James Perrot

Who was James Perrot?

Sir James Perrot was a Welsh writer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1629.

Perrot was the illegitimate son of Sir John Perrot, who was himself rumoured to be an illegitimate son of Henry VIII. He matriculated from Jesus College, Oxford in 1586. He became a member of Middle Temple in 1590. When his father died, in 1592, Perrot took legal action to obtain a share of the estate, but he did not obtain as much as he hoped as a result. In 1597 he was elected Member of Parliament for Haverfordwest.

Perrot wrote Discovery of Discontented Minds and The First Part of the Considerations of Humane Conditions. He also wrote, in later life, Meditations and Prayers on the Lord's Prayer and Ten Commandments.

Perott was Custos Rotulorum of Pembrokeshire between 1601 and sometime after 1608. He was knighted in 1603 and was first on the list of aldermen when Haverfordwest received its charter at the beginning of the reign of James I. In 1604, he was elected MP for Haverfordwest again. He was re-elected MP for Haverfordwest in 1614 and 1621.