment. His address was 224 Birchfield Road in 1881, which was quite a
grand house evidebtly associated with the Birchfield Brewery, which belonged
to Edward Cartwright. There was a close association between Cartwright and
H.C Fulford, maltster and Cartwight, Fulford and Hodgkinson came together to
form the Holt Brewery Company Ltd in 1887. Fulford and Hodgkinson became
joint managing directors. Their main brewery was close to the Digbeth Branch
Canal in Holt Street.

Walter evidently carried the firm through to a period of increasing
prosperity, buiding up a large number of public houses and beer shops with
the Holt name. It was with this this background, and priveledges, that Henry
grew up and to an extent may have influenced his interests, having the funds
to do so.

Ray Shill