James Neild

Who was James Neild?

James Neild, was a British prison reformer.

Neild was born in Knutsford, Cheshire, where his family had some property. His father died, leaving five children, and his mother supported the family by carrying on business as a linendraper. After a very brief education Neild lived two years with an uncle, who was a farmer; but at the end of 1760 he obtained a situation with a jeweller in London, and was afterwards employed by Hemming, the king's goldsmith. Neild developed great mechanical skill, and also learned to engrave, model, and draw, as well as to fence. In 1770 a legacy from his uncle, the farmer, enabled him to set up in business as a jeweller in St. James's Street. The venture proved a success, and in 1792 he retired on a fortune.

Neild retired to Chelsea, London, and became a philanthropist and campaigner, especially in the field of prison reform.

Since his first settlement in London, Neild devoted his leisure to endeavours to reform the prisons of the country. When visiting in 1762 a fellow-apprentice who was confined for debt in the King's Bench, he had gained his first impression of the necessity of reform.