Sir James Long, 5th Baronet (1682 – 16 March 1729) was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1695 and 1729. The son of James Long and his wife Susan Strangways, he was born at Athelhampton and baptised at

Melbury House Melbury House is an English country house in the parish of Melbury Sampford near Evershot, Dorset. The Grade I listed mansion is the home of the Honourable Charlotte Townshend, a major landowner in east Dorset, through her mother, Theresa Fox ...

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

in 1682. He was the grandson of

Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet (c. 1617 – 22 January 1692) was an English politician and Royalist soldier. Born at South Wraxall, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Walter Long and Anne Ley (daughter of James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlbor ...

and brother of the celebrated

Kit-Cat Club The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit Kat Club) was an early 18th-century English club in London with strong political and literary associations. Members of the club were committed Whigs (British political party), Whigs. They met at the Trumpet Tavern ...

beauty Anne Long (c. 1681 – 1711). He succeeded to the

baronetcy 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 ...

on the death of his brother Sir Giles Long, 4th Baronet, in 1698. He married Henrietta Greville on 6 June 1702 at St Martin in the Fields,

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, London. She was the daughter of Fulke Greville, 5th Baron Brooke and his wife Sarah Dashwood, and a descendant of the Earl of Bedford. On the death of his grandmother Lady Dorothy Long in 1710, he inherited the Draycot estate in Wiltshire together with Athelhampton manor, other land in Wiltshire and Dorset, and an estate near

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

in Yorkshire. He used the inheritance to purchase more land in Dorset, adjacent to Athelhampton, in the manors of

Burleston Burleston is a village in the civil parish of Burleston and Tolpuddle, in Dorset, England. In 2001 the parish had a population of 27. On 1 April 2024 the parish was abolished and merged with Tolpuddle Tolpuddle () is a village in the civil p ...

and Southover. Long was returned as Member of Parliament for

Chippenham Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...

at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, 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 ...

and again in

1708 In the Swedish calendar it was a leap year starting on Wednesday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–June * January 1 – Charles XII of Sweden invades Russia, by crossing the ...

and

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin ...

. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

, he was returned as MP for Wootton Bassett. He did not stand at the 1722 general election but was returned as MP for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

in 1727. Long died at his London residence in

Jermyn Street Jermyn Street is a One-way traffic, one-way street in the St James's area of the City of Westminster in London, England. It is to the south of, parallel, and adjacent to Piccadilly. Jermyn Street is known as a street for gentlemen's-clothing r ...

on 16 March 1729 from

apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...

. There were four daughters and two sons from his marriage. Four of his six children survived him, including

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

who succeeded to the baronetcy. His daughter Susanna created a scandal by marrying her mother's gardener in 1732, as noted in his diary by Viscount Perceval (related distantly by marriage to the Longs). Lady Henrietta Long died 19 May 1765 at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

References

*''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1907, ceasing publication altogether in 1922. It was the first to use the term ''m ...

'' 1765

References

Further reading