Sir James La Roche (or Laroche), 1st Baronet (24 June 1734 – September 1804), was a British slave trader and politician. He was a younger son of John Laroche, M.P. James La Roche was a

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

slave trader. He was Sheriff of Bristol for 1764–5 and a master of the

Society of Merchant Venturers The Society of Merchant Venturers is a charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol. The society can be traced back to a 13th-century guild which funded the voyage of John Cabot to Canada. In 1552, it gained a monopoly on sea trading ...

in 1782–83. In the mid 18th century he purchased the Elizabethan mansion Over Court near Almondsbury,

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

.discoveringbristol.org Estates within 10 miles of Bristol
/ref> He represented

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

in Parliament between 1768 and 1780. In 1776 he was created a baronet, of Over in the Parish of Aldmondbury in the County of Gloucester. He was declared a bankrupt in 1778. La Roche died in September 1804, aged 70, when the baronetcy became extinct. He had married twice: firstly Elizabeth, the daughter and heiress of John Yeamans of Antigua, and the widow of William Yeamans Archbould of Antigua and Bristol and secondly ?Elizabeth, with whom he had one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:La Roche, James 1734 births 1804 deaths British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bodmin Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British slave traders High Sheriffs of Bristol People from Almondsbury Members of the Society of Merchant Venturers