Simon Watson-Taylor (1811 – 25 December 1902) was a British landowner in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

, who briefly served as a Liberal Member of Parliament for

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

between the 1857 election and that of 1859.

Early life

Watson-Taylor was born in 1811, to Jamaican planters George Watson-Taylor, later a Member of Parliament, and his wife Anna, a daughter of Sir John Taylor, 1st Baronet, of

Vale Royal Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham. History The ...

(the current Prime Ministerial mansion). His father used the wealth from their Jamaican plantations to acquire estates in Wiltshire, at Erlestoke, Coulston (including Baynton House), and Edington, along with a large art collection.

Jamaican interests

The Taylor (Tailzour before anglicisation) family – and Watson-Taylor's father, through his marriage – derived its wealth from sugar and slavery in the

Colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

. In 1852, Simon Watson-Taylor inherited Jamaican estates from his mother Anna. However, the vast majority of the wealth created by her great-uncle Simon Tailzour had been largely squandered by George Watson-Taylor. Watson-Taylor maintained a strong interest in the affairs of Jamaica and offered public support to Governor

Edward John Eyre Edward John Eyre (5 August 181530 November 1901) was an English land explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand's New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Early life Eyre was born in ...

, after he brutally suppressed the

Morant Bay rebellion The Morant Bay Rebellion (11 October 1865) began with a protest march to the courthouse by hundreds of people led by preacher Paul Bogle in Morant Bay, Jamaica. Some were armed with sticks and stones. After seven men were shot and killed by t ...

of 1865. Watson-Taylor helped to found the Eyre Defence Fund, which aimed to vindicate the former governor as an imperial hero.

Family

On 30 June 1843, Watson-Taylor married Lady Hannah Charlotte Hay (1818–1887), one of the eight daughters of

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale, (1 February 1787 – 10 October 1876), Hereditary Chamberlain of Dunfermline, was a British people, British soldier and administrator. He served as a staff off ...

(1787–1876). There were four sons and seven daughters from their marriage.Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 3, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 2003, p. 3964 Watson-Taylor lived at Urchfont Manor from about 1850 to 1862.

References

External links

* 1811 births 1902 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1857–1859 {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub