John Watson (1520–1584) was an English Anglican bishop who served as

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'' the offic ...

in the 1580s.

Early life and family

He was born in

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, 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. John graduated

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a 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 second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in June 1539 and he was elected Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) 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 me ...

in 1540; on 25 June 1544, he was incepted

Master of Arts (Oxford) In the universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin, Bachelors of Arts (BAs) are promoted to the rank of Master of Arts (MA), typically upon application after three or four years after graduation. No further examination or study is required for ...

(MA Oxon).

Early career

He became a canon 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 ...

(of the eleventh prebend) in 1551 — he was presented by the king (

Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...

) on 9 December; instituted by the bishop (

John Ponet John Ponet (c. 1514 – August 1556), sometimes spelled John Poynet, was an English Protestant churchman and controversial writer, the bishop of Winchester and Marian exile. He is now best known as a resistance theorist who made a sustained a ...

) on 14 December and installed ''by proxy'' on the same day. A few years later, while remaining canon (but now under the reign of Queen Mary), he additionally became rector of

Kelshall Kelshall is a small village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England. It lies south-west of Royston, its post town. The parish had a population of 166 at the 2021 census. Geography The village lies on to ...

(until 1578) and of Winchfield (until 1561) in April 1554. He was not in orders until 1557, when he was made subdeacon by Thomas Chetham, titular

Bishop of Sidon The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sidon was a bishopric in the Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th and 13th centuries. Establishment Before the arrival of the crusaders to Syria in the late 11th century, the Orthodox bishops of Sidon had been suffragans ...

and

assistant bishop of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

; he was then made deacon on 24 September 1558 by Richard Pate,

Bishop of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the Ordinary (officer), head of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Worcester, Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the ...

, in London. Meanwhile, he was collated to the chancellorship of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

, London, on 7 February 1557/58 by

Edmund Bonner Edmund Bonner (also Boner; c. 15005 September 1569) was Bishop of London from 1539 to 1549 and again from 1553 to 1559. Initially an instrumental figure in the schism of Henry VIII from Rome, he was antagonised by the Protestant reforms introdu ...

Bishop of London The bishop of London is the Ordinary (church officer), ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs o ...

; he retained this stall until he became a bishop in 1580; later in 1558, he resigned the 11th prebend of Winchester. In 1559, he was appointed Master of the Hospital of St Cross (by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

dated 17 August), canon of the 1st prebend at Winchester (he was presented by the queen , then installed on 26 August; he held this prebend until he was made dean), and

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 ...

(presented by the queen 7 November, instituted 16 November, resigned by February 1573). He also became rector of South Warnborough (1568–1581). (Someone called John Watson was a canon of Lincoln , 1560–1574, but it is doubtful this was the same man.)

Dean and Bishop of Winchester

Watson became

Dean of Winchester The Dean of Winchester is the head of the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral in the city of Winchester, England, in the Diocese of Winchester. Appointment is by the Crown. The first incumbent was the last Prior, William Kingsmill, Catherine Ogle ...

(head of

) in 1573 after Francis Newton died: he was presented by the queen on 9 February, instituted by the bishop ( Robert Horne) on 13 February and installed the next day; he served until he became bishop. He graduated as

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

from Oxford on 27 July 1575 and practised medicine. 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 ove ...

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

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. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

saying "how otherwise it would be £200 out of his way". Elizabeth 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 See of Winchester on Watson. Stephen Hyde Cassan
''The Lives of the Bishops of Winchester''
1827 vol 2 page 32–35 He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population ch ...

to Winchester on 29 June, royal assent was given on 18 July, and his election was

confirmed In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on of hands. Catholicis ...

on 16 September 1580. He was then consecrated as a bishop on 18 September and enthroned on 8 November. Because he had served under Queen Mary, Watson was sometimes suspected of leniency towards catholics, but evidence of his tenure as bishop shows he was engaged in suppressing papism.

Death and legacy

Watson 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 N ...

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

, 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, Wa ...

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