James Ellis was an English lawyer and antiquary.

Ellis was the son of William Ellis, a glover, of Hexham

Hexham

Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...

, and was born about January 1763. He practised as a solicitor in Hexham

Hexham

Hexham is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located south of the River Tyne, and was the administrative centre for the Tynedale district from 1974 to 2009. The three major towns in Tynedale were Hexham, Prudhoe and Haltwhistle, although in terms of population, Prudhoe was...

, and then at Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne

Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

. He was the author of some verses referred to in Moses Aaron Richardson

Moses Aaron Richardson

-Life:He was the younger son of George Richardson , master of Blackett's charity school, Newcastle; his elder brother was Thomas Miles Richardson, the artist...

's Table Book. He also had an extensive knowledge of Border history, communicated materials on the subject to Sir Walter Scott, who was sometimes his guest at Otterburne Hall in Northumberland

Northumberland

Northumberland is the northernmost ceremonial county and a unitary district in North East England. For Eurostat purposes Northumberland is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "Northumberland and Tyne and Wear" NUTS 2 region...

.

Ellis died 25 (or 26) March 1830.