James Fiennes, 1st Baron Saye and Sele (c. 1395 – 4 July 1450) was an English soldier and politician, son of Sir William Fiennes (Herstmonceux

Herstmonceux

Herstmonceux is a village and civil parish in the Wealden District of East Sussex, England. The parish includes Herstmonceux Castle, the village of Cowbeech and a number of smaller hamlets.-History:...

, Sussex, 1 August 1357 – 18 January 1401/1402) and wife Elizabeth Batisford (- bef. 1407).

Fiennes fought in the Hundred Years' War

Hundred Years' War

The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...

 and also served as High Sheriff of Kent

High Sheriff of Kent

The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 in 1436 and High Sheriff of Surrey

High Sheriff of Surrey

-List of High Sheriffs of Surrey:The list of known High Sheriffs of Surrey extends back to 1066 At various times the High Sheriff of Surrey was also High Sheriff of Sussex -1066-1228:...

 and Sussex

High Sheriff of Sussex

-History:The office of High Sheriff is over 1000 years old, with its establishment before the Norman Conquest. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenant the prime office under the...

 in 1438. He also served as Constable of Dover and Warden of the Cinque Ports

Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports

The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is a ceremonial official in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century but may be older. The Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports was originally in charge of the Cinque Ports, a group of five port towns on the southeast coast of England...

 from 1447 to 1450 and as Lord High Treasurer of England from 1449 to 1450.

He was summoned to Parliament from 1446 to 1449 and is said to have been created Baron Saye and Sele by letters patent in 1447. Saye and Sele was a supporter of William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk

William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk

William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG , nicknamed Jack Napes , was an important English soldier and commander in the Hundred Years' War, and later Lord Chamberlain of England.He also appears prominently in William Shakespeare's Henry VI, part 1 and Henry VI, part 2 and other...

, the principal power behind the throne of Henry VI

Henry VI of England

Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...

.

After Suffolk's deposal in 1450 he was imprisoned in the Tower

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

 and beheaded by a mob of the rebels in London under Captain Jack Cade

Jack Cade

Jack Cade was the leader of a popular revolt in the 1450 Kent rebellion during the reign of King Henry VI in England. He died on the 12th July 1450 near Lewes. In response to grievances, Cade led an army of as many as 5,000 against London, causing the King to flee to Warwickshire. After taking and...

 at the Standard in Cheapside on 4 July 1450. He was succeeded in the barony by his son William.

Ancestry