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.
Berkeley family docent and genealogist at the Berkeley Castle listed the Barclay clan as also descending from the de Berkeley clan through the matriarchal line Alice De Berkeley -- the woman who married Robert Fitzharding and restored the family's name. Additionally, historians on Scottish clans and surnames point out that the Barclay clan spelling moves into the Berkeley (pronounced Bar-Clay) spelling. This descends from Sir Maurice Berkeley (by 1514–81), a politician who rose rapidly in the Tudor court. He came from the Berkeleys of Stoke Gifford, a cadet branch of the main Berkeley family, as a descendant of Sir Maurice de Berkeley