John Neeld

Sir John Neeld, 1st Baronet (1805–1891) was a member of Parliament for Cricklade between 1835 and 1859, and Chippenham, Wiltshire, England, between 1865 and 1868.^[1]

Early life and career

Neeld was one of five sons of Joseph Neeld (1754–1828) and his wife Mary (née Bond) (1765–1857), of Hendon, Middlesex.^[2] He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took a B.A. in 1827 and an M.A. three years later.^[3][4]

In 1840 he was a founding member of the Conservative Club^[5] and in 1845 married Lady Eliza Harriet Dickson, setting up home in London.^[4] The same year he was appointed to the office of Gentleman of the Privy Chamber to Queen Victoria,^[4][6] for which service he was created 1st Baronet Neeld and became entitled to the style "Sir John Neeld" on 20 April 1859.^[7]

In 1852 he was offered the position of Junior Lord of the Treasury by Lord Derby, but refused.^[4]

Neeld became a major landowner in Wiltshire, having inherited from his brother Joseph in 1856; in 1872 he was High Sheriff of the county.^[4]

Death and legacy

Neeld died on 3 September 1891 at Grittleton House, Wiltshire.^[3]

His eldest son Algernon William (11 June 1846 – 11 August 1900)^[8] succeeded as 2nd baronet; on his death, Neeld's second son, Audley Dallas Neeld (23 January 1849 – 1 May 1941) became the 3rd baronet and inherited Rembrandt's self-portrait of 1669, today in the Mauritshuis.^[9] On Audley's death the title became extinct.^[7]

Neeld's daughter Ada Mary (b. 11 June 1846^[10]),^[8] twin sister of Algernon,^[10] married General Sir George Harry Smith Willis, a British Army General who achieved high office in the 1880s, and they went on to have four sons.^[11] Lady Ada Mary Willis (née Neeld) opened the Southsea Railway on 1 July 1885, as her husband was the Lieutenant Governor of Portsmouth at the time.^[12][13][14]

See also

• Neeld baronets