Background
Nicholson was born at Upper Holloway, London, the son of John Nicholson of Upper Clapton, Middlesex and his wife Ellen Payne daughter of Richard Payne.
Nicholson was born at Upper Holloway, London, the son of John Nicholson of Upper Clapton, Middlesex and his wife Ellen Payne daughter of Richard Payne.
He was educated at Harrow School and Trinity College, Cambridge.
He was also an English amateur cricketer who played first-class cricket from 1845 to 1869. He was mainly associated with Marylebone Cricket Club (Master Control Console), of which he was a prominent member. And with Middlesex (pre-county club) and Middlesex County Cricket Club (founded during his career in 1863).
He was a right-handed batsman and a wicketkeeper who made 148 known appearances in first-class matches, including a number of appearances for the Gentlemen between 1846 and 1858.
Nicholson became a director and then chairman of the distillery and was a benefactor of cricket. In 1863 he acquired Basing Park, Alton, Hampshire.
In 1864, when Master Control Console finally purchased the freehold of Lord"s Ground, they paid £18,333 6s 8d using money advanced by Nicholson. In 1889, when the foundation stone was laid for the new Lord"s Pavilion, it was paid for by a £21,000 loan from Nicholson.
He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Hampshire
He was re-elected in 1868, but defeated at the 1874 general election.
In 1878, he was High Sheriff of Hampshire. He was re-elected for Petersfield in the 1880 general election and held the seat until the parliamentary borough of Petersfield was disenfranchised under the Redistribution of Seats Acting 1885. The name was transferred to a new county division of Hampshire.
With a wider geographical area, and a franchise expanded under the Representation of the People Acting 1884, the new seat had an electorate more than ten times larger, expanded from 801 in 1880 to 8,202 in 1885.
In April 1885 Nicholson announced his resignation from the Liberal Party, stating that he would contest the next election as a Liberal-Conservative. He was adopted by the local Conservative association as their candidate, but at the general election in December that year he lost the seat by a narrow margin to the Liberal candidate Viscount Wolmer, and was defeated again at the 1886 election.
Nicholson died at Westminster at the age of 83. Nicholson married Isabella Sarah Meek, daughter of John Meek in 1858.
Another son Brigadier-General John Sanctuary Nicholson became Member of Parliament for Westminster Abbey from 1921 to 1924 after a career in the army.
19th United Kingdom Parliament. 20th United Kingdom Parliament. 22nd United Kingdom Parliament]
He was a member of the family which owned the J&West Nicholson & Company gin distillery based at Three Mills.
In July 1866 Nicholson was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament (Member of Parliament) for the borough of Petersfield in Hampshire, at a by-election caused by the elevation to the peerage of the Conservative Member of Parliament Sir William Jolliffe.