Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, KB, PC (I) (13 November 1693 – 14 December 1750) of Wentworth Woodhouse, Yorkshire was a British Whig 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. T ...

from 1715 until 1728 when he was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

as Baron Malton.

Early life

Watson-Wentworth was born at Tidmington, Worcestershire the only son and heir of Thomas Watson (later Watson-Wentworth, the third son of Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham) and his wife, Alice Proby, a daughter of

Sir Thomas Proby, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Proby, 1st Baronet (18 October 1632 – 22 April 1689) of Elton Hall, Huntingdonshire (now Cambridgeshire) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1660 and 1685. Proby was the son of Sir Heneage Proby (o ...

. He was admitted at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

on 15 May 1707 and was awarded MA in 1708. In 1708, he bought Hallfield House, near Sheffield. On 22 September 1716, he married Lady Mary Finch, a daughter of

Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 7th Earl of Winchilsea, PC (2 July 16471 January 1730) was an English Tory statesman who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714. Origins He was born on 2 July 1647, the son of Heneage Finch, 1st Ea ...

, and his second wife, Ann Hatton. He succeeded his father to Wentworth Woodhouse in 1723, remodelling the house to its present form.

Career

At the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

, Watson-Wentworth was elected in a contest 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 o ...

for the family borough of Malton. He was returned again unopposed at the 1722 general election. On the death of his father in 1723 he set himself up as leader of the Whigs in Yorkshire. In 1725, he was appointed a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as on ...

. At the 1727 general election he was returned unopposed as MP for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

instead. In 1728, he was created Baron Malton and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. At this time, now Lord Malton, he deliberately burned most of the manuscripts left by the 17th-century antiquary

Richard Gascoigne Richard Gascoigne ( 27 May 1579 — 23 August 1661 24 March 1664) was an English antiquarian. Biography Gascoigne was baptised on 27 May 1579 at St Mary the Virgin, Shenfield, Essex. He was the fourth son of George Gascoigne (1531?–1620), ...

; this act has been attributed to legal advice from his attorney. He was admitted to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execu ...

in 1733 and was

Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire This is a list of those who have held the position of Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire from its creation in 1660 to its abolition on 31 March 1974. From 1699 until 1974, all Lords Lieutenant were also Custos Rotulorum of the West Ri ...

from 1733 to 1750. In 1734, he was created Earl of Malton, and in 1746,

Marquess of Rockingham Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family descended from Lewis Watson, Member of Parliament f ...

. He had inherited the Barony of Rockingham and

Rockingham Castle Rockingham Castle is a former royal castle and hunting lodge in Rockingham Forest approximately two miles north from the town centre of Corby, Northamptonshire. History 11th – 14th centuries The site on which the castle stands was used in th ...

from 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 ...

, earlier in 1746.

Family

Lord Rockingham died on 14 December 1750, according to Walpole 'drowned in claret', and was buried in

York Minster The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, commonly known as York Minster, is the cathedral of York, North Yorkshire, England, and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe. The minster is the seat of the Arch ...

. He and his wife Mary had five children: *William, styled Viscount Higham (1728–1739). * Charles, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (1730–1782),

Prime Minister of Great Britain The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...

. *Lady Anne (d. 1769), married

William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam William FitzWilliam, 3rd Earl FitzWilliam (15 January 1719/20 – 10 August 1756) was a British peer, nobleman, and politician. He was the son of John Fitzwilliam, 2nd Earl Fitzwilliam by his wife Anne, daughter of John Stringer of Sutton cum L ...

. *Lady Mary, married John Milbanke. *Lady Henrietta Alicia, married William Sturgeon.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rockingham, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of 1693 births 1750 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Lord-Lieutenants of the West Riding of Yorkshire Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Whig (British political party) MPs Marquesses of Rockingham Peers of Great Britain created by George II Parents of prime ministers of the United Kingdom