Frederick Polhill was born on 2 July 1798 the son of John Polhill and Mary Bennett. He was an Independent MP for Bedford from 1830 to 1832, and from 1835 to 1847. He was married firstly to Frances Margaretta Deakin in 1824 and they had six children, four of which died young. Their son, Frederick Charles Polhill-Turner was also MP for Bedford, and High Sheriff of Bedfordshire. The family seat was at Howbury Hall, Renhold, Bedfordshire. Captain Polhill was very keen on the theatre and invested in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and in Covent Garden, but he lost a considerable amount of money, causing a family rift, and divorce. His second marriage was in 1837, to Mary Jeans and they had three children.
Lieutenant Frederick Polhill joined the King’s Dragoon Guards in January 1816. He was part of the reinforcements that arrived from England to replace some of the losses at the Battle of Waterloo. These reinforcements included Polhill, two cornets, two sergeants and 37 privates. In 1826 while the regiment was in the north of England, in aid of the civil authorities, he was a captain in command of a Troop that was sent to Burnley and Preston to deal with riots.
It was while the regiment was at Leeds that Captain Polhill performed two remarkable athletic feats for a wager of 100 sovereigns. On 9 Nov 1825 he rode 95 miles in 4 hours and 17 minutes. On 17 April 1826 he walked 50 miles, drove 50 miles and rode 50 miles all within 19 hours and 5 minutes. He must have carried out these challenges partly for the amusement of the local population, which would have appealed to his theatrical tendencies. At the end of his ‘performance’ he was put in a carriage and drawn to the barracks by a crowd of people.
He served in the King’s Dragoon Guards until October 1828 when he resigned with the rank of captain. He died on 20 Sep 1848. The portrait shows him in the dress uniform of the King’s Dragoon Guards c1823.
