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 in 1782–83. In the mid 18th century he purchased the Elizabethan mansion Over Court near
Almondsbury
Almondsbury () is a large village near junction 16 of the M5 motorway, in South Gloucestershire, England, and a civil parish which also includes the villages of Hortham, Gaunt's Earthcott, Over, Easter Compton, Compton Greenfield, Hallen and ...
,
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](_blank)
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He represented Bodmin 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