Sir James Bateman (29 April 1660[1][2] – 10 November 1718) was an Englishmerchant andpolitician who sat in theHouse of Commons from 1711 to 1718. He becameLord Mayor of London andGovernor of the Bank of England.
Bateman was the son of Joas (anglicised to Joseph) Bateman of Tooting and his second wife, Judith de la Barre, daughter of John de la Barre, merchant, of Fenchurch Street. He was born and baptised the same day atSt Martin Orgar in London.[2] His father was a Flemish immigrant who had become a successful London merchant and alderman. Bateman built upon his father's mercantile business. From about 1683 or 1684 he was living atAlicante in Portugal, where he was involved in the wine trade. By the early 1690s he was back in London with a considerable fortune and carried on as an importer of wine from the Iberian peninsula. He married Esther Searle, the daughter and coheiress of John Searle, a Finchley merchant by licence dated 3 December 1691.[3]
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Bateman became an important player in the City ofLondon and, subscribing to theBank of England on its foundation in 1694, became one of its founding directors.[4] He also began to dabble inpolitics. At the 1695 election he contestedTotnes unsuccessfully. However, he was nearly impeached in 1695 because of his involvement with the Company of Scotland. He was active in establishing an alternative East India Company and in 1698 was a founding director of the New East IndiesCompany. He was knighted on 14 December 1698. At the first general election of 1701 he stood unsuccessfully atSt Mawes. He seems to have decided to concentrate on City politics instead and was appointedSheriff of London for 1701 to 1702, electedDeputy Governor of the Bank of England for 1703 to 1705 andGovernor for 1705 to 1707. In 1705 he bought theShobdon estate in Herefordshire and replaced the Jacobean house with a new Palladian style building, of which only the service block has survived.[5] He resumed his position as a director of the Bank of England in 1707 until 1711. In 1708, he became an alderman and a member of theLoriners’ Company. He was a director of theUnited East India Company from 1709 to 1710, a prime warden of theFishmongers’ Company for 1710 to 1712 and resigned as Director of the Bank of England in 1711 to become a sub-Governor of theSouth Sea Company until his death.
Bateman stood unsuccessfully for Parliament forLondon at the 1710 general election. He was returned unopposed asMember of Parliament (MP) forIlchester at a by-election on 2 June 1711, and was returned again at the1713 general election.[3] At the1715 general election, he was defeated in a contest at Ilchester but was returned as MP forEast Looe. He was electedLord Mayor of London for 1716 to 1717.[6]
Bateman died in 1718. He had four sons and three daughters. His estates in Herefordshire, Kent and Essex were divided between his sons. His sonWilliam was createdViscount Bateman and inheritedShobdon Court.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of the Bank of England 1705–1707 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forIlchester 1711–1715 With:Edward Phelips | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Looe 1715–1718 With:John Smith | Succeeded by |
| Civic offices | ||
| Preceded by |  1716–1717 | Succeeded by |