Thomas Watson (ca. 1701 – 7 January 1766) of Grindon Bridge, Northumberland, was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

from 1740 to 1765. Watson was the son of Thomas Watson of Berwick and his wife Margaret Clerk. He married Barbara Forster. He was an influential member of the corporation of Berwick and was Mayor of Berwick in 1727, 1729, 1732, 1734, 1736 and 1739. In 1732 he was appointed commissary of musters in south Britain. Watson was returned 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 ...

(MP) for

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

at a by-election on 27 November 1740. He voted regularly with the Government and in 1741 was appointed deputy commissary for Danish and Hessian troops in British pay. He was returned again in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

and 1747. Watson was returned unopposed as MP for Berwick at the 1754 British general election. In March 1754 he is shown in a list of secret service pensions as receiving one of £500 a year. This pension lapsed when Newcastle, who awarded it, left office and Watson spent years trying to recover it. At the 1761 British general election, Watson was returned unopposed again. He vacated his seat in December 1765. Watson died without issue on 7 January 1766.

References

1700s births 1766 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Year of birth uncertain British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub