George Hadfield (28 December 1787 – 21 April 1879) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer, author and

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who represented

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

for 22 years. George Hadfield Middleton

Biography

Hadfield was born at

, the son of Robert Hadfield, a successful merchant and his wife Anne Bennett. He was articled to John Sherwood of Sheffield, and was admitted an attorney in January 1810. He practised in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

for over forty years, and was in partnership first with James Knight, then with James Grove, and finally with his son George. He spent many years in litigation and controversy in connection with the alienation of Lady Hewley's and other charities. The dispute was finally resolved by the passing of the

Dissenters' Chapels Act 1844 The Lady Hewley Trust, now a charity, began as Sarah, Lady Hewley's charity to support English Presbyterian, Congregationalist and Baptist ministers, at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The trust was later at the centre of a 12-year legal ...

which he had played a part in framing. With

Thomas Raffles Thomas Raffles (1788–1863) was an English Congregational minister, known as a dominant nonconformist figure at the Great George Street Congregational Church in Liverpool, and as an abolitionist and historian. Early life The only son of Willi ...

and

William Roby William Roby (1766–1830) was an English Congregational minister. Life Born at Haigh, near Wigan, Lancashire on 23 March 1766, he was the half-brother of the poet John Roby; his parents belonged to the Church of England. He was educated at Wi ...

he established the

Lancashire Independent College The British Muslim Heritage Centre, formerly the GMB National College, College Road, Whalley Range, Manchester, is an early Gothic Revival building. The centre was designated a Grade II* listed building on 3 October 1974. History and descript ...

, first at

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and then at Whalley Range, where in 1840 he laid the foundation-stone of the new building, and gave £2000 towards the cost of the erection. Hadfield contested

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

on 12 January 1835, but was defeated by John Hardy. He took a prominent part in the formation of the

Anti-Corn Law League The Anti-Corn Law League was a successful political movement in Great Britain aimed at the abolition of the unpopular Corn Laws, which protected landowners’ interests by levying taxes on imported wheat, thus raising the price of bread at a tim ...

. He was elected as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

on 7 July 1852 and continued to represent it until 29 January 1874. In parliament he acted with the advanced liberal party. He spoke frequently in the House of Commons, and his advice on matters relating to legal reform was much appreciated. He introduced the act relating to the registration of judgments, gave great help in passing the Common Law Procedure Act of 1854, and was the author of the Qualification for Offices Abolition Act of 1866. Hadfield was a prominent member of the

Congregational church Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

. In 1864 he offered £1,000 a year for five years provided fifty independent chapels were built during that time. He repeated the offer later with equal success. Hadfield died at his residence, Victoria Park, Manchester at the age of 92. He married Lydia Pope, daughter of Samuel Pope of Cheapside, London in 1814.

Publications

Hadfield was the editor of several works: *1. ''The Report of H. M. Commissioners on Charities. With Notes and an Appendix by G. Hadfield'' 1829. *2. ''The Attorney-General versus Shore. An Historical Defence of the Trustees of Lady Hewley's Foundations. By the Rev. Joseph Hunter'' 1834; this refers to Hadfield's notes on the report. *3. ''The Debate on Church Reform'' republished by Hadfield, 1867. *4. ''The Expediency of Relieving the Bishops from Attendance in Parliament'' 1870.

References

*Stainton, J. H. (1924). The Storm of Politics. In ''The Making of Sheffield, 1865-1914'', chapter 4. Sheffield: E. Weston & Sons. (This book is out of print but an OCR'd version i
available online
) *"." ''Leigh Rayments Peerage Page''. Accessed on 20 June 2005. ;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hadfield, George Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies 1787 births 1879 deaths Politicians from Sheffield UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874