John Fielden MP (1784 - 1849)

Born 17 Jan 1784 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Ann (Grindrod) Fielden — married 12 Sep 1811 in Todmorden, Yorkshire, England

Husband of Elizabeth (Dearden) Fielden — married 10 Apr 1834 in York, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 29 May 1849 at age 65 in Skegness, Lincolnshire, England

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Biography

John was born in 1784 at Todmorden, West Yorkshire, the third son of Joshua Fielden (1749–1811) and Jennifer (Greenwood) Fielden. ^[1]
John son of Joshua and Ginney Fielden of Laneside Road born 17th of first month 1784.

John (1784) had four brothers, Samuel (1772), Joshua (1778), James (1788) and Thomas (1790). The Fielden Brothers ran their father's cotton mill business after his death.

He started work in his father's cotton mill when little more than ten.

John was a founder Director of the Manchester and Leeds Railway Company in 1825 and successfully argued for a route through Todmorden where it would pass within yards of the family's main mill at Waterside.

John became a British industrialist and Radical Member of Parliament for Oldham (1832- 1847). He was a firm and generous supporter of the factory reform movement. In 1847 he introduced and piloted through the Commons the Ten Hours Act, limiting the hours of work of women and children in textile mills.

Family

On 12 September 1811 he married Ann Grindrod of Rochdale, and bought and converted the "Coach and Horses" public house (opposite the Fieldens' Waterside Mill, Calderdale) as a family home named Dawson Weir. They had 7 if not 8 children:

1. Jane (1814-1846)
2. Samuel (1816-1889)
3. Mary (1817)
4. Ann (1819-1870)
5. John (1822-1893)
6. Joshua (1827-1887)
7. Ellen (1829-1864)

His wife died in 1831 and is buried at the Unitarian Church, Todmorden. ^[2]

John remarried Elizabeth Dearden of Halifax in 1834. He was 50 and she was 46.^[3]

She survived him, dying in 1851.

John Fielden Statue

Historic England. The Fielden Statue

TODMORDEN

CENTRE VALE PARK - The Fielden Statue 22.2.84 - Statue of John Fielden MP. In celebration of the 'Ten Hours Act' 1847, by J H Foley, RA. Designed 1863, cast and delivered 1869. Cast in bronze by Elkington and C. (Founders). Stands on granite plinth inscribed with the date of his birth, 17th January 1784 on one face and his death, 29 May 1849 on another. Standing figure in contemporary dress holding a document (probably the 'Ten Hours Act' which Fielden initiated). Originally sited on the side of the Town Hall then moved to Fielden Square prior to its present position. N Pevsner, Yorkshire West Riding, (London 1979), p. 522.

District: Calderdale, Parish: Todmorden

(The Ten Hours Act reduced the permitted maximum hours of work for women and children to 10 hrs per day and 58 in any one week.)

He passed away in 1849 at Skegness, Lincolnshire.

He founded a school in the Fielden mill in Todmorden. He is buried in the small burial ground of the chapel (which is now flats).

MP John “Honest John” Fielden died on 29 May 1849 (aged 65) and is buried at the Todmorden Unitarian Old Chapelyard. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ England & Wales, Quaker Birth, Marriage, and Death Registers, 1578-1837 Lancashire Piece 1211: Monthly Meeting of Marsden, Odmorden (1659-1837)
2. ↑ [(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/2:2:9311-218 entry for Ann Grindrod]
3. ↑ ["England Marriages, 1538–1973 ," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NXCP-J4Z]

   Name John Fielden

   Birth Date 1784

   Age 50

   Spouse's Name Elizabeth Dearden

   Spouse's Birth Date 1788

   Spouse's Age 46

   Event Date 10 Apr 1834

   Event Place York, England

4. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #183133158

   MP John “Honest John” Fielden

   BIRTH 17 Jan 1784

   Todmorden, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England

   DEATH 29 May 1849 (aged 65)

   Edenbridge, Sevenoaks District, Kent, England

   BURIAL Todmorden Unitarian Old Chapelyard

   Todmorden, Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, West Yorkshire, England

   PLOT Grave 53

• Fieldens of Todmorden, A Nineteenth Century Business Dynasty, Brian R. Law, 1995. ISBN 0 946571 27 9
• Wikipedia entry
• Historic Chapels Trust
• Unitarian Church, Todmorden, built in honour of 'Honest John Fielden'