James Watney Jr. (19 May 1832 – 2 November 1886) was a prominent member of the

Watney family The Watney family is an English family known for its association with the brewing firm Watney Combe & Reid,Janes, H. ''The Red Barrel: A History of Watney Mann'' (1963). as well as for its political activities, philanthropy and missionary work. Mem ...

and a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Member of Parliament for

East Surrey East Surrey is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2019 by Claire Coutinho, a Conservative who formerly served as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero. The seat covers an affluent area in t ...

Family and early life

Born in 1832, Watney was the eldest son of the brewer

James Watney James Watney (18 December 1800 16 March 1884) was an English brewing, brewer and landowner who resided at Haling Park, Croydon, and Beddington, Surrey. He was born to Daniel Watney (1771–1831) of Mitcham, Surrey and Mary Galpin (1771–1830 ...

and his wife Rebecca Spurrell. His youngest brother was the physician

Herbert Watney Herbert Watney (1843–1932) of Buckhold, Pangbourne, Berkshire (now St Andrew's School, Pangbourne, St. Andrew's School) was a nineteenth century London physician, landowner and Philanthropy, philanthropist, and a strong supporter of Christian mi ...

. Watney played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is of three or more days scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officially adju ...

for

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

(1851) and the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(1851–1852). He married Blanche Maria Georgiana, daughter of Frederick Salmon Burrell, on 8 July 1856 and lived at Haling Park in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

Beddington Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became ...

in Surrey. and Thorney House, Palace Gate, in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

.'Palace Gate', in Survey of London: Volume 38, South Kensington Museums Area, ed. F H W Sheppard (London, 1975), pp. 38-48. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol38/pp38-48 He had three children: Florence Blanche Watney (1857–1863), Vernon James Watney (1860–1928) and Claude Watney (1868–1919).

Business and political career

In 1856 Watney and his brother Norman joined their father as partners in the

Stag Brewery Mortlake is a suburban district of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames on the south bank of the River Thames between Kew and Barnes, London, Barnes. Historically it was part of Surrey and until 1965 was in the Municipal Borough of Barnes ...

Pimlico Pimlico () is a district in Central London, in the City of Westminster, built as a southern extension to neighbouring Belgravia. It is known for its garden squares and distinctive Regency architecture. Pimlico is demarcated to the north by Lon ...

. The firm, then known as Elliot, Watney & Co., changed its name to James Watney & Co. in 1858 following the retirement of John Lettsom Elliott. Watney's father kept the management almost entirely to himself until his death in 1884, and the following year Watney & Co. Ltd. was established as a

private limited company A private limited company is any type of business entity in Privately held company, "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a Public company, publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Example ...

. Watney contested the 1871 by-election in the

constituency as a

, following the death of the Liberal MP and fellow brewer Charles Buxton. According to the ''Birmingham Daily Post'', "he ... stood on the 'Beer and Bible' platform, and carried what had always been regarded as a

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable enclosure used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body ...

Liberal seat by a swinging majority". He sat as the second member of the two-seat constituency until it was abolished at the 1885 election, making 61 contributions in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

between 1872 and 1882, but none in 1875. Watney served as

Master of the Mercers' Company The Master Mercers of the Worshipful Company of Mercers have been, by reign: Richard II of England :1390 John Lovey :1391 John Organ :1392 John Organ :1393 John Organ :1394 William Parker :1395 Sir Richard Whittington (1st term) :1396 John Shadwor ...

in 1879. He died on 2 November 1886 at Englemere House in

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meeti ...

, outliving his father by 16 months. His will was proved on its fourth reswearing owing to minor alterations and final accounting, and his estate was valued at .https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk Calendar of Probates and Administrations His widow died on 3 February 1915. Watney's burial, held at

Brookwood Cemetery Brookwood Cemetery, also known as the London Necropolis, is a burial ground in Brookwood, Surrey, England. It is the largest cemetery in the United Kingdom and one of the largest in Europe. The cemetery is listed a Grade I site in the Regist ...

on 6 November, was attended by a large number of mourners, including staff of the

.The Morning Post (London, England), Monday, 8 November 1886; pg. 5; Issue 35689. British Library Newspapers, Part II: 1800-1900.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watney, James 1832 births 1886 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 English cricketers Surrey cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Surrey Club cricketers Gentlemen of England cricketers

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

Burials at Brookwood Cemetery Masters of the Worshipful Company of Brewers