James Kendall (17 June 1647 – 10 July 1708) of Birdcage Walk, Westminster and Carshalton, Surrey was an English Army officer and Tory and later Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and British House of Commons between 1685 and 1708. He served as

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

from 1689 to 1693.

Early life

Kendall was baptized on 17 June 1647, the fourth, but third surviving son of Thomas Kendall of

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; kw, Lostwydhyel) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increas ...

, Cornwall and his wife Elizabeth Arscott, daughter of Arthur Arscott of Tetcott, Devon. He was admitted at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

and Lincoln's Inn on 28 December 1666. He joined the army and was a cornet in the Royal Horse Guards in 1675. From 1678 to 1679 he was a lieutenant colonel in Lord Morpeth's regiment of foot and from 1680 to 1687 a captain in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the monarchy; due to this, it often participates in state ceremonia ...

Career

Kendall was returned as Tory

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 o ...

for

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

at the

1685 English general election The 1685 English general election elected the only parliament of James II of England, known as the Loyal Parliament. This was the first time the pejorative words Whig and Tory were used as names for political groupings in the Parliament of Englan ...

. He was appointed

in 1689 until 1693, and a member of the council from 1694 to 1695. He returned to England and was returned as MP for West Looe again at the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

on the interest of his niece Mary Kendall. From 1696 to 1699, he was a

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

. He was returned again at the 1698 English general election and at the two general elections of 1701, but when he fell out with his niece, he was dropped at the 1702 English general election. He thereupon disinherited her. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 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 several boroughs. During the pre ...

, Kendall stood in a contest at

on the interest of his relative Canon Nicholas Kendall. He was defeated in the poll, but petitioned and was seated as MP for Lostwithiel on 17 January 1706. By this time he was listed as a Whig. He was returned for Lostwithiel 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 finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

Death and legacy

Kendall died of apoplexy at Carshalton on 10 July 1708 and was buried in south choir aisle of

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the Unite ...

on 16 July. When he died the contemporary annalist recorded of him that he was very "rich". His niece, and heir at law, Mary Kendall, was also buried in there, in the Chapel of St John the Baptist. His estate, which included Kendall Plantation in Barbados, was worth £40,000, but he left nothing to his niece and heir at law. He left it, instead, to his mistress, Walker Colleton, daughter of Colonel Thomas Colleton. They had met in Barbados and he had an illegitimate son by her. His family was Cornish, being related to the Kendalls of Pelyn, near

, who for many generations past had been active in the politics of Cornwall and England. In 1866 it was suggested by antiquarian

Evelyn Shirley Evelyn Shirley may refer to: *Evelyn Shirley (1788–1856), Member of Parliament (MP) *Evelyn Shirley (1812–1882), MP, son of the above {{Hndis, name=Shirley, Evelyn ...

that the family had "perhaps sent more members to the

British Parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

than any other in the United Kingdom."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kendall, James 1647 births 1708 deaths Burials at Westminster Abbey 17th-century English military personnel Governors of Barbados Members of the Parliament of England for West Looe English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lostwithiel British MPs 1707–1708 17th-century English politicians Members of the Parliament of England for Lostwithiel Lords of the Admiralty Royal Horse Guards officers Coldstream Guards officers