James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley

KG PC
KG PC
	The 3rd Earl of Berkeley by Godfrey Kneller
First Lord of the Admiralty
	In office; 1717–1727
Monarch	George I
Preceded by	The Earl of Orford
Succeeded by	The Viscount Torrington
Personal details
Born	c. 1679
Died	17 August 1736
Nationality	Vice-Admiral
Commands	HMS Boyne; HMS St George
Battles/wars	War of the Spanish Succession

KG, PC (c. 1679 – 17 August 1736) was an English Royal Navy officer and peer who served as First Lord of the Admiralty from 1717 to 1727. The son of Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley, he was known by the courtesy title

of Viscount Dursley prior to succeeding as Earl of Berkeley in 1710.

Viscount Dursley received his commission as a lieutenant in the Royal Navy on 10 March 1699

Málaga under Admiral Rooke, commanding HMS Boyne. He was summoned to Parliament by writ of acceleration as Baron Berkeley on 5 March 1705,^[1]

and continued to rise in the Navy.

Dursley commanded

Vice Admiral of the Blue (it was signed by the Lord High Admiral and gazetted) but was then cancelled, and Dursley, who was his junior and because of the political influence of his family, made Vice Admiral of the Blue in his stead with seniority of 10 January 1708. Dursley was then promoted to Vice Admiral of the White in late 1708. In April 1709 he recaptured HMS Bristol, which had been taken by the French a short time earlier, but she sank shortly afterwards. Dursley was promoted to Vice Admiral of the Red in December 1709.^[1]^[3]

With the death of his father on 24 September 1710, Dursley succeeded to his titles and became the 3rd

Lord of the Bedchamber

.

He married Lady Louisa Lennox (24 December 1694 – 15 January 1716), daughter of Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond and Anne Brudenell, on 13 February 1711. They had two children, his wife dying in childbirth:

- Lt. Col. Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley (b. 18 February 1715)
- Lady Elizabeth Berkeley (b. 15 January 1716)

On 16 May 1717, he was made

baroque opera

on stage.

He died on 17 August 1736 at the Château d'Aubigny [fr], near Coincy, France, and was buried on 31 October 1736 at Berkeley, Gloucestershire. He was succeeded by his son Augustus Berkeley, 4th Earl of Berkeley. His daughter Elizabeth ran away at a very young age and married Anthony Henley in 1728.

Lord Hervey wrote "he was a man of great family and great quality, rough, proud, hard, and obstinate, with excellent good natural parts, but so uncultivated that he was totally ignorant of every branch of knowledge but his profession. He was haughty and tyrannical, but honourable, gallant, observant of his word; equally incapable of flattering a prince, bending to a minister, or lying to anybody he had to deal with."

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
^ legacy of Sir Cloudsley Shovel Kent History Forum
^ "Portrait of a Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley (1680–1736)". Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

Ships of the RN

Parliament of England
Preceded by William Selwyn John Bridgeman	Member of Parliament for Gloucester 1701–1702 With: John Hanbury	Succeeded by John Grobham Howe William Trye
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Orford	First Lord of the Admiralty 1717–1727	Succeeded by The Viscount Torrington
Honorary titles
Preceded by The Earl of Berkeley	Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire 1710–1712	Succeeded by The Duke of Beaufort
Preceded by The Earl of Berkeley	Custos Rotulorum of Surrey 1710–1736	Succeeded by The Lord Onslow
Preceded by The Duke of Beaufort	Lord Lieutenant of Gloucestershire 1714–1736	Succeeded by The Earl of Berkeley
Preceded by John Howe	Vice-Admiral of Gloucestershire 1715–1736	Succeeded by The Earl of Berkeley
Peerage of England
Preceded by Charles Berkeley	Earl of Berkeley 1710–1736	Succeeded by Augustus Berkeley
Preceded by Charles Berkeley	Baron Berkeley (writ of acceleration) 1705–1736	Succeeded by Augustus Berkeley

[odnb-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography

[legacy-2] y of Sir Cloudsley Shovel Kent History Forum

[3] "Portrait of a Vice-Admiral James Berkeley, 3rd Earl of Berkeley (1680–1736)". Archived from the original on 24 March 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.

[1]

[3]

v t e First Lords of the Admiralty
of England	The Earl of Portland The Earl of Lindsey William Juxon, Bishop of Lincoln The Earl of Northumberland The Lord Cottington Sir Henry Capell The Earl of Nottingham The Earl of Torrington The Earl of Pembroke The Lord Cornwallis The Viscount Falkland The Earl of Orford The Earl of Bridgewater The Earl of Pembroke
of Great Britain	The Earl of Orford Sir John Leake The Earl of Strafford The Earl of Orford The Earl of Berkeley The Viscount Torrington Sir Charles Wager The Earl of Winchilsea The Duke of Bedford The Earl of Sandwich The Lord Anson The Earl Temple The Earl of Winchilsea The Lord Anson The Earl of Halifax George Grenville The Earl of Sandwich The Earl of Egmont Sir Charles Saunders Sir Edward Hawke The Earl of Sandwich The Viscount Keppel The Viscount Howe The Viscount Keppel The Viscount Howe The Earl of Chatham The Earl Spencer
of the United Kingdom	The Earl of St Vincent The Viscount Melville The Lord Barham Viscount Howick Thomas Grenville The Lord Mulgrave Charles Philip Yorke The Viscount Melville The Duke of Clarence The Viscount Melville Sir James Graham, Bt The Lord Auckland The Earl de Grey The Lord Auckland The Earl of Minto The Earl of Haddington The Earl of Ellenborough The Earl of Auckland Sir Francis Baring, Bt The Duke of Northumberland Sir James Graham, Bt Sir Charles Wood, Bt Sir John Pakington, Bt The Duke of Somerset Sir John Pakington, Bt Henry Lowry-Corry Hugh Childers George Goschen George Ward Hunt William Henry Smith The Earl of Northbrook Lord George Hamilton The Marquess of Ripon Lord George Hamilton The Earl Spencer George Goschen The Earl of Selborne The Earl Cawdor The Lord Tweedmouth Reginald McKenna Winston Churchill Arthur Balfour Sir Edward Carson Sir Eric Geddes Walter Long The Viscount Lee of Fareham Wood Anderson Leo Amery The Viscount Chelmsford The Viscount Bridgeman A. V. Alexander Sir Austen Chamberlain The Viscount Monsell Sir Samuel Hoare, Bt Duff Cooper The Earl Stanhope Winston Churchill A. V. Alexander Brendan Bracken A. V. Alexander The Viscount Hall Lord Pakenham Viscount Cilcennin The Viscount Hailsham The Earl of Selkirk The Lord Carrington The Earl Jellicoe

v t e Cabinet of Sir Robert Walpole and The Viscount Townshend (1721–1730)
First Lord of the Treasury Chancellor of the Exchequer Leader of the House of Commons	Sir Robert Walpole (1721–1730)
Northern Secretary	The Viscount Townshend (1721–1730)
Southern Secretary	The Earl Granville (1721–1724) The Duke of Newcastle (1724–1730)
Lord Chancellor	The Earl of Macclesfield (1721–1725) The Lord King (1725–1730)
Lord President of the Council	The Duke of Kingston (1721–1726) The Lord Trevor (1726–1730)
Lord Privy Seal	The Viscount Townshend (1721) The Lord Carleton (1721–1725) The Duke of Devonshire (1725–1730) The Lord Trevor (1730)
First Lord of the Admiralty	The Earl of Berkeley (1721–1727) The Viscount Torrington (1727–1730)
Master-General of the Ordnance	The Duke of Marlborough (1721–1722) The Earl Cadogan (1722–1725) The Duke of Argyll (1725–1730)
Paymaster of the Forces	The Lord Cornwallis (1721–1722) The Earl of Wilmington (1722–1730)
Lord Steward	The Duke of Argyll (1721–1725) The Duke of Dorset (1725–1730)
Lord Chamberlain	The Duke of Newcastle (1721–1724) The Duke of Grafton (1724–1730)
Master of the Horse	The Earl of Scarbrough (1727–1730)