Christopher George Walter James, 5th Baron Northbourne, 6th Baronet, DL,

FRICS The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

(18 February 1926 – 8 September 2019), was a British farmer and aristocrat. He was one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

after the passing of the

House of Lords Act 1999 The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...

until his retirement in 2018, and sat as a

crossbencher A crossbencher is an independent or minor party member of some legislatures, such as the British House of Lords and the Parliament of Australia. They take their name from the crossbenches, between and perpendicular to the government and oppositi ...

Biography

The son of

Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne Walter Ernest Christopher James, 4th Baron Northbourne (18 January 1896 – 17 June 1982), was an English agriculturalist, author and rower who competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics. Life James was the son of Walter James, 3rd Baron Northbourne ...

, and his wife, Katharine Louise Nickerson of Boston, Massachusetts, he succeeded to his father's title in 1982. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

in Berkshire and

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

, where he graduated with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1959. Lord Northbourne served as the Crossbench spokesman for families and children in the House of Lords. He was deputy chair of

Toynbee Hall Toynbee Hall is a charitable institution that works to address the causes and impacts of poverty in the East End of London and elsewhere. Established in 1884, it is based in Commercial Street, Spitalfields, and was the first university-affiliat ...

and had been chair of

Betteshanger Farms Ltd Betteshanger is a village near Deal in East Kent, England. It gave its name to the largest of the four chief collieries of the Kent coalfield. The population of the village is included in the civil parish of Northbourne. Before the coal mine ...

until 1997. Since 1999, he has been chair of the Parenting Support Forum and governor of

Wye College bio sciences -> social sciences -> business school Pictures of OLT, Old Hall,Cloister, Parlour --> The College of St Gregory and St Martin at Wye, commonly known as Wye College, was an education and research institution in the village of Wye ...

. Since 2002, he has been also chair of the Stepney Children's Fund. He was a Deputy Lieutenant and a Fellow of the

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a global professional body for surveyors, founded in London in 1868. It works at a cross-governmental level, and aims to promote and enforce the highest international standards in the val ...

(FRICS). He retired from the House of Lords on 4 September 2018. He died on 8 September 2019 at the age of 93. Lord Northbourne's garden at Elizabethan Northbourne Court near Deal in Kent, set within the standing former outbuildings (the manor house burned in the 18th century) and upon ancient terracing, nurtured for a century, is reputed one of the finest in England; it is not generally open to the public.

Family

On 18 July 1959, the future Baron married Aliky Louise Hélène Marie-Sygne Claudel, daughter of Henri Charles Claudel, and granddaughter of

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. cites . They had four children:The Peerage, entry for 5th Baron Northbourne of Betteshanger
/ref> * Charles Walter Henri James, 6th Baron Northbourne (14 June 1960); married Catherine Lucy Burrows on 3 October 1987. They have three children, two sons and a daughter: **Henry Christopher William James (born 3 December 1988), the heir apparent **Anastasia Aliki James (born 18 February 1992) **Alexander Oliver Charles James (born 27 February 1996) *

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

Anthony Christopher Walter Paul James (14 January 1963); married with two children. *Hon. Sebastian Richard Edward Cuthbert James (11 March 1966); married Anna Katherine Gregory in August 1997. They have three sons and a daughter. *Hon. Ophelia Mary Katherine Christine Aliki James (23 August 1969); married Jocelyn Charles Stewart Hoare. They have two children.

References

* 1926 births 2019 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Deputy Lieutenants of Kent Hereditary peers elected under the House of Lords Act Crossbench hereditary peers British people of American descent People from Northbourne, Kent

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

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