John Watson (1520–1584) was

Bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

in the 1580s.

Life

He was born in

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, England, the son of Thomas Watson and Agnes née Weeks. Thomas Watson was born in Evesham around 1491 and in 1544 purchased part of the former Evesham Abbey lands and the lordship of Bengeworth, across the River Avon from Evesham town. On those lands he built a fine Tudor house as the family home. It was named the Mansion House, and though much modified, retained that name until about 1970, when it was renamed the Evesham Hotel, which name it still bears in 2020. He qualified with a Bachelor of Arts from

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in June 1539. In 1540 he was elected Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

. On 25 June 1544 he qualified with the

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

. He graduated as

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin language, Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a profes ...

at Oxford 27 July 1573. Between 1572 and 1580 he was Master of the Hospital of St. Cross and Dean of Winchester. He became a prebendary of Winchester Cathedral on 14 December 1551 and 26 August 1559. On 7 February 1557/58 he was Collated to the Chancellorship of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London and is a Grad ...

, London. In 1559 he was appointed

Archdeacon of Surrey The Archdeaconry of Surrey is the ecclesiastical officer in charge of the archdeaconry of Surrey, a subdivision of the Church of England Diocese of Guildford in the Province of Canterbury. History The whole archdeaconry was historically in the d ...

. In 1580 he lived in

Wolvesey Castle Wolvesey Castle, also known as the "Old Bishop's Palace", is a ruined building in Winchester, Hampshire, England that was a bishop's palace, and was briefly fortified during the later years of Henry of Blois, the Bishop of Winchester. Histor ...

Winchester. He was admitted as Dean of Winton on 14 February 1572/3 after Dr Frank Newton died. He served in this position until he became a bishop. He resigned from being a prebendary of Langford Manor in the church of Lincoln before 1574. Watson paid

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, (24 June 1532 – 4 September 1588) was an English statesman and the favourite of Elizabeth I from her accession until his death. He was a suitor for the queen's hand for many years. Dudley's youth was ov ...

200 pounds to lobby for him not being made a bishop. The earl lobbied the

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

saying "how otherwise it would be £200 out of his way". The Queen responded "Nay, then, Watson shall have it, he being more worthy thereof, who will give £200 to decline, than he who will give £2000 to attain it." Queen Elizabeth I bestowed the position of bishop to Watson. He was consecrated as bishop on 15 September 1580. Between 1580 and 1584 he was Bishop of Winchester.

Stephen Hyde Cassan Stephen Hyde Cassan (1789–1841) was an English Anglican priest and ecclesiastical biographer. Life The son of Stephen Cassan, a barrister, and his wife Sarah, daughter of Charles Mears, he was born in Calcutta, where his father was sheriff. J ...

''The Lives of the Bishops of Winchester''
1827 vol 2 page 32-35

Death

The Bishop died on 23 January 1583/84 in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

. He was buried on 17 February 1583/84 in the Nave of

Winchester Cathedral The Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity,Historic England. "Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity (1095509)". ''National Heritage List for England''. Retrieved 8 September 2014. Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Swithun, commonly known as Winches ...

, adjoining the 8th bay of the North aisle 1. His will dated 22 October 1584 was proved citing

Sir Francis Walsingham Sir Francis Walsingham ( – 6 April 1590) was principal secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England from 20 December 1573 until his death and is popularly remembered as her "spymaster". Born to a well-connected family of gentry, Wals ...

as Chief Overseer. The burial stone of Bishop Watson is in Winchester Cathedral on the north side of the nave in the 5th, bay westward from the tower pillars. It is of a shelly limestone polished to resemble marble. The inscription in Latin is: JOHANNES WATSON HVIVS ECCLESIAE WINTON PRAEBENDARIVS DECANVS AC DEINDE ESPICOPVS PRVDENTISSIMVS PATER, VIR OPTIMVS PRAECIPVE ERGA INOPES MISERCORS OBIT IN DOMINO JANUAR 23 ANNO AETATIS 63, EPISCOPATVS 4, 1583 :''John Watson, Prebendary Church In Winchester, Dean and then Bishop, a very wise father, A very good man, tender especially towards the Needy. He died in the Lord January 23rd. In the 63rd, year of his age, the 4th of his Bishopric, 1583''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John 1520 births 1580s deaths People from Evesham Bishops of Winchester 16th-century Church of England bishops Deans of Winchester