James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton (2 May 1687 – 3 October 1754), known as Lord Compton from 1687 to 1727, was a British peer and politician. Northampton was the eldest son of

George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton, PC (18 October 1664 – 15 April 1727), styled Lord Compton from 1664 to 1681, was a British peer and politician. Northampton was the son of James Compton, 3rd Earl of Northampton, and his wife Mary (né ...

, and his wife Jane (née Fox). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and travelled on the continent from 1707 to 1709. He was elected to 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. ...

for

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

in 1710, a seat he held until the following year, when he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's junior title of Baron Compton. He was one of "

Harley's Dozen {{short description, Event in British politics Harley's Dozen were twelve new peerages created in December 1711 by the British Tory government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated House of Lords. This cam ...

" elevated to the Lords to support the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

government's peace plans against strong Whig opposition. He succeeded his father in 1727 and his uncle Hon.

Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, (2 July 1743) was a British Whig statesman who served continuously in government from 1715 until his death. He sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1698 and 1728, and was then raised ...

, in 1743. From the latter, he inherited

Compton Place Compton Place is a mansion house in the parish of Eastbourne, East Sussex, England. It was rebuilt from 1726 by Sir Spencer Compton (later 1st Earl of Wilmington), to the design of the architect Colen Campbell, and was completed after Campbel ...

in Eastbourne. Lord Northampton married Elizabeth, 15th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley, in 1716. He had no surviving sons and was succeeded in the barony of Compton, which could be passed on through female lines, by his daughter Lady Charlotte, who also succeeded her mother in the barony of Ferrers of Chartley. The earldom was passed on to his younger brother

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990. * * 1687 births 1754 deaths British MPs 1710–1713 05 06

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 (disambiguati ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Eton College {{GB-baron-stub