Background
Watson was the son of Henry Watson, a tanner of Burton-upon-Trent and his wife Anne.
Watson was the son of Henry Watson, a tanner of Burton-upon-Trent and his wife Anne.
He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. He became a lawyer In the civil war he became one of the most prominent Burton parliamentarians. He was a captain of dragoons in the Derbyshire cavalry.
He was living in Burton in 1649, when he was appointed a Justice of the Peace for the county, and he acquired Nether Hall where he was probably living by at least 1656.
He sat in the corporation interest. In 1660, he was elected Member of Parliament for Lichfield in the Convention Parliament, but was unseated on petition in favour of Thomas Minors on 27 June 1660.
He was recorder of Newcastle-under-Lyme from 1660. The house he occupied in Burton in 1666 (presumably Nether Hall) was one of the largest in the town, being assessed for tax on eight hearths.
In 1659, Watson was elected Member of Parliament for Lichfield in the Third Protectorate Parliament.