Thomas Watson-Wentworth

Memorial to Thomas Watson-Wentworth in the north choir aisle of York Minster

Hon. Thomas Watson, later known as Thomas Watson-Wentworth (17 June 1665 – 6 October 1723), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1701 and 1723.

Life and career

Wentworth was the third son of Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He married Alice Proby, a daughter of Sir Thomas Proby, 1st Baronet in 1689. [1]

In 1695, Watson inherited the fortune of William Wentworth, 2nd Earl of Strafford, including the Wentworth Woodhouse estate, as the son of the second Earl of Strafford's sister Anne. This was in preference to the earl's nearer relative, Thomas Wentworth, and it led to a fierce rivalry between the two men and their families. In recognition of the bequest, Watson adopted the name of Wentworth, becoming Thomas Watson-Wentworth thereafter.[1]

Watson-Wentworth was a Member of Parliament for Bossiney in 1701 and for Higham Ferrers from 1703 to 1713. He sat for Malton from 1713 until 1722, and for Higham Ferrers again from 1722 until his death. He has a monument in York Minster.[1]

His son was Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC (I) (13 November 1693 – 14 December 1750), a British peer and Whig politician.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "WENTWORTH, Hon. Thomas Watson (1665-1723), of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorks. and Great Harrowden, Northants". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 9 August 2018.


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