| James Baines | |
| Birth Date: | 6 August 1648 |
| Birth Place: | Nether Wyresdale, Lancashire, England |
| Occupation: | Draper, philanthropist |
| Known For: | Baines schools in Lancashire |
James Baines (6 August 1648 – 9 January 1717) was an English businessman. He was a woollendraper and philanthropist.
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.
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.
Baines died in 1717, aged 68. He was buried in Marton.