James Wells (3 Aug 1787- 20 Mar 1891) was an English Centenarian, Napoleonic War Volunteer and gardener.

Born in Britford, Wiltshire to Thomas Wells, a Carpenter, and his wife Sarah Lye, daughter of Richard Lye and Anne Reeves. Richard's mother, Jane Batt was the granddaughter of Samuel Batt, Rector of Coulston by his first wife and the great granddaughter of Christopher Batt, of Massachusetts who came from a family of successful tanners in Wiltshire.

James was bapitsed on 11 Sep 1789 in Upavon, Wiltshire. He had one known younger brother called Richard and another older brother called John who died as an infant. He probably did not know about him. James and Richard were baptised together but were not twins.

When James was very young, he joined the Volunteer force raised to repel the threatened invasion by "Boney" a British nickname for Napoleon Bonaparte.

At the age of 22-23, he participated in the festivies of George III.'s jubilee and at the age of 100 he shared in the rejoicings at the jubilee of Queen Victoria's reign and most likely got a letter from the Queen.

He was also the gardener at Salisbury Palace during the episcopate of John Fisher (bishop of Salisbury) and afterwards, was similarly engaged at Whitehayer, Christchurch.

In the 1840s, James moved with some of his close family to Bramshaw which is where he resided for the rest of his life. He became the gardener for Thomas Deane Shute and his son Sir Charles Cameron Shute K.C.B of whom he recieved a pension from and worked under for many years at Bramshaw. He never missed Church on a Sunday. Up until his late 90s he walked upwards of a mile to the Parish Church twice a day. The Rev. Arthur CB Dobie wrote that James stated "The wonderful mercy of God which had prolonged his life upwards of a century, had fed him all through with bread, and given him a blessed freedom from pain". He was a pensioner of the Gardeners' Royal Benevolent Institution from 1860 to close to his death. He recieved praise from Sir Harry Veitch in 1890 "Long may he live to enjoy his well-merited pension".

100th Birthday (1887) News of James' 100th birthday had spread rapidly throughout the country and globally. He was honoured and respected by all families around. Telegrams and congratulatory letters were recieved from all over the country and he was personally congratulated by many of his friends and relatives. A large party assembled to honour the occasion, among those present were his two sons, his daughter and some 25 grandchildren and great grandchildren. He resided in a rustic cottage on the estate of Mr. George Edward Eyre, Esq., JP.

Death In March 1891, James died after a short period of illness aged 103 in his 104th year on the 20 Mar 1891. News of his death spread throughout the UK and many newspapers throughout England, Scotland and Wales honoured his incredible life. The news reached as far as Auckland, New Zealand. Until the end, his daughter, Sarah had cared and looked after him along with his grandchildren, Sarah Wells, Alice Wells and John William Fielder who visited and stayed with him regularly. His memory had remained until the end as he could recall all of his family member's names but his eyesight had become somewhat dimmed. He was of most abstemious habits, and although a smoker, abandoned that habit during his last few years. Furthermore, he could recollect and sing nine long verses of a Christmas Carol which he learnt as a boy. He was buried in St Peter's Church in Bramshaw on 26 Mar 1891. He was the oldest person in Hampshire at the time.