James Calthorpe, DL (25 March 1699 – 11 March 1784) was a British politician and courtier.

Biography

Calthorpe was born at

Elmswell, Suffolk Elmswell is a village and civil parish in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton A2 edition. Publishing Date:2008. It is situated halfway be ...

and was the eldest son and heir of Christopher Calthorpe (1652–1717) and his wife, Elizabeth, née Kettleborough (died 1724). After completing his education, he travelled into

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and

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; and leaving

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in August 1727, arrived in

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in the autumn of that year. He was soon after appointed a Deputy Lieutenant for

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

on 20 December that year. By virtue of a warrant by

Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, (25 October 1683 – 6 May 1757) was an Irish and English politician. Early life He was the only child and heir of Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton (1663–1690) (an illegitimate son of King Charles I ...

, the

Lord Chamberlain The Lord Chamberlain of the Household is the most senior officer of the Royal Household of the United Kingdom, supervising the departments which support and provide advice to the Sovereign of the United Kingdom while also acting as the main cha ...

, Calthorpe was sworn and admitted as a Gentleman Usher Quarterly Waiter in Ordinary on 1 October 1731. By another warrant by Grafton dated 16 February 1742, he was appointed Yeoman of the Removing Wardrobe, an office he held until it was abolished in 1782. Calthorpe first came to reside at his family's ancestral home,

Ampton Hall Ampton Hall is a Grade II-listed Jacobean style manor house in Ampton, Suffolk, England. Ampton Hall was the birthplace in 1805 of Robert FitzRoy, who became the second Governor of New Zealand. It later belonged to the Paley family: John Paley ( ...

, in 1736, and immediately set about improving his mansion and estate by enlarging the former, and enclosing, planting, and ornamenting the latter; dividing his time in attendance on his official duties in London, and in agricultural and horticultural pursuits, when resident in the country. In 1754, Calthorpe offered himself as a candidate for the borough of Hindon in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, but declined, although sure of his election, in favour of James Dawkins. Upon Dawkin's death in 1757, Calthorpe was elected for the borough on 23 January 1758. He sat until the

dissolution of Parliament The dissolution of a legislative assembly is the mandatory simultaneous resignation of all of its members, in anticipation that a successive legislative assembly will reconvene later with possibly different members. In a democracy, the new assemb ...

in 1761. In 1774, Calthorpe was again a candidate for Hindon, and with

Richard Beckford Richard Beckford (died 12 August 1796) was an English Whig politician. Biography Beckford was one the first mixed-race Member's of Pariament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and served for the constituencies of Bridport, Arundel and Leo ...

, petitioned against the return of Richard Smith and

Thomas Brand Hollis Thomas Brand Hollis (1719 – 9 September 1804), born Thomas Brand, was a British political radical and dissenter. Early life Thomas Brand was born the only son of Timothy Brand, a mercer of Ingatestone, Essex, and his wife Sarah Michell of Ric ...

. In consequence of the acts of bribery disclosed, the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

ordered that all four candidates should be prosecuted by the

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. Smith and Hollis were fined £500 each (£48,381.63 in 2007) and imprisoned for three months in the

Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners, including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition, it became known, in ...

. But at a trial at the

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of Wil ...

Assizes The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

in March 1776, Calthorpe was honourably

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

. Calthorpe died unmarried at his house on Pall Mall on 11 March 1784 and his remains were interred in the family vault in

Ampton Ampton is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk District of Suffolk, England, about five miles north of Bury St Edmunds. According to Eilert Ekwall the meaning of the village name is 'Amma's homestead'. According to the 2001 census ...

church, on 20 March. By his death, the male line of his family became extinct. His relative, Henry Gough (later Lord Calthorpe) inherited his property.

Notes

References

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Calthorpe, James Deputy Lieutenants of Suffolk Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies 1699 births 1784 deaths Gentlemen Ushers British MPs 1754–1761 People from Mid Suffolk District