James Berkeley James Berkeley James Berkeley (died 1327) was Bishop of Exeter for a period of three months in 1327, which term was cut short by his death or possible murder. Berkeley was a younger son of Thomas de Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley (1245-1321), "The Wise", feudal baron of Berkeley of Berkeley Castle in Gloucestershire, by his wife Joan de Ferrers, a daughter of William de Ferrers, 5th Earl of Derby by his wife Margaret de Quincy, a daughter of Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester. Berkeley was elected bishop on 5 December 1326 and was consecrated on 22 March 1327.
James Berkeley Berkeley died on 24 June 1327, having been murdered and having suffered the destruction and despoilation of his manors, according to the account by his successor John de Grandisson. Berkeley was buried in Exeter Cathedral, against the north wall of the south ambulatory, where survives his chest tomb. It is devoid of the monumental brass which originally adorned the Purbeck marble ledger stone top, in the form of a demi-effigy of a bishop wearing a mitre, the indent of which is still visible. Following the Reformation the brass was stripped away in 1561 on the orders of the Cathedral authorities.