James La Roche

Who is James La Roche?

Sir James La Roche, 1st Baronet, was a British slave trader and politician.

He was born a younger son of John Laroche, M.P.

James La Roche was a Bristol 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, Gloucestershire.

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.