Lewis Watson, 1st Baron Sondes (28 November 1728 – 30 March 1795), called Hon. Lewis Monson before 1746 and Hon. Lewis Watson from 1746 to 1760, was a British Whig politician and peer. Sondes was the second son of

John Monson, 1st Baron Monson John Monson, 1st Baron Monson (c. 169318 July 1748), known as Sir John Monson, 5th Baronet, from 1727 to 1728, was a British politician. Life He was the son of George Monson of Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, and Anne, daughter of Charles Wren of t ...

, and Lady Margaret Watson, youngest daughter of

Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = Marquess of Rockingham, Baron Rockingham Marquess of Rockingham, Baronet of Rockingham Castle , noble fa ...

.Edmund Lodge
''The Genealogy of the Existing British Peerage: With Sketches of the Family''
(Saunders and Otley, 1838), p.460. Retrieved 16 October 2016. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

between 1737 and 1745. He assumed the surname of Watson in 1746 after inheriting the estates of his cousin,

Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham {{Infobox noble , name = Thomas Watson , title = Earl of Rockingham , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , r ...

. Watson afterwards went on the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

with his second cousin the Earl of Malton (later Marquess of Rockingham) and his third cousin Thomas Pelham. While abroad in Europe in 1750, his third cousin once removed, the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

, arranged for Watson to be returned in April as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the mai ...

in place of the

Earl of Dalkeith Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

, who had died. That autumn, the three kinsmen visited

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, where Newcastle presented them, together with

Viscount Downe Viscount Downe is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in 1675 for William Ducie. However, the title became extinct on his death in 1679. The second creation came in 1680 for John Dawnay. He ha ...

and three other young Englishmen, to

George II of Great Britain , house = Hanover , religion = Protestant , father = George I of Great Britain , mother = Sophia Dorothea of Celle , birth_date = 30 October / 9 November 1683 , birth_place = Herrenhausen Palace,Cannon. or Leine ...

, who was holding court in the Electorate. The king was not pleased and snubbed the party when they were presented. On 12 October 1752, he married his third cousin Grace Pelham (d. 30 July 1777), the third surviving daughter and co-heiress of Prime Minister

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who ...

, Newcastle's brother. They had four sons: * Lewis Watson, 2nd Baron Sondes (18 April 1754 – 21 June 1806). *Rev. Hon. Henry Watson (20 April 1755 – 1 August 1833), rector of

East Carlton East Carlton is a village and civil parish in the county of Northamptonshire, on the southern ridge overlooking the Welland valley to the north and covers on a long strip of land.

and

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

. *Hon. Charles Watson (24 October 1761 – 16 April 1769). *Hon. George Watson (1768–1824). In February 1754, his father-in-law procured for him the lucrative

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

auditor of the imprests Auditor of the Imprests was a profitable office of the Exchequer, responsible for auditing the accounts of officers of the English crown to whom money was issued for government expenditure, from 1559 to 1785. Foundation Prior to 1559 this duty was ...

, in succession to William Benson. The by-election that followed his appointment was not contested. In the 1754 general election that spring, Newcastle had him returned for Boroughbridge again; Watson also led the poll in

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, where he and Robert Fairfax stood as Whigs and defeated Sir Edward Dering, one of the sitting Tory members. Watson chose to sit for Kent. However, he aspired to the House of Lords, as he enjoyed the estates of the extinct earldom of Rockingham and could well afford to support a title. Nor did he wish to stand for the county again. Newcastle pressed his claims strongly on the King, and was ultimately successful: Watson was created Baron Sondes, of Lees Court in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

on 22 May 1760 and vacated his seat in the Commons. In 1785, the office of

was abolished, and he received an annuity of £7,000 a year for life in compensation. He died on 30 March 1795 and was succeeded in his title by his eldest son, Lewis Watson. Sondes was buried at

Rockingham, Northamptonshire Rockingham is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. Close to the border of Leicestershire and Rutland, the village is largely connected to the town of Corby where various local organisations utilise the ''Rockingham'' ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sondes, Lewis Watson, 1st Baron 1728 births 1795 deaths Peers of Great Britain created by George II Watson, Lewis Watson, Lewis Watson, Lewis People educated at Westminster School, London Watson, Lewis Lewis 1 Younger sons of barons