James Buller (1717–1765)

James Buller (17 June 1717 – 30 April 1765)^[3] of Morval in Cornwall and of Downes and King's Nympton in Devon, was a Member of Parliament for East Looe in Cornwall (1741-47) and for the County of Cornwall (1748-1765). He was ancestor of the Viscounts Dilhorne and the Barons Churston and built the Palladian mansion Kings Nympton Park in Devon.

James Buller (1717-1765), portrait by Sir Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792), collection of trustees of Antony House, Cornwall

Arms of Buller: Sable, on a cross argent quarter pierced of the field four eagles displayed of the first^[1]

Kings Nympton Park, built as "New Place" by James Buller (1717-1765) between 1746–49 to the design of Francis Cartwright of Blandford in Dorset, based on Marble Hill House in Twickenham, one of the earliest Palladian houses in England built between 1724–29^[2]

Origins

He was the eldest son of John Francis Buller (1695-1751), MP for Saltash 1718-1722, of Morval, Cornwall by his wife Rebecca Trelawney (d.1743), daughter and co-heiress of Sir Jonathan Trelawny, 3rd Baronet,^[4] Bishop of Winchester. His younger brothers were the politicians John Buller (1721–1786), MP and Lord of the Admiralty, Francis Buller (1723-1764), MP, and William Buller (1735-1796), Bishop of Exeter.^[4]

Education

He was educated at Balliol College, Oxford.^[3]

Career

Buller was elected MP for East Looe in Cornwall in 1741 and represented that constituency until 1747^[5][6] In 1748 he was elected MP for Cornwall, sitting until his death in 1765.^[7]

Marriages and children

Buller married twice:

• Firstly on 19 November 1739, to Elizabeth Gould (d.1742), daughter and co-heir of William Gould of Downes near Crediton, Devon, (which thenceforth became the principal Buller seat) and had by her a son:
  • James Buller (1740-1772), the father of James Buller (1766–1827), MP.^[3][4]
• Secondly in 1744 to Lady Jane Bathurst (d.1794), second (or third^[8]) daughter of Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst.^[3] Between 1746–9 he built for her Kings Nympton Park in Devon. By his second wife, he had three sons and three daughters including:^[3]
  • John Buller (1745-1793^[9]) (eldest son), of Morval, MP for Exeter 1768-74, Launceston 1774-80, West Looe 1780-2, a Lord of the Treasury. He inherited the estate of Morval from his father.^[8] John married Anne, the sister of Sir William Lemon in 1770 at Mylor, Cornwall.^[10] He was appointed Commissioner of Excise for Great Britain in 1790.^[11]
  • Sir Francis Buller, 1st Baronet (3rd son) was a judge and was created a baronet in 1790 and was the ancestor of Baron Churston.^[12]
  • Mary Buller, 3rd daughter, wife of James II Templer (1748-1813) of Stover House, Teigngrace, Devon.^[13]

Death

Buller died in 1765.^[14]

Sources

• Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, pp. 277–279, Buller of Downes.
• History of Parliament biography

References

• Cornwall portal

1. Burke's Landed Gentry, 1937, p.279, Buller of Downes
2. Pevsner & Cherry, Buildings of England: Devon, London, 2004, p.522
3. Sir Lewis Namier & John Brooke, ed. (1985). The House of Commons, 1754-1790. Vol. I. Cambridge: Secker & Warburg. p. 132.
4. Burke, John (1847). John Bernhard Burke (ed.). Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. Vol. I. London: Henry Colburn. p. 157.
5. "BULLER, James (1717-65), of Morval, Cornw. | History of Parliament Online".
6. "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, East Looe". Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
7. "Leigh Rayment - British House of Commons, Cornwall". Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
8. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p.2275, Tremayne of Morval
9. "Information about a record on the Cornwall OPC Database". www.cornwall-opc-database.org. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
10. "Information about a record on the Cornwall OPC Database". www.cornwall-opc-database.org. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
11. "BULLER, John (1745-93), of Morval, Cornw. | History of Parliament Online". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
12. "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography - Buller, Sir Francis, first baronet (1746–1800)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. 2004. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/3914. Retrieved 27 June 2007. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
13. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 15th Edition, ed. Pirie-Gordon, H., London, 1937, p.278
14. "ThePeerage - James Buller". Retrieved 15 March 2007.

Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Charles Longueville Henry Bilson Legge	Member of Parliament for East Looe 1741 – 1747 With: Francis Gashry	Succeeded by Francis Gashry John Buller
Preceded by Sir Coventry Carew Sir John Molesworth	Member of Parliament for Cornwall 1748–1765 With: Sir John Molesworth 1748–1761 Sir John St Aubyn 1761–1765	Succeeded by Sir John St Aubyn Sir John Molesworth