James Heald (1 March 1796 – 26 October 1873) was a British Member of Parliament. Born in Brinnington, near

Stockport Stockport is a town and borough in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt and Tame merge to create the River Mersey here. Most of the town is within ...

, Heald was brought up as a Methodist, but considered becoming an Anglican clergyman. Instead, he joined his father's calico printing business, later moving to

Parrs Wood House Parrs Wood House is an 18th-century Georgian villa in the Parrs Wood area of Didsbury, Manchester, England. It was described by Pevsner as "a poorer man's Heaton Hall." It was designated a Grade II* listed building on 25 February 1952. The ...

. He led the foundation of a northern branch of the Theological Institution in

Didsbury Didsbury is a suburban area of Manchester, England, on the north bank of the River Mersey, south of Manchester city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 26,788. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lancashire, there are ...

. Heald became a magistrate for both Lancashire and Cheshire, and also served as a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire. He stood in

for the Conservative Party at the

1847 UK general election The 1847 United Kingdom general election was conducted between 29 July 1847 and 26 August 1847 and resulted in the Whigs in control of government despite candidates calling themselves Conservatives winning the most seats. The Conservatives were ...

, winning a seat. Unusually for a Conservative, he supported free trade. He was opposed to Catholic clergy receiving endowments. Heald contested Stockport again at the

1852 UK general election The 1852 United Kingdom general election was a watershed in the formation of the modern political parties of Britain. Following 1852, the Tory/Conservative party became, more completely, the party of the rural aristocracy, while the Whig/ Libe ...

, but was defeated. He then contested the December 1852 by-election in Oldham, but was again unsuccessful. From 1861 until his death, he was the treasurer of the Wesleyan Methodist Missionary Society. St Paul's Methodist Church, Didsbury was built in his memory.

Healdtown Healdtown is a hamlet located 10 km north-east of Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in Raymond Mhlaba Municipality in Amathole District in an area that was formerly part of the Ciskei. Nelson Mandela ...

in South Africa is also named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heald, James 1796 births 1873 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stockport People from Stockport UK MPs 1847–1852