James Shipton (19 August 1798 – 1 February 1865) was a timber merchant and licensed carrier who served as mayor of Wolverhampton from 1854 to 1855.
Shiptons developed a new Albion Wharf depot for the Swift Packet boat service between Birmingham and Wolverhampton to replace their earlier site.
The list of daily destinations served by Shipton's fly boats gives an idea of the scale of the operation: Liverpool, Manchester, Preston Brook, Chester, Wrexham, North Wales, Shardlow, Gainsborough, Derby, Hull, the Staffordshire iron works, Bilston, Dudley, Worcester, Gloucester, Bristol, Tewkesbury, London, Birmingham, Stourport, and Kidderminster.Shipton's operation as a carrier of anything, but specialising in finished iron products, grew through several acquisitions until it was taken over by the North Staffordshire Railway in 1847.
This dispute led to the tenure of the next Mayor, Edward Perry, being extended to two terms to resolve the situation.
Shipton married Anne Adcock of Penkridge, Staffordshire on 27 July 1824 and the family lived at Dunstall Hill, Wolverhampton, north of the town.