John Watson (1725–1783) was an English clergyman and antiquary.

Life

The son of Legh Watson of Lyme Handley in the parish of Prestbury,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, by his wife Hester, daughter of John Yates of Swinton,

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, he was born at Lyme Handley on 26 March 1725, and educated at the grammar schools of Eccles,

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

and

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

. He matriculated from

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

, 8 April 1742, graduating B.A. 1745 and M.A. 1748. On 27 June 1746 he was elected to a Cheshire fellowship of his college. In December 1746 Watson took holy orders and entered on the curacy of

Runcorn Runcorn is an industrial town and Runcorn Docks, cargo port in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England. Runcorn is on the south bank of the River Mersey, where the estuary narrows to form the Runcorn Gap. It is upstream from the port of Live ...

, Cheshire; but moved three months later to

Ardwick Ardwick is an area of Manchester, England, southeast of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 19,250. Historically in Lancashire, by the mid-nineteenth century Ardwick had grown from being a village into a pleasant and wealt ...

, Manchester, where he was also tutor to the sons of Samuel Birch. From 1750 to 1754 he was curate of

Halifax, Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

, and in September 1754 was presented to the perpetual curacy of

Ripponden Ripponden is a village and civil parish on the River Ryburn near Halifax in West Yorkshire, England. Historically it was part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Its population was 6,412 at the time of the 2001 Census, and 7,421 in 2011. Rippo ...

in Halifax parish. On 17 August 1766 he was inducted to the rectory of Miningsby, Lincolnshire, which he resigned on 2 August 1769 on being promoted to the rectory of

Stockport Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England, south-east of Manchester, south-west of Ashton-under-Lyne and north of Macclesfield. The River Goyt, Rivers Goyt and River Tame, Greater Manchester, Tame merge to create the River Mersey he ...

, Cheshire. It was believed that he owed his preferment to hardline Whig views. He died at Stockport on 14 March 1783.

Works

He was elected

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a registered charity. It is based at Burlington House in Pi ...

in 1759, and contributed six papers on Roman and other antiquities to '' Archæologia''. His major works were: ''The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Halifax'', 1775, 4to, a second edition of which was begun in 1869 by F. A. Leyland, but left unfinished; and ''Memoirs of the Ancient Earls of Warren and Surrey and their Descendants'', Warrington, 1782, 2 vols.. The latter was heavily illustrated attempt to prove that Watson's patron, Sir George Warren, was entitled to the earldom of Warenne and Surrey. Two earlier limited editions were printed in 1776 and 1779. He also published four pamphlets between 1751 and 1764, one of them criticising the ‘absurdities’ of the Moravian hymn-book. He made extensive manuscript collections relating to local history, particularly of Cheshire, which were preserved, and were used by

George Ormerod George Ormerod (20 October 1785 – 9 October 1873) was an English antiquary and historian. Among his writings was a major county history of Cheshire, in North West England. Biography George Ormerod was born in Manchester and educated first ...

John Parsons Earwaker John Parsons Earwaker (1847–1895) was an English antiquary. Life The son of John Earwaker, he was born at Cheetham Hill, Manchester, on 22 April 1847; his father was a merchant from Hampshire, and a close friend of Richard Cobden. Educated at ...

, and other antiquaries.

Gilbert Wakefield Gilbert Wakefield (1756–1801) was an English scholar and controversialist. He moved from being a cleric and academic, into tutoring at dissenting academies, and finally became a professional writer and publicist. In a celebrated state trial ...

, who was Watson's curate at Stockport and married his niece, describes him as one of the hardest students he ever knew, as well as an agreeable man. In the ''Palatine Note-book'' (i. 24) is an account of a visit paid to Watson in 1780 by

Thomas Barritt Thomas Barritt (1743–1820) was an early British antiquary. Life Barritt was born at Withy Grove, Manchester in 1743, and came of Derbyshire yeoman stock, his forefathers having settled at Bolton and Worsley, but his father, John Barritt, wa ...

Family

He was twice married: first, on 1 June 1752, to Susanna, daughter of Samuel Allon, vicar of

Sandbach Sandbach (pronounced ) is a market town and civil parish in the Cheshire East borough of Cheshire, England. The civil parish contains four settlements: Sandbach, Elworth, Ettiley Heath and Wheelock, Cheshire, Wheelock. At the 2021 United Kingd ...

, Cheshire; secondly, on 11 July 1761, to Ann, daughter of James Jacques of Leeds. He left one son by the first wife, and a son and daughter by the second.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, John 1725 births 1783 deaths 18th-century English Anglican priests English antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London