James Saunderson, 1st Earl Castleton (c. 1667, Sandbeck, Yorkshire – 23 May 1723) was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1698 and 1710. Saunderson was the eighth and only surviving son of George Saunderson, 5th Viscount Castleton and his first wife Grace Belasyse, daughter of Henry Belasyse. He was educated at Laughton and was admitted at

Magdalene College, Cambridge Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...

on 19 November 1681, aged 14 and admitted at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1686. He was appointed to the alienations office in 1689, probably to reward his father for his support of King William in the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

and succeeded to the stewardship of the manor of Kirton on the death of his elder brother, Nicholas, in 1693. He travelled abroad to Germany, Austria, Italy, Spanish Netherlands and France from 1695 to 1698. He attended Padua University in 1696. Saunderson was returned as a Whig Member of Parliament for Newark at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' su ...

He was considered a Court supporter, and voted against the disbanding bill on 18 January 1699. He was defeated in the first general election of 1701 but succeeded in regaining his seat at the second general election of 1701. He was returned again in a contest at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

and was unopposed at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

. He held the office of Vice-Admiral of Lincolnshire from 1705 and the stewardship of the honor of Tickhill from 1708, retaining both for the rest of his life. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

, he was again returned unopposed. He voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710 and lost his seat again in the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

. In 1711 he was a Commissioner for taking subscriptions to the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

. He did not stand at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. In 1714 Saunderson succeeded his father as 6th Viscount Castleton in the

Irish peerage The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

. He was created Baron Saunderson of

Saxby, Lincolnshire Saxby is a village and civil parish in the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated north from Lincoln and east from the A15 road. The population is included in the civil parish of Owmby-by-Spital (called Owmby). The vi ...

in 1714,and Viscount Castleton in the English peerage in 1716. He was created finally Earl Castleton of Sandbeck in 1720. Saunderson died unmarried at Richmond on 23 May 1723 'after a long illness'. All his titles became extinct and his estates passed to his cousin Thomas Lumley (later 3rd Earl of Scarbrough), who thereupon took the additional surname of Saunderson, by Act of Parliament.''Burkes Peerage'' (1939 edition, s.v. Scarbrough, Earl).

References

, - , - 1660s births 1723 deaths Alumni of Magdalene College, Cambridge Castleton, James Saunderson, 6th Viscount Castleton, James Saunderson, 6th Viscount Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain Castleton, James Saunderson, 6th Viscount English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 {{1698-England-MP-stub