Sir William Feilden, 1st Baronet (13 March 1772 – 21 May 1850) was an English cotton manufacturer and a Whig and later

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 i ...

politician who sat in the

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from 1832 to 1847. Feilden was the third son of Joseph Feilden and Margaret Leylandthe Peerage.com
/ref> of Witton. He was educated at Blackburn Grammar School and

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

.Cotton Town - The Blackburn Elections of 1832
/ref> He became a cotton mill owner and lived at Witton Hall. In 1798 he purchased the hamlet of Feniscowles south west of Blackburn, from Thomas Ainsworth. At the 1832 general election, Feilden was elected as Whig

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 ...

(MP) for

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 ...

. Feilden built the house of Feniscowles in

Pleasington Pleasington () is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It had a population of 467 in the 2001 census, reducing to 446 at the 2011 Census. It is a rural village set on a hillside above the Riv ...

in a romantic valley on the banks of the

River Darwen The River Darwen runs through Darwen and Blackburn in Lancashire, England, eventually joining the River Ribble at Walton le Dale south of Preston on its way to the Ribble Estuary. Course Originating at Jack's Key Clough where Grain Brook and Gr ...

. He also gave a site for a church at Feniscowles in 1840, and provided the stone for its construction. At the 1841 general election, Feilden changed his allegiance to the Conservatives but was re-elected and remained MP for Blackburn until the 1847 general election, when he did not stand. He did nothing to distinguish himself in the House of Commons in his fourteen years as a M.P. Feilden was created a

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, of Feniscowles in the

County Palatine of Lancaster 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 Lancashir ...

on 21 July 1846. Feilden died at the age of 78. Feilden married Mary Haughton Jackson, daughter of Edmund Jackson, at St Martin in the Fields on 30 March 1797. They had three sons and three daughters. His son William succeeded to the baronetcy. Another son Montague Joseph Feilden also became MP for Blackburn. His youngest son, John Leyland Feilden was an author.

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* 1772 births 1850 deaths Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Lancashire UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1770s-stub