The collection chiefly comprises material relating to the latter part of Hodgkin's life, the 1850s and 1860s, following his marriage to Sarah Frances Scaife. Included are items relevant to Hodgkin's marriage and personal life (his marriage certificate, letters to his wife, miscellaneous papers relating to him and his wife, papers related to the subsequent history of the Scaife family and a Hodgkin pedigree book); papers relating to Hodgkin's lobbying and philanthropic activities during the years of his marriage; and a memorandum on the relationship of religion and physiology, drafted during this late period of his life but based upon discussions with Samuel Tuke that took place in 1821, while Hodgkin was still a student.