James Ley 1550-1629
From Book Owners Online
Sir James Ley, 1st Earl of Marlborough 1550-1629
Biographical Note
Son of Henry Ley (d.1589) and father of the poet [[family::Lady Hester Pulter; matriculated at Queen's College, Cambridge as a pensioner in 1571 but graduated BA from Brasenose College, Oxford in 1574. Entered Lincoln's Inn in 1577; utter barrister in 1584; reader of Furnival's Inn.
MP for Westbury 1597; JP 1593; founding member of the Society of Antiquaries.
Lawyer and judge with antiquarian interests.
Books
Ley's books, manuscripts and works of art remained in the family for several generations.
Characteristic Markings
Books with his armorial stamps survive.
Sources
- British Armorial Bindings.
- Prest, Wilfrid. "Ley, James, first earl of Marlborough (1550–1629), judge and politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.