James Halse

James Halse (bapt. 28 January 1769 – 14 May 1838) was an English lawyer and wealthy businessman in Cornwall. He was also a Tory (later Conservative) politician.

Halse settled in St Ives around 1790, where in addition to his solicitors's practice, he became town clerk and an alderman. He made his fortune through tin mines, mostly from the Wheal Reeth mine, but also from the St. Ives Consols mine.

He used the Consols mine to create a political base for himself, by building the village of Halsetown to accommodate the mine-workers. The village was within the boundaries of the parliamentary borough of St Ives, allowing Halse patronage of the borough's two seats in Parliament.