Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham
Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC (I) (13 November 1693 – 14 December 1750) was a British peer and Whig politician.
Watson-Wentworth was the only son and heir of Hon. Thomas Watson (later Watson-Wentworth, the third son of Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham) and his wife, Alice, a daughter of Sir Thomas Proby, 1st Baronet. He was educated at St John’s College, Cambridge (1707).[1] In 1708 he bought Hallfield House, near Sheffield, and succeeded his father in 1723.
From 1715 to 1727, Watson-Wentworth was Member of Parliament for Malton, and for Yorkshire from 1727 to 1728. In 1725, he was appointed a Knight of the Bath, admitted to the Privy Council of Ireland in 1733, and was Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire from 1733 to 1750. In 1728, he was created Baron Malton.[1] At this time he deliberately burned most of the manuscripts left by the 17th-century antiquary Richard Gascoigne; this act has been attributed to legal advice from his attorney.[2] In 1734, he was created Earl of Malton, and in 1746, Marquess of Rockingham. He had inherited the barony of Rockingham from his cousin, Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham, earlier in 1746.
Family
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On 22 September 1716, Rockingham married Lady Mary Finch, a daughter of Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, and his second wife, Ann Hatton. They had five children:
- William, styled Viscount Higham (1728–1739)
- Hon. Charles, later styled Viscount Higham, later still 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782), Prime Minister of Great Britain.
- Lady Anne (d. 1769), married William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam.
- Lady Mary, married John Milbanke.
- Lady Henrietta Alicia, married William Sturgeon.
References
- 1 2 "WATSON WENTWORTH, Thomas (1693-1750), of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorks.". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
- ↑ Pearson, R. E. O. "Gascoigne, Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/10423. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by William Palmes Hon. Thomas Watson-Wentworth |
Member of Parliament for Malton 1715–1727 With: Hon. Thomas Watson-Wentworth 1715–22 Sir William Strickland, Bt. 1722–24 Hon. Henry Finch 1724–27 |
Succeeded by Hon. Henry Finch Wardell Westby |
| Preceded by The Viscount Downe Cholmley Turner |
Member of Parliament for Yorkshire 1727–1728 With: Cholmley Turner |
Succeeded by Cholmley Turner Sir George Savile, Bt |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Burlington |
Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire 1733–1750 |
Succeeded by The Marquess of Rockingham |
| Custos Rotulorum of the North Riding of Yorkshire 1733–1750 | ||
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| New creation | Marquess of Rockingham 1746–1750 |
Succeeded by Charles Watson-Wentworth |
| Earl of Malton 1734–1750 | ||
| Baron Malton 1728–1750 | ||
| Peerage of England | ||
| Preceded by Thomas Watson |
Baron Rockingham 1746–1750 |
Succeeded by Charles Watson-Wentworth |