Christopher George Walter James, 5th Baron Northbourne DL, FRICS (born 18 February 1926) is a British farmer and businessman. He is one of the ninety hereditary peers elected to remain in the House of Lords after the passing of the House of Lords Act 1999.
The son of Walter James, 4th Baron Northbourne and his wife, Katharine Louise Nickerson of Boston, Massachusetts, he succeeded to his father's title in 1982. He was educated at Eton College in Berkshire and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he graduated with a Master of Arts in 1959.
James is deputy chair of Toynbee Hall and chair of Betteshanger Farms Ltd. Since 1999, he has been chair of the Parenting Support Forum and governor of Wye College. Since 2002, he has been also chair of the Stepney Children's Fund. He is a Deputy Lieutenant and a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS).
On 18 July 1959, he married Marie Sygne Claudel, daughter of Henri Claudel. They have three sons, including the heir Charles Walter Henry James, and a daughter. Their garden at Elizabethan Northbourne Court near Deal in Kent, set within the standing former outbuildings (the manor house burned in the 18th century) and upon ancient terracing, nurtured for a century, is reputed one of the finest in England; it is not generally open to the public.[1]
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Walter James |
Baron Northbourne 1982–present |
Succeeded by (current incumbent) |