Cordelia Mary James, Baroness James of Rusholme (née Wintour; 30 November 1912 – 12 March 2007) was a British teacher and judicial officer. She served as a justice of the peace and as chairwoman on the report of the

Howard League for Penal Reform The Howard League for Penal Reform is a registered charity in the United Kingdom. It is the oldest penal reform organisation in the world, named after John Howard. It was founded as the Howard Association in 1866 and changed its name in 1921, ...

's Working Party on Custody During Trial. Wintour was the wife of fellow educator

Eric James, Baron James of Rusholme Eric John Francis James, Baron James of Rusholme (13 April 1909 – 16 May 1992) was a prominent British educator. Background Eric John Francis James was born at Derby into a Nonconformist family. His father was a commercial traveller wi ...

, who was created a life peer in 1959. She was an aunt of ''

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

'' editor-in-chief Dame Anna Wintour.

Early life and family

Lady James of Rusholme was born Cordelia Mary Wintour on 30 November 1912 in

York, Yorkshire York is a cathedral city with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many hist ...

to Major-General Fitzgerald Wintour and Alice Jane Blanche Foster. On her father's side, she was a great-granddaughter of

James Milnes Gaskell James Milnes Gaskell (19 October 1810 – 5 February 1873) was a British Conservative politician. James Milnes-Gaskell was the only child of Benjamin Gaskell (1781–1856) of Thornes House, Wakefield, West Yorkshire and Clifton Hall, Lancashire. ...

and a great-great granddaughter of Charles Williams-Wynn. She was also the great-great-great granddaughter of

Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 4th Baronet (23 September 1749 – 24 July 1789) was a Wales, Welsh landowner, politician and patron of the arts. The Williams-Wynn baronets had been begun in 1688 by the politician Sir William Williams, 1st Baronet, of ...

and the great-great-great granddaughter of British Prime Minister

George Grenville George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who rose to the position of Prime Minister of Great Britain. Grenville was born into an influential political family and first entered Parliament in 1741 as an ...

. On her mother's side, she was the great-great granddaughter of

Elizabeth Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire Elizabeth Christiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire (13 May 1758 – 30 March 1824) was an English aristocrat and letter writer. She is best known as Lady Elizabeth Foster, the close friend of Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. Eliza ...

and

John Thomas Foster John Thomas Foster (1747 – 10 October 1796), of Dunleer, was an Irish politician. He was the son of Rev Thomas Foster, Rector of Dunleer and Dorothy née Burgh.Burke's Peerage (See Mssereene and Ferrard) Foster was elected member to the Irish ...

. Her great-great-great grandfather,

Frederick Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol Frederick Augustus Hervey, 4th Earl of Bristol, (1 August 1730 – 8 July 1803), was an 18th-century Anglican prelate. Elected Bishop of Cloyne in 1767 and translated to the see of Derry in 1768, Hervey served as Lord Bishop of Derry until ...

, served as the

Bishop of Derry The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the monastic settlement originally founded at Daire Calgach and later known as Daire Colm Cille, Anglicised as Derry. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, b ...

. Lady James of Rusholme was the niece of Sir Augustus Vere Foster, 4th Baronet and a grandniece of

Charles Milnes Gaskell Charles George Milnes Gaskell PC (23 January 1842 – 9 January 1919) was an English lawyer and Liberal Party politician. Milnes Gaskell was born in London, the son of James Milnes Gaskell M.P., of Thornes House, Wakefield, Yorkshire, and Wenloc ...

. She had one brother, Charles Vere Wintour.

Career

Lady James of Rusholme was a schoolteacher and a justice of the peace.https://julac-cuhk.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?vid=852JULAC_CUHK:CUHK&docid=alma991030416249703407&context=L&lang=en She served as chairwoman on the report of the

's Working Party on Custody During Trial in 1976.

Personal life

Lady James of Rusholme is the aunt of editors Dame Anna Wintour and

Patrick Wintour Patrick Wintour (born 1 November 1954) is a British journalist and the diplomatic editor of ''The Guardian''. He was the political editor of ''The Guardian'' from 2006 to 2015 and was formerly the newspaper's chief political correspondent for t ...

. She was a friend of the philosopher Sir Thomas Malcolm Knox. In December 1935, she wrote to Knox with news about her job, expressing sympathy for his wife's illness, and news about her classmates at school. In July 1936, she wrote a letter congratulating Knox on his appointment as

Principal of the University of St Andrews The Principal of the University of St Andrews is the chief executive and chief academic of the University. The Principal is responsible for the overall running of the university, presiding over the main academic body of the university, known as the ...

, her interview for the British Civil Service, a review, and an enquiry as to Knox's wife's thoughts on moving to St Andrews. In 1939, she married the educator Eric John Francis James. They had one son, Oliver Francis Wintour James. Her husband was knighted in 1956, at which time she was entitled to the style Lady James. In 1959, her husband was created a life peer as Baron James of Rusholme, of

Fallowfield Fallowfield is a suburb of Manchester, England, with a population at the 2011 census of 15,211. Historically in Lancashire, it lies south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilmslow Road and north–south by Wil ...

in the

County Palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating to ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

. Upon her husband's elevation to the peerage, she became Lady James of Rusholme. In the 1990s, Lady James of Rusholme donated the Records of Lord James of Rusholme to the archives at the University of York. Lady James of Rusholme died on 12 March 2007 in

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:James of Rusholme, Cordelia James, Baroness 1912 births 2007 deaths British baronesses English justices of the peace People from York Schoolteachers from Yorkshire Spouses of life peers

Cordelia Cordelia is a feminine given name. It was borne by the tragic heroine of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'' (1606), a character based on the List of legendary kings of Britain, legendary queen Cordelia of Britain, Cordelia. The name is of uncertain origi ...