[2] Joshua played a part in the opposition to the Factory Act 1850 which added two hours to the working week in order to secure an end to the relay system.
He also continued to argue for shorter working hours for labourers, while seeking cuts in government expenditure and (although a Dissenter) was opposed to the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland.
[5] After receiving his inheritance from his uncle in 1869, Joshua retired from the family business and purchased the 300-acre (120-hectare) Nutfield Priory Estate, near Redhill, Surrey.
[10][a] When the shareholders voted to give Sir Edward extraordinary powers, Fielden resigned; he was replaced on the board by Alfred Watkin.
[12] In August 1868, he was selected along with Christopher Denison as Conservative candidates for the two-seat Eastern Division of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the general election of that year.
[b] He supported extension of the Factory Acts and opposed centralising 'reforms' which took power away from local bodies; the New Poor Law showed how much evil they could bring about.
Their children included:[24] Joshua Fielden died in March 1887 at the Hotel Monte Carlo, Cannes, France.
[1] Joshua was a strong Unitarian, and together with his older brother Samuel, helped to sustain the denomination in northern England by the paying of salaries to ministers.