Wodehouse’s father was the youngest brother of Sir John Wodehouse of Kimberley. The latter’s heir John Wodehouse had contested Norfolk unsuccessfully in 1802 and 1806, and when in 1817 an opening occurred, relinquished it in favour of his cousin Edmund who, as an avowed supporter of administration, defeated the Whig candidate at an expense of £24,000 towards which a subscription was raised.
Wodehouse was a leading spokesman against the Norfolk Whigs at the county meeting in October 1819, having previously written to Lord Sidmouth for advice on the government’s view of the Peterloo incident. The Whigs claimed that he cut a ‘ridiculous’ figure. On 2 Dec., in the debate on the seditious meetings bill, he clashed with his colleague Coke in defence of Lord Suffield’s conduct as lord lieutenant regarding appointments to the Norfolk magistracy. The feud was renewed on 7 Dec. but laid to rest two days later.
Conservative and protectionist, Wodehouse was an opponent of parliamentary reform, and of Catholic relief until 1825, when he changed his mind. Charles Arbuthnot, who as secretary to the Treasury sounded the opinions of county Members from time to time, found him ‘always queerish, and who I suppose, does not choose to commit himself till he knows what others think’. ‘The pattern of an English gentleman, polished in manners, courteous in demeanour and almost romantic in his notions of honour’, according to his obituary, Wodehouse died 21 Aug. 1853.