The son of Benjamin James of Bristol, joiner (A).
| 1747 | 9 Jan. He was apprenticed to Thomas II and Bathsheba Cantle, £10 paid with the apprentice. Friends to find apparel (A, Ao, Ar). |
| 1754 | 29 Mar. He became a free potter (F). |
| 1754 | Potter, St James’s parish (P). |
| 1774 | Potter, Philip and Jacob parish (P). |
| 1774 | Judith, the wife of Philip James of Temple parish, potter, received £1 from John Whitson’s Charity for poor women in child bed (JW). |
| 1775 | China painter, 30 Ellbroad Street (SD). |
| 1777 | Judith, the wife of Philip James of St Philip and Jacob parish, potter, received £1 from John Whitson’s Charity for poor women in child bed (JW). |
| 1788 | 20 Oct. He was described as a china painter when his son, Philip, was apprenticed to William Stratton, peruke maker (A). |
| Rate book entries: 29 Sep 1774-26 Mar 1776] Philip James Ellbroad Street (St Philip’s-PR). |