James Sutton was an English boatbuilder, canal boat carrier and owner of salt works. He became High Sheriff of Derbyshire.

Sutton was born at Aston on Trent, the son of James Sutton and his wife Mary Crane. His father is said to have begun as a boatman but was successful in business in the salt trade, canal carrying and boatbuilding. The Suttons had a salt works at Rode Heath

Rode Heath

Rode Heath is a small village in the civil parish of Odd Rode, within the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of in Cheshire, England near Alsager. According to the 2001 census, Rode Heath had a population of 2,150. The village was previously two villages, Rode Heath and...

 Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

 and Shirleywich, Staffordshire. The Trent and Mersey Canal

Trent and Mersey Canal

The Trent and Mersey Canal is a in the East Midlands, West Midlands, and North West of England. It is a "narrow canal" for the vast majority of its length, but at the extremities—east of Burton upon Trent and west of Middlewich—it is a wide canal....

, linking with the River Trent

River Trent

The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...

 near Shardlow

Shardlow

Shardlow is a village in Derbyshire, England about 8 km southeast of Derby and 12 km southwest of Nottingham. It is part of the civil parish of Shardlow and Great Wilne, and the district of South Derbyshire. It is also very close to the border with Leicestershire which follows the River Trent, ...

, made the town a significant trans-shipment point. Sutton helped his father in the business and inherited it on his father's death in 1830. He was in partnership in a canal carrying company with James Clifford of Shardlow, and Charles Atkins of Etruria, Staffordshire in the Shardlow Boat Company. His business conveyed by water to Derby

Derby

Derby , is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...

, Hull

Kingston upon Hull

Kingston upon Hull , usually referred to as Hull, is a city and unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It stands on the River Hull at its junction with the Humber estuary, 25 miles inland from the North Sea. Hull has a resident population of...

, Sleaford

Sleaford

Sleaford is a town in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is located thirteen miles northeast of Grantham, seventeen miles west of Boston, and nineteen miles south of Lincoln, and had a total resident population of around 14,500 in 6,167 households at the time...

, Lincoln

Lincoln, Lincolnshire

Lincoln is a cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England.The non-metropolitan district of Lincoln has a population of 85,595; the 2001 census gave the entire area of Lincoln a population of 120,779....

, Nottingham

Nottingham

Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...

, Gainsborough

Gainsborough, Lincolnshire

Gainsborough is a town 15 miles north-west of Lincoln on the River Trent within the West Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. At one time it served as an important port with trade downstream to Hull, and was the most inland in England, being more than 55 miles from the North...

, Liverpool

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

, Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, Birmingham

Birmingham

Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...

, The Potteries, Cheshire Salt Works, Stourport, Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton

Wolverhampton is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands, England. For Eurostat purposes Walsall and Wolverhampton is a NUTS 3 region and is one of five boroughs or unitary districts that comprise the "West Midlands" NUTS 2 region...

, Dudley

Dudley

Dudley is a large town in the West Midlands county of England. At the 2001 census , the Dudley Urban Sub Area had a population of 194,919, making it the 26th largest settlement in England, the second largest town in the United Kingdom behind Reading, and the largest settlement in the UK without...

 and Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

. Sutton had two wharves at Shardlow. He lived at Shardlow Hall, Derbyshire

Shardlow Hall, Derbyshire

Shardlow Hall is a 17th century former country house at Shardlow, Derbyshire now in use as commercial offices. It is a Grade II* listed building which is officially listed on the Buildings at Risk Register.....

, which either he or his father purchased in 1826. In 1843 Sutton was High Sheriff of Derbyshire

High Sheriff of Derbyshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1568.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...

. With the coming of the railways, the canal business was in decline, and by 1850 Sutton had stopped building boats and by 1858 had closed the wharf in Derby.

Sutton died at Shardlow at the age of 68.

Sutton married Sophia Hoskins, the daughter of Abraham Hoskins who built Bladon Castle at Newton Solney

Newton Solney

Newton Solney is a small village in South Derbyshire, England, located about two miles from the East Staffordshire border, near to Burton upon Trent...

. Three of her sisters married members of the Wilders family who founded the Burton Brewery Company

Burton Brewery Company

The Burton Brewery Company was one of the largest brewers in Burton upon Trent, England in the 19th century.The company was founded in 1842 by Henry and Thomas Wilders, who came from a family of tanners. They built their brewery on their leather-working premises in Burton High Street. It grew...

 and her aunt married Michael Thomas Bass

Michael Thomas Bass, Sr.

Michael Thomas Bass, Sr. was a brewer of Burton on Trent, England, who considerably developed the Bass brewing company.-Biography:...

 of the brewery company. Their son Sir Henry Sutton QC had daughters who married Julius Bertram

Julius Bertram

Julius Bertram was a Liberal Party politician in the United Kingdom who served one term as Member of Parliament for the Hitchin division of Hertfordshire....

 and Herbert Warrington Smyth

Herbert Warrington Smyth

Herbert Warington Smyth CMG, LLM, FGS, FRGS, was a British traveller, writer, naval officer and mining engineer who served the government of Siam and held several important posts in the Union of South Africa....

. Their son Rev. Alfred Sutton was the father of Air Marshall Sir Bertine Sutton

Bertine Sutton

Air Marshal Sir Bertine Entwisle Sutton KBE, CB, DSO, MC, RAF was a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I and a senior officer in the Royal Air Force from the 1920s to the 1940s.-Early life:...

.