James Baines (draper)

James Baines (6 August 1648 – 9 January 1717) was an English businessman. He was a woollendraper and philanthropist.

James Baines
Born	6 August 1648 Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, England
Died	January 9, 1717(1717-01-09) (aged 68)
Occupation(s)	Draper, philanthropist
Known for	Baines schools in Lancashire

Life

Baines's drapery was located where the white building stands at today's 33 Market Place in Poulton-le-Fylde

Baines was born at Berkenhead Farm in Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, in 1648.^[1][2] He moved to Poulton-le-Fylde to become a woollendraper. His shop was located at the corner of today's Blackpool Old Road and Queen's Square, overlooking the town's Market Place.^[3]

He bought land in Lancashire on which to have built three schools.^[4] Baines School in Poulton-le-Fylde,^[5] Baines Endowed Primary School in Thornton and Baines Endowed Primary School in Marton are still in operation today.^[1]

On 9 January 2017, the tricentenary of Baines's death, children from the Marton school buried a time capsule on the approximate location of the first Baines school.^[1]

Death

Baines died in 1717, aged 68. He was buried in Marton.^[2]