Joseph Neeld (1789–1856) was

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 ...

of the United Kingdom for the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

of Gatton,

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

from March to July 1830 and for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village ...

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, England from September 1830 to March 1856.

Career

Neeld was one of five brothers born to Joseph Neeld (1754–1828), a solicitor and Mary (née Bond) (1765–1857); the family lived in

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

, Middlesex. He seems to have qualified as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

but it is known that he set out on a career in

property management Property management is the operation, control, maintenance, and oversight of real estate and physical property. This can include residential, commercial, and land real estate. Management indicates the need for real estate to be cared for and monit ...

; in 1821 he took a lease on land in

Paddington Paddington is an area within the City of Westminster, in Central London. First a medieval parish then a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965. Three important landmarks of the district are Paddi ...

owned by

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. In 1828, he inherited the substantial sum of £800,000 from his famous great-uncle,

Philip Rundell Philip Rundell (1746–1827) was a highly prosperous English jeweller, fine jewellery retailer and master jewellery makers' business proprietor, known for his association with royalty. With John Bridge, he ran and co-owned Rundell and Bridge, a f ...

the

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary great ...

, described by

James Losh James Losh (1763–1833) was an English lawyer, reformer and Unitarian in Newcastle upon Tyne. In politics, he was a significant contact in the North East for the national Whig leadership. William Wordsworth the poet called Losh in a letter of 182 ...

as a "tyrannical miser". The will stated this was a reward to Neeld for giving up a "lucrative profession" to take care of Rundell for thirteen years. With this bequest, Neeld bought the manor of

Grittleton Grittleton is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, northwest of Chippenham. The parish includes the hamlets of Foscote, Leigh Delamere, Littleton Drew and Sevington, and part of the hamlet of The Gibb. The Gauze Brook, a smal ...

, about six miles northwest of

. He spent from 8 March to 30 July 1830 as

for Gatton, a

with six houses and one elector but returning two Members, which was abolished by the

Reform Act of 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. Later in 1830 he was elected to represent

. Also in 1828, the year that he bought Grittleton, Neeld also bought

Kelston Park Kelston Park is an 18th-century country house in the village of Kelston, approximately 3 miles from Bath in North East Somerset, England. Altogether the house and gardens of Kelston Park cover an area of approximately . The house has been desig ...

, a 1760s country house and estate just west of

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He made alterations to the house and outbuildings, but in 1844 the estate was transferred to his relatives the Inigo-Jones family. He married Lady Caroline Ashley Cooper, daughter of the 6th

Earl of Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his f ...

on 1 January 1831; however, the marriage did not last for long. This led to a series of legal disputes which ended with Lady Caroline failing to achieve a divorce, but being granted a legal separation. It had been revealed that Neeld already had a daughter by a French woman, and thus at his death Neeld had no legitimate heirs. From 1832, Neeld began the reconstruction of

Grittleton House Grittleton House is a country house in the village of Grittleton, Wiltshire, England, about northwest of the town of Chippenham. It is a building of historical significance and is Grade II* listed on the English Heritage Register. History On t ...

in Victorian Gothic revival style, and set about furnishing it with an extensive collection of antiques and paintings. He was also a

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, donating about £12,000 for the construction of

Chippenham Town Hall Chippenham Town Hall is a 19th-century municipal building in the High Street, Chippenham, Wiltshire, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Chippenham Borough Council, is a Grade II listed building. History After significant popu ...

, and building houses in Grittleton for his tenants. Elsewhere in Grittleton parish, at

Leigh Delamere Leigh Delamere is a small village in the civil parish of Grittleton in the English county of Wiltshire, about northwest of the town of Chippenham. The M4 motorway passes some 250 metres to the south, and the motorway's Leigh Delamere services ...

he commissioned the rebuilding of St Margaret of Antioch Church (1846) and a row of almshouses (1848). His Parliamentary career was less successful; despite being a Member of Parliament for nearly 24 years, he spoke not once in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

Death and legacy

Neeld died on 24 March 1856, causing a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

in Chippenham. Leaving no legitimate heirs, he willed his property to his brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(who in 1859 was created 1st Baronet Neeld, of Grittleton, and was elected MP for Chippenham 1865–1868). NeeldPlaque

Joseph's name is commemorated in the Neeld Hall in

, as well as a row of cottages in

which was built in 1870. In Grittleton, his name lives on in the name of the village pub, the ''Neeld Arms'', and in the east window of the church of St Mary the Virgin, accompanied by a plaque stating the window to have been "erected and dedicated by his (18) Friends and Tenants (71)". In

Maida Hill Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...

, North Westminster, formerly the Borough of Paddington, there are also a ''Neeld Arms'' and a Grittleton Road. Neeld's art collection was split up, some pieces now being in the National Portrait Gallery and some in the

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (often abbreviated as the V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.27 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and nam ...

. A 1669 self-portrait in oil by

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

remained at Grittleton House for some years, passed through several owners including

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, then in 1947 was bought by the

Mauritshuis The Mauritshuis (; en, Maurice House) is an art museum in The Hague, Netherlands. The museum houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 854 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection contains works by Johannes Vermeer ...

, The Hague, Netherlands.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Neeld, Joseph 1789 births 1856 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Members of the Inner Temple Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of Parliament for Chippenham