Sir James Chatterton, 1st Baronet (died 9 April 1806), was an Irish lawyer and politician, and the first of the

Chatterton Baronets The Chatterton Baronetcy, of Castle Mahon, in the County and City of Cork, was a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 3 August 1801 for James Chatterton, member of the Irish House of Commons for Doneraile (1783) and B ...

of Castle Mahon.

Life

He was the eldest son of Abraham Chatterton (died 1776), of

Cork City Cork ( ; from , meaning 'marsh') is the second-largest city in Republic of Ireland, Ireland, the county town of County Cork, the largest city in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the List of settlements on the island of Ireland ...

, and his wife Martha Roche, daughter of Edmund Roche of Trabolgan. The Chatterton family had settled in Ireland during the reign of

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. Thomas Chatterton, the founder of the Irish branch of the family, was granted an estate at

Ardee Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued develo ...

County Louth County Louth ( ; ) is a coastal Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of County Meath, Meath to the ...

in 1573. The family later acquired lands in

County Cork County Cork () is the largest and the southernmost Counties of Ireland, county of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, named after the city of Cork (city), Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster ...

. Chatterton entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1770 and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1774. He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

, first for

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

in 1781, and then for

Doneraile Doneraile (), historically Dunnerail, is a town in County Cork, Ireland. It is on the R581 regional road east of the N20 road, which runs from Limerick to Cork. It is about north of Mallow town. It is on the River Awbeg, a branch of th ...

from 1783 to 1797. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1801, presumably as a reward for supporting the

Act of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

. He was appointed Third Irish Serjeant in 1791 and Second Serjeant in 1793; he held the latter office until his death. He was also Keeper of the State Papers in Ireland: this office was apparently a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

Family

In 1790 Chatterton married Rebecca Lane (died 17 February 1838), daughter of Abraham Lane of Cork, by whom he had five children. Their first son, Sir William Abraham Chatterton (5 August 1794 – 1855), married on 3 August 1824, Henrietta-Georgiana, only child of the Reverend Lascelles Iremongor,

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. He died without issue in 1855. His widow subsequently married Edward Heneage Dering of 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 of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

on 1 June 1859. On William's death, his brother

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

succeeded to the baronetcy. The three daughters of the marriage were: *Anne, who married the Reverend Richard Dickson, of Vermont,

County Limerick County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

, and died in 1835 *Martha, who married A. E. Orpen, M. D. and died on 24 January 1857 **Their only daughter, Rebecca-Dulcibella, was married on 18 July 1867 to Marmion-Edward Ferrers of

Baddesley Clinton Baddesley Clinton () is a moated manor house, about 8 miles (13 km) north-west of the town of Warwick, in the village of Baddesley Clinton, Warwickshire, England. The house probably originated in the 13th century, when large areas of the ...

, Warwickshire. *Rebecca, who in 1826 married Charles Wedderburn Webster of the

12th Royal Lancers The 12th (Prince of Wales's) Royal Lancers was a cavalry regiment of the British Army first formed in 1715. It saw service for three centuries, including the First World War and the Second World War. The regiment survived the immediate post-war ...

and died on 22 June 1858

Arms

References

*Debrett, John, ''Baronetage of England'', London 1840 *Hart, A. R. ''History of the King's Serjeants at law in Ireland'', Dublin, Four Courts Press, 2000 *Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh, ''Burke's Irish Family Records'', London, 1976 1806 deaths Politicians from Cork (city) Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Year of birth uncertain Members of the Middle Temple Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Lawyers from Cork (city) 18th-century Irish lawyers {{UK-baronet-stub