Sir James Lowther was born in 1673, the second son of Sir John Lowther.  He inherited the family’s estates when his spendthrift older brother was disinherited.  Most of the family wealth was built on the Whitehaven collieries and he invested heavily in extending those.  He was responsible for the sinking of Saltom Pit in 1729.

By the 1730s Sir James was probably the richest commoner in England.  He had an income of £25,000 a year when he died in 1755.  Despite this, he lived frugally and became known as ‘Farthing Jemmy’.  He  was more interested in making and saving money than he was in spending it.

In 1754 John Wesley (the founder of Methodism) was so worried about Sir James’ immortal soul, that he wrote to him to challenge attitudes such as ‘…  men of fortune must mind their fortune; that you cannot go about to look for poor people;…  that many make an ill use of what you give them; … that you have also given to several hospitals…, but that you must support your family; that the Lowther family has continued above four hundred years; that you are for great things -- for public charities and for saving the nation from ruin; and that others may think as they please, but this is your way of thinking …’

Sir James made annual trips from London even after gout meant he had to have a leg amputated.  He was obviously keen to personally oversee his investments.  He died unmarried leaving a vast fortune to his fourth cousin once removed, Sir William Lowther.  It seems that he did not share Wesley’s concern about his immortal soul.