{{Short description|English philanthropist and politician}} '''James Heald''' (1 March 1796 – 26 October 1873) was a Manchester banker, evangelical Methodist philanthropist, and single-term Member of Parliament, representing [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] as a [[Peelite]] [[free trade]] Conservative from 1847 to 1852.
Born in [[Brinnington]], near [[Stockport]], 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]]. He led the foundation of a northern branch of the Theological Institution in [[Didsbury]].<ref name="stenton">{{cite book |last1=Stenton |first1=Michael |title=Who's Who of British Members of Parliament |volume=1 |date=1976 |publisher=Harvester Press |location=Hassocks |isbn=0855272198 |page=185}}</ref><ref name="methodism">{{cite web |title=Heald, James, MP |url=https://dmbi.online/index.php?do=app.entry&id=1296 |website=A Dictionary of Methodism in Britain and Ireland |publisher=Methodist Publishing House |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref>
Heald became a magistrate for both Lancashire and Cheshire, and also served as a deputy lieutenant of Cheshire. He stood in [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] for the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] at the [[1847 UK general election]], winning a seat. Unusually for a Conservative, he supported [[free trade]]. He was opposed to Catholic clergy receiving endowments.<ref name="stenton" />
Heald contested Stockport again at the [[1852 UK general election]], but was defeated. He then contested the December 1852 by-election in [[Oldham (UK Parliament constituency)|Oldham]], but was again unsuccessful.<ref name="stenton" /> 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.<ref name="methodism" /> [[Healdtown]] in South Africa is also named after him.<ref name=dosapn>{{cite book|last=Raper|first=Peter E.|title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names|url=https://archive.org/stream/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames/SaPlaceNames#page/n201/mode/2up|publisher=Internet Archive|accessdate=28 August 2013|page=201|year=1987}}</ref>
==References== <references />
{{s-start}} {{s-par|uk}} {{s-bef | before = [[Henry Marsland]] | before2 = [[Richard Cobden]] }} {{s-ttl | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Stockport (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockport]] | years = [[1847 United Kingdom general election|1847]]–[[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852]] | with = [[Richard Cobden]] (1847) | with2 = [[James Kershaw]] (1847–1852) }} {{s-aft | after = [[James Kershaw]] | after2 = [[John Benjamin Smith]] }} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Heald, James}} [[Category:1796 births]] [[Category:1873 deaths]] [[Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]] [[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Stockport]] [[Category:People from Stockport]] [[Category:UK MPs 1847–1852]]