Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham,
KB,
PC (I) (13 November 1693 – 14 December 1750) of
Wentworth Woodhouse
Wentworth Woodhouse is a Grade I listed country house in the village of Wentworth, South Yorkshire, Wentworth, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham in South Yorkshire, England. It is currently owned by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation T ...
, 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 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 ...
from 1715 until 1728 when he was raised to the
Peerage
A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks.
Peerages include:
A ...
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. He was admitted at
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...
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 (1701-1761), a daughter of
Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham and 7th Earl of Winchilsea, and his second wife, the Hon. Anne Hatton. He succeeded his father to Wentworth Woodhouse in 1723, remodelling the house to its present form.
[
]
Career
At the 1715 general election, Watson-Wentworth was elected in a contest as Member of Parliament 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 King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
. At the 1727 general election he was returned unopposed as MP for Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...
instead. In 1728, he was created Baron Malton and vacated his seat in the House of Commons.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 executi ...
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 Marquess of Rockingham, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family ...
. He had inherited the Barony of Rockingham and Rockingham Castle
Rockingham Castle is a former royal castle and Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom#Hunting lodge, hunting lodge in Rockingham Forest, approximately two miles from the town centre of Corby, Northamptonshire, England.
History 11th – 14t ...
from his cousin, Thomas Watson, 3rd Earl of Rockingham, earlier in 1746.[
]
Family
He and his wife Lady Mary Finch (1701–1761) had nine children:
#William (1718-1718)
#Thomas (1720-1734)
#Daniel (1724-1730)
#William, styled Viscount Higham (1728–1739), died young
# 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. Modern pr ...
.
#Lady Anne (d. 1769), married William Fitzwilliam, 3rd Earl Fitzwilliam.
#Lady Mary (1725-1725)
#Lady Mary (1727–1798), married John Milbanke.
#Lady Charlotte Wentworth (1732–1810), died unmarried.York Minster
York Minster, formally the Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of Saint Peter in York, is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. The minster is the seat of the archbishop of York, the second-highest of ...
.
References
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{{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
1
Peers of Great Britain created by George II
Parents of prime ministers of Great Britain