Sir James Long, 2nd Baronet (c. 1617 – 22 January 1692) was an English politician and

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

soldier. Born at

South Wraxall South Wraxall is a village and a civil parish in Wiltshire, England, north of Bradford on Avon. The village is to the east of the B3109 road from Bradford on Avon to Corsham. The parish includes the village of Lower Wraxall, to the south of So ...

Bradford-on-Avon Bradford-on-Avon (sometimes Bradford on Avon or Bradford upon Avon) is a town and civil parish in west Wiltshire, England, near the border with Somerset, which had a population of 9,402 at the 2011 census. The town's canal, historic buildings, s ...

, Wiltshire, the son of Sir Walter Long and Anne Ley (daughter of

James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough (c. 1552–1629) was an English judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1622. He was Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland and then in England, and wa ...

), he was educated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the ...

, and admitted to

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincol ...

in 1634. At his father's death in 1637, Long inherited the bulk of his Wiltshire estates, including the manor of

Draycot Cerne Draycot Cerne (Draycott) is a small village and former civil parish in Wiltshire, England, about north of Chippenham. History The parish was referred to as ''Draicote'' (Medieval Latin) in the ancient Domesday hundred of Startley when Geoff ...

Career

Long held the following offices: * Officer in Royalist Army, 1642–1646 * (Royalist)

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Go ...

, 1644 *

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...

, 1663 onward * MP for

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

1679, 1681, 1690–92 * Gentleman of the

Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

1673–85 * Deputy-Lieutenant for Wiltshire, 1675 He succeeded his uncle Sir Robert Long as 2nd Baronet by special

remainder In mathematics, the remainder is the amount "left over" after performing some computation. In arithmetic, the remainder is the integer "left over" after dividing one integer by another to produce an integer quotient ( integer division). In algeb ...

in 1673. Sir James was a

magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

. His friend, historian

John Aubrey John Aubrey (12 March 1626 – 7 June 1697) was an English antiquary, natural philosopher and writer. He is perhaps best known as the author of the '' Brief Lives'', his collection of short biographical pieces. He was a pioneer archaeologist ...

, wrote: ''"When there was a

Cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. T ...

of Witches detected at

they were examined by Sir James Long and committed by him to

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

Gaole. I think there were seven or eight old women hanged".''

Capture by Waller

He had entered the royal army and served in Sir Thomas Glemham's regiment at the beginning of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

; later rising to the rank of Colonel of horse in Sir Francis Dodington's brigade. In 1645, he escorted the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, and while returning to

Devizes Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-century civil war between ...

he was overtaken by a superior force of Parliamentarians under Waller and

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

; he fell rapidly back towards

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 ...

, hotly pursued by Waller; but was intercepted by Cromwell, and the high thick-set hedges prevented his escape. He was captured, but soon exchanged. At the same time his manor at Draycot was sequestrated by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliame ...

, but restored to him in 1649 on payment of a £700 fine. Not long after this, according to Aubrey, ''"Oliver Cromwell, Protector, hawking at Howneslowe Heath, discoursing with him (Sir James Long), fell in love with his company, and commanded him to weare his sword, and to meet him a hawkeing, which made the strict

cavaliers The term Cavalier () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration (1642 – ). It ...

look on him with an evill eye."''

Family

He married firstly, Anne, daughter of Sir William Dodington. There were no children from this marriage. He married secondly, c1640, Dorothy, daughter of Sir Edward Leech (MP)(or Leche) of

Shipley Hall Shipley Hall was a country estate in Shipley, Derbyshire near Heanor and Ilkeston which now forms a Country Park. Early history The Shipley estate is an ancient manor that was mentioned in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land was ...

, Derbyshire and Drury Lane, London. They had five daughters and one son including: *Anna Margaretta (c. 1641–1717) married

Sir Richard Mason Sir Richard Mason (c. 1633 – 8 March 1685) was an English Member of Parliament and Courtier. Career He held the following offices: * Clerk of the Green Cloth * Second Clerk Controller of Charles II's Household * One of the Commissioners for ...

*Dorothy (c. 1650 –) married Sir Henry Heron of Surfleet, Lincolnshire *James Long (1652 – c. 1690)

Death

Sir James Long died on 22 January 1692 from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

and was succeeded as 3rd Baronet by his 19-year-old grandson Robert Long. Robert died of

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

four days after his grandfather. Robert's brothers Giles and James became successively 4th Baronet and 5th Baronet. 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 ...

became extinct in 1805 on the death of the 10-year-old 8th Baronet, son of

Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet Sir James Tylney-Long, 7th Baronet (1736 – 28 November 1794) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons for 32 years from 1762 to 1794. The eldest son of Sir Robert Long, 6th Baronet and his wife Emma Child, he succeeded his ...

James Long Esquire, his only son

Sir James's son lived at Athelhampton House in Dorset (also known as Admiston or Adminston), which had been inherited from Sir Robert Long in 1673. James married firstly, Susanna Strangways, daughter of leading civil war politician Colonel Sir Giles Strangways of Melbury, Dorset, a wealthy neighbour at Athelhampton. They had three daughters (Susan, Dorothy and Anne), and three sons (Robert, Giles and James) but the marriage was not a happy one. James was a gambler and a drinker, and Susanna and the children often retreated to her parents home at Melbury. After a by-election for the seat of Aldborough (the Longs had estates and interests in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

), Sir Henry Goodricke notified the newly elected member Sir John Reresby in December 1674 that: ''"Wee both have the satisfaction to be asured that Sir James Long and his son have both forfeited their interest with Coll. Strangeways; the father by high unkindnesse and folly, the son by hard usage of his wife, who has betaken herselfe wholy to her father's (Strangeways) house, and by the foolish losse of £15,000 in one year at play, in so much that hee dare not stirr out of his house in the country"'' James appears to have continued his errant ways, when a further incident occurred in 1683. Certain affidavits were taken in connection with a Chancery suit, ''Keightley v. Long''. The

plaintiff A plaintiff ( Π in legal shorthand) is the party who initiates a lawsuit (also known as an ''action'') before a court. By doing so, the plaintiff seeks a legal remedy. If this search is successful, the court will issue judgment in favor of t ...

, Mary Keightley, was trying to recover a debt from Mr. James Long, and in consequence of the suit the Court sanctioned the sequestration of his estates. Three men, armed with a commission from the Court, were sent to Athelhampton, and their request for information about Long from the villagers met with an eager response. They were told that Long was certainly at Athelhampton House and they must be wary, for he kept a sharp look-out for his creditors. Two cases of pistols and several swords were laid out ready for use near the door of the house, and only the previous evening he had been heard firing his pistols towards the entrance gate. It was well known, too, they alleged, that bullets were being made in the house. Whether this was true, or the villagers merely amusing themselves, can only be surmised. However, despite initially being threatened with retaliation by four of Long's servants if they proceeded, the commissioners went to the house and demanded admittance. Long's wife Susanna called down to them from a window that her husband was abroad and that they would enter "at their peril". Susanna's brother later asserted that his sister was "soe affrighted" by the deportment of the men that she languished, and in a short time died. James Long married again and the name of his second wife was Mary Keightley. They had one daughter. James's sister Anna wrote approvingly to their mother that Mary had ''"brought my brother of his drinking in a great measure and to love home".'' He died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

in 1689 and is interred at Piddletown, Dorset.England Dorset Parish Registers, 1538-1910

References

External links

Portrait in the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Long, James, Sir, 2nd Baronet 1610s births 1692 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Bradford-on-Avon Cavaliers Military personnel from Wiltshire Original Fellows of the Royal Society High Sheriffs of Wiltshire Baronets in the Baronetage of England James Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber Deputy Lieutenants of Wiltshire English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1690–1695