James Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (c. 1394 – 22 OctoberBurke, Bernard. ''A Genealogical History of the Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire.'' London: Harrison, 1866. (p. 44
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Accessed 7 July 2007 1463), also known as "James the Just", was an English peer. Berkeley was the son of Sir James de Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth (née Bluet). He was made heir to his uncle

Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley Thomas de Berkeley, 5th Baron Berkeley (5 January 1352/53 – 13 July 1417), ''The Magnificent'', of Berkeley Castle and of Wotton-under-Edge in Gloucestershire, was an English peer and an admiral. His epithet, and that of each previous and s ...

. He was married four times. His third wife was Lady Isabel, daughter of

Thomas Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, KG (22 March 136622 September 1399) was an English peer. As a result of his involvement in the power struggles which led up to the fall of King Richard II, he was banished and died in exile in Venice. B ...

; and his fourth wife was the Lady Joan Talbot, daughter of

John Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. Lord Berkeley was involved in a bitter feud with his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of the fifth Baron Berkeley and wife of

Richard de Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick Richard Beauchamp, 13th Earl of Warwick (25 or 28 January 138230 April 1439) was an English medieval nobleman and military commander. Early life Beauchamp was born at Salwarpe CourtRichard Gough, ''Description of the Beauchamp chapel, adjoin ...

. He was unable initially to claim

Berkeley Castle Berkeley Castle ( ; historically sometimes spelled as ''Berkley Castle'' or ''Barkley Castle'') is a castle in the town of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom. The castle's origins date back to the 11th century, and it has been desi ...

, as it was taken in possession by the Earl and Countess of Warwick. In 1421, when the Warwicks finally gave up Berkeley Castle, James was summoned to Parliament by

writ In common law, a writ (Anglo-Saxon ''gewrit'', Latin ''breve'') is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, a ...

as Lord Berkeley. The feud did not end there as his third wife Isabel was captured by the Countess of Warwick's son-in-law the Earl of Shrewsbury, and held imprisoned until her death in 1452. Lord Berkeley was succeeded by his son from his third marriage,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, who was created

Marquess of Berkeley A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

in 1489.

Marriages and issue

He firstly married the daughter of John St. John on 9 April 1410, by contract, and had no issue. His second marriage was to the daughter of Sir Humphrey Stafford of Hook Dorset in 1415. No issue came from this marriage. In about 1424, he was wed to Lady Isabel de Mowbray (b. 1396 - d. 29 November 1452), in which James was her second husband and Henry Ferrers was her first. They had the following issue: *Elizabeth de Berkeley (b. 1425 - d. 1482) * Sir William de Berkeley,

Earl of Nottingham :''See also Earl of Winchilsea'' Earl of Nottingham is a title that has been created seven times in the Peerage of England. It was first created for John de Mowbray in 1377, at the coronation of Richard II. As this creation could only pass to ...

(c. 1427 - 1492); William became the 2nd Baron Berkeley sometime after his father's death in 1463. *James de Berkeley,

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

(b. 1429) *Alice de Berkeley (b. 1432) * Sir Maurice de Berkeley VI, Lord Berkeley (c. 1435 - 1 September 1506), who was married to Isabel Meade, daughter of merchant Phillip Meade and his wife Isabel, in 1465 and had issue. *Thomas de Berkeley, Esquire (b. 1435 - d. 1484), who married Margaret Guy, and had issue. *Isabel de Berkeley (b. 1438 - d. 1482) His fourth marriage to Joan Talbot was before 25 July 1457.

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley, James Berkeley, 1st Baron 1390s births 1463 deaths 1

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

Peers created by Henry V