Roger James (c 1620 – 25 July 1700) was an English landowner and politician who sat in 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. ...

at various times between 1661 and 1690.

Biography

James was the son of Sir Roger James, of Reigate, Surrey and his wife Margaret Aucher, daughter of Anthony Aucher of Bishopsbourne, Kent. He was admitted at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

on 13 July 1637 and was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1639. He was an elder of the Reigate classis in 1647 and studied at Leyden in 1648. In 1659 he became J.P. for Surrey and was a commissioner for militia in March 1660. In April 1660 he stood for parliament at Gatton where he was involved in a double return and did not sit before the election was declared void. He was commissioner for oyer and terminer on the Home circuit in July 1660, commissioner for sewers for Surrey and Kent in August 1660 and commissioner for assessment for Surrey from August 1660. In 1661, James was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book in 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'' and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The earlie ...

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

. He was commissioner for recusants in 1675 and commissioner for the rebuilding of Southwark in 1677. He was re-elected MP for Reigate in the two elections of 1679. In 1680 he was removed from the commission of the peace when exclusionist justices were purged. He also suspended his role as commissioner for assessment for Surrey until 1689. He was elected again for as MP for Reigate in 1689. He was reinstated as J.P. in 1690. In 1695 he stood unsuccessfully at Reigate. James died at the age of about 80 and was buried privately at Reigate late at night as he had requested.

Family

James married his cousin Elizabeth Aucher, daughter of Sir Anthony Aucher of Bishopsbourne, by 1649 and had two sons and two daughters.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Roger 1640 births 1700 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple 16th-century English landowners English people of Dutch descent English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1689–1690 Commissioners for sewers