Joshua Fielden
JP (8 March 1827 – 9 March 1887) of
Stansfield Hall,
Todmorden
Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax. In 2011 it had a population of 15,481.
Todm ...
, was a British cotton manufacturer and
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
politician.
Early life
Fielden was born in Todmorden on 8 March 1827. He was the son of the
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 an ...
politician
John Fielden
John Fielden (17 January 1784 – 29 May 1849) was a British industrialist and Radical Member of Parliament for Oldham (1832–1847).
He entered Parliament to support William Cobbett, whose election as fellow-MP for Oldham he helped to bring ...
of
Todmorden
Todmorden ( ; ) is a market town and civil parish in the Upper Calder Valley in Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England. It is north-east of Manchester, south-east of Burnley and west of Halifax. In 2011 it had a population of 15,481.
Todm ...
, and his first wife, Anne Grindrod of
Rochdale
Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Bor ...
.
In 1869, Fielden's uncle Thomas died; his will (proved in 1870) divided an estate of £1.3m equally amongst his three nephews.
Career
After education at a
Unitarian school in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, Fielden returned to England to act as his father's private secretary, and to work in the family textile firm, Fielden Brothers. He became a partner in the firm in 1852.
[ The business was very successful and profitable, and the Fielden family dominated public life in Todmorden, controlling the town's ]local board
Local boards or local boards of health were local authorities in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulate environmenta ...
and preventing the erection of a workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse' ...
in Todmorden until the 1870s.[ He was a ]justice of the peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...
for both Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancas ...
and Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
(Todmorden being divided between the two counties).[
Joshua played a part in the opposition to the Factory Act of 1850 which added two hours to the working week in order to secure an end to the relay system. By the 1860s Fielden was again becoming involved in national politics, notably by his campaign against the Malt Tax. He also continued to argue for shorter working hours for labourers, while seeking cuts in government expenditure and (although a Dissenter) was opposed to the disestablishment of the ]Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the sec ...
.
After receiving his inheritance from his uncle in 1869, Joshua retired from the family business and purchased the Nutfield Priory
Nutfield Priory is a Grade II listed country house in Nutfield, Surrey. It was constructed between 1872 and 1874 by John Gibson. It is now a hotel and health spa.
History
In the 13th century, Reigate Priory was founded on this site by Willia ...
Estate, near Redhill, Surrey
Redhill () is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead within the county of Surrey, England. The town, which adjoins the town of Reigate to the west, is due south of Croydon in Greater London, and is part of the London commuter belt. T ...
.[ He rebuil]
Nutfield Priory
as a Gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
mansion, employing John Gibson as his architect. Gibson had already worked for Fielden in Todmorden: he was responsible for the Town Hall, the Unitarian church and for extending Stansfield Hall. He moved from Stansfield Hall to Nutfield in 1872, hiring a special train to move his possessions.[ In 1885 he became a JP for Surrey. He led an increasingly extravagant lifestyle, having withdrawn his capital from the family firm in 1879.
He was a director of the South Eastern Railway from 1874 to 1879. in 1877 he led the Board in passing a vote of censure on the chairman ( Sir Edward Watkin) and requiring the resignation of Watkin's son Alfred Watkin from the SER's employment. When the shareholders voted to give Sir Edward extraordinary powers, Fielden resigned; he was replaced on the board by Alfred Watkin.
]
Member of Parliament
In August 1868, he was selected along with Christopher Denison as Conservative candidates for the two-seat Eastern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the general election of that year. Accused of betraying his father's principles, he "defended his father from the imputation of being a Liberal", noting that Conservative MPs such as Lord John Manners and Benjamin Disraeli
Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation ...
had supported John Fielden's Ten Hours Act. He supported extension of the Factory Acts and opposed centralising 'reforms' which took power away from local bodies; the New Poor Law
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of he ...
showed how much evil they could bring about. Both Conservatives were elected to serve in the Commons
The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...
, and Fielden was a 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 o ...
for 12 years. In 1871, he was described as "one of those obstinately independent members whom nobody and nothing can move". That year he declared himself to be, like the rest of his family, a Cobbettite Radical and hence wishing to defend and purify the existing Constitution, not (like those now calling themselves Radicals: Sir Charles Dilke
Sir Charles Wentworth Dilke, 2nd Baronet, PC (4 September 1843 – 26 January 1911) was an English Liberal and Radical politician. A republican in the early 1870s, he later became a leader in the radical challenge to Whig control of the Libe ...
, John Bright
John Bright (16 November 1811 – 27 March 1889) was a British Radical and Liberal statesman, one of the greatest orators of his generation and a promoter of free trade policies.
A Quaker, Bright is most famous for battling the Corn La ...
, and indeed Mr Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-cons ...
himself) to make dangerous innovations on theoretical grounds.
He was in poor health from April 1876 onwards, being absent from Parliament for most of the next year and in later years thinking it imprudent to attend when there was a heavy fog. He took up yachting for his health and in 1879 indicated he would not stand at the 1880 general election, subsequently spending much of his time sailing in his yacht ''Zingara''.[
]
Personal life
In 1851, he married Ellen Brocklehurst (1830–1929), the daughter of Thomas Brocklehurst and a niece of John Brocklehurst, MP for Macclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Bollin in the east of the county, on the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its eas ...
. In the same year of his marriage, he purchased Stansfield Hall outside Todmorden as his residence.[ Two of Joshua Fielden's sons were to have parliamentary careers. Their children included:]
* Anne Fielden (b. 1852)
* John Fielden (b. 1853)
* Thomas Fielden (1854–1897) was MP for Middleton, which included the Lancashire portion of Todmorden, from 1886 to 1892, and 1895 and 1897. He married Martha Knowles, daughter of Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles (30 May 1824 – 3 December 1883) was an English businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1883.
Knowles was born at Ince-in-Makerfield, the son of a colliery underlooker. According to hi ...
(MP for Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...
), in 1878.
* Ellen Unett Fielden (b. 1856)
* Edward Brocklehurst Fielden
Edward Brocklehurst Fielden (10 June 1857 – 31 March 1942) was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.
Family background
He was second son of Joshua Fielden, brother of Thomas Fielden, and grandson of John Fielden of ...
(1857–1942) was MP for Middleton from 1900 to 1906, and for Manchester Exchange from 1924 to 1935.[ He married Mary Ellen Knowles, another daughter of ]Thomas Knowles
Thomas Knowles (30 May 1824 – 3 December 1883) was an English businessman and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1874 to 1883.
Knowles was born at Ince-in-Makerfield, the son of a colliery underlooker. According to hi ...
, in 1884.
* Mabel Fielden (b. 1859)
* Edith Fielden (1860–1942), who married Sir John Mackintosh MacLeod, 1st Baronet, son of The Very Reverend
The Very Reverend is a style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title.
Catholic
In the Catholic Church, the style is given, by custom, to pri ...
Norman Macleod in 1888.
* Joshua Fielden (1866–1944), who married Marion Ethel Sladen (1863–1897), daughter of Sir Edward Bosc Sladen
Sir Edward Bosc Sladen (20November 18314January 1890) was an Indian Army officer who served in India and Burma. He organised a provisional government in Upper Burma and oversaw the surrender of King Thibaw.
Early life
Edward was born in Madras, ...
, in 1895.
* Beatrice Alice Fielden, who married Dr. William Hunter FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(1861–1937), in 1894.
Joshua Fielden died in March 1887 at the Hotel Monte Carlo, Cannes
Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions I ...
, France. In spite of his lavish spending, he left an estate in excess of half a million pounds. He left Nutfield Priory and an annual income to his wife. The remainder of his property was divided between his 4 sons and 8 daughters. This included Stansfield Hall, estates at Hollins, Middletown Towers, Walsden and Rochdale, and Smithyholme and Rochdale Mills.[ He was buried in the churchyard of the church he and his brothers had built in Todmorden on 15 March.][
]
Philanthropy
In 1865, Joshua and his brothers provided funds for the building of Todmorden Unitarian Church
Todmorden Unitarian Church is a Unitarian church located in Honey Hole Road, Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England (). Built in honour of John Fielden, a local mill owner and a social reformer, the church was completed in 1869. It was declared re ...
.;[ they later paid for the building of the town hall.][ Joshua was a strong Unitarian, and together with his older brother Samuel, helped to sustain the denomination in northern England by the paying of salaries to ministers.
]
Notes
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fielden, Joshua
1827 births
1887 deaths
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
People from Todmorden
UK MPs 1868–1874
UK MPs 1874–1880
English Unitarians