Joseph Neeld

Joseph Neeld (1789–1856) was Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for the rotten borough of Gatton, Surrey in 1830 and for Chippenham, Wiltshire, England from 1830 to 1856.

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, Middlesex.

He seems to have qualified as a Barrister of the Inner Temple but it is known that he set out on a career in property management; in 1821 he took a lease on land in Paddington owned by Westminster Abbey.

In 1828, he inherited the substantial sum of £800,000 from his famous great-uncle, Philip Rundell the silversmith, described by James Losh 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, about six miles northwest of Chippenham. He spent from 8 March to 30 July 1830 as Member of Parliament for Gatton, a rotten borough with six houses and one elector but returning two Members, which was abolished by the Reform Act of 1832. He was then elected to represent Chippenham. He married Lady Caroline Ashley Cooper, daughter of the 6th Earl of Shaftesbury 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 accordingly at his death Neeld had no legitimate heirs.

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