Sir James Sanderson, 1st Baronet (30 December 1741 – 21 June 1798) was an English banker, a Member of Parliament, an alderman and Lord Mayor of London.

He also served as president of Bridewell Hospital (now a school), and was a member of William Wilberforce's Proclamation Society for the Discouragement of Vice.

[5] He started business buying and selling hops before becoming a banker at Mansion House Street in Southwark.

[6] It was reported that this was a time: ... when the principles of the French Revolution were contaminating the minds of men, opinions which required to be counteracted by a firm, prudent, and constitutional chief magistrate.

Vansittart went on to be one of the most successful Chancellors of the Exchequer, whilst Sanderson became a friend and admirer of William Pitt the Younger and was "a favourite" of him and the king.

[10]) Sanderson's memorial at St Magnus-the-Martyr church in the City of London was thought notable by the architectural historian, Nikolaus Pevsner.