Career
Born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, by 1800 he had established himself as an iron manufacturer, merchant and banker at Birmingham. He subsequently became a director of the National Provincial Bank, the London Joint Stock Bank and the Metropolitan Assurance Company. The growing industrial centre of Birmingham had neither local government nor parliamentary representation at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Scholefield became an advocate for municipal and parliamentary reform.
In 1819 he was elected to the largely ceremonial position of high bailiff of Birmingham"s Court Leet. In that capacity Scholefield chaired a meeting of Birmingham"s businessmen in January 1820 that resolved to petition parliament to hold an inquiry into the "deplorable situation of the Manufacturing and Labouring classes of the Community and of this Town in particular.
And the distressing situation to which Manufactures and Commerce are reduced". Scholefield became the deputy chairman of the organisation, which campaigned for reform of parliament.
The 1832 Acting enfranchised Birmingham as a parliamentary borough, with the right to return two members to the House of Commons.
The Radicals, who were dominant in the area, chose Attwood and Scholefield to contest the seat. lieutenant was initially expected that they would contest the seat with the Tories, but in the event the two men were elected unopposed. In parliament he opposed the new poor law and supported the aims of the Chartists.
On 24 June 1844 he became ill, apparently with a stroke, and died on 4 July at his residence in Birmingham, aged 69.
He was buried in Edgbaston churchyard.
