John James Watson (1767–1839) was an English clergyman who became prominent in the

High Church A ''high church'' is a Christian Church whose beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, Christian liturgy, liturgy, and Christian theology, theology emphasize "ritual, priestly authority, ndsacraments," and a standard liturgy. Although ...

group known now as the

Hackney Phalanx Hackney Phalanx was a group of high-church Tory defenders of Anglican orthodoxy prominent for around 25 years from . They consisted of both clergy and laymen, and filled many of the higher posts of the Church of England of the time. The Phalanx, a ...

. He became

Archdeacon of St Albans The Archdeacon of St Albans is an ecclesiastical post in the Church of England Diocese of St Albans in the Province of Canterbury. History Before the Dissolution of the Monasteries and Henrican reforms of the 16th century, there were Archdeacon ...

in 1816.

Life

Watson, brother of

Joshua Watson Joshua Watson (1771–1855) was an English wine merchant, philanthropist, a prominent member of the high church party and of several charitable organisations, who became known as "the best layman in England". Life Joshua Watson was born on Tow ...

, was curate to

Jonathan Boucher Rev. Jonathan Boucher FRSE, FSA (12 March 1738 – 27 April 1804) was an English clergyman, teacher, preacher and philologist. Early career Jonathan Boucher was born in Blencogo, near Wigton, Cumberland, and educated at the Wigton Grammar Sch ...

, a friend of his father, at

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

. From 1799 he was

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

, and then

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, of Hackney, at that time east of London proper. Appointed Archdeacon of St Albans in 1816, he held onto the rectorship of Hackney.

Henry Handley Norris Henry Handley Norris (1771–1850) was an English clergyman and theologian. He was the clerical leader of the High Church grouping later known as the Hackney Phalanx, that grew up around him and his friend Joshua Watson. Life The son of Henry Ha ...

was Watson's curate, and brother-in-law, and held a post at South Hackney from 1809. The Watson brothers and Norris became the core members of the "Hackney Phalanx", with shared orthodox

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

beliefs and family ties. Others who acted as curates to Watson were George Townsend and

Edward Churton Edward Churton (26 January 1800 – July 1874) was an English churchman and Spanish scholar. Life He was born on 26 January 1800 at Middleton Cheney, Northamptonshire, the second son of Ralph Churton, archdeacon of St David's. He was educated ...

. Churton married Watson's eldest daughter, Caroline.

Family

Watson married Caroline Powell, sister of the elder Baden Powell (13 Dec 1725 - 31 Jan 1810), the merchant; Powell's daughter Henrietta married

. Powell's other sister Susanna (24 Nov 1765 - 20 Jan 1846) married Thomas Sikes ( - 14 Dec 1834), vicar of

Guilsborough Guilsborough is a village and civil parish in West Northamptonshire in England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 882 people, reducing to 692 at the 2011 Census. It is at the centre of an area of rural villages betw ...

, and Watson's friend from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Joshua Watson married Mary Sikes, sister of Thomas Sikes. The younger Baden Powell (22 Aug 1796 - 11 Jun 1860) was therefore nephew to John James Watson.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John James 1767 births 1839 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests 19th-century English Anglican priests Archdeacons of St Albans