Earl of Bridgewater
Encyclopedia
History
The earldom was first created in 1538 for Henry Daubeny, 9th Baron Daubeny. The Daubeney family descended from Elias Daubeny, who in 1295 was summoned by writ to the Model ParliamentModel Parliament
The Model Parliament is the term, attributed to Frederic William Maitland, used for the 1295 Parliament of England of King Edward I. This assembly included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the various counties and boroughs. Each county returned two knights,...
as Lord Daubeny. The eighth Baron was created Baron Daubeny by letters patent
Letters patent
Letters patent are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch or president, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, title, or status to a person or corporation...
in the Peerage of England in 1486 and was also made a Knight of the Garter the following year. All three titles became extinct on the first Earl of Bridgewater's death in 1548.
The title was then created secondly in 1617 for John Egerton, Baron Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley
John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater
John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC was an English peer and politician.The son of the Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he was a Member of Parliament for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the...
. The Egerton family descended from Sir Richard Egerton of Ridley, Cheshire
Ridley, Cheshire
Ridley is a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England, which lies to the north east of Malpas and to the west of Nantwich. The parish is largely rural with scattered farms and buildings and no significant settlements. In 2001, the...
, whose illegitimate son Sir Thomas Egerton
Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley
Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley PC was an English Nobleman, Judge and Statesman who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-one years.-Early life, education and legal career:...
was a prominent lawyer who served as Master of the Rolls
Master of the Rolls
The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
from 1594 to 1603, as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
from 1593 to 1603 and as Lord High Chancellor of England from 1603 to 1617. Thomas Egerton was knighted in 1594, admitted to the Privy Council in 1596 and in 1603 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Ellesmere, in the County of Shropshire, and in 1616 to Viscount Brackley. In 1598 he had inherited the Tatton estate
Tatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
from his brother-in-law Richard Brereton. He was succeeded by his son, John who represented Callington
Callington (UK Parliament constituency)
Callington was a rotten borough in Cornwall which returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the English and later British Parliament from 1585 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Reform Act 1832.-History:...
and Shropshire
Shropshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Shropshire is a former United Kingdom Parliamentary constituency. It was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832. It was represented by two Knights...
in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
and served as Lord-Lieutenant of several counties in Wales and western England and who in 1617 was made Earl of Bridgewater in the Peerage of England.
He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, the second Earl. He was Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire, Lancashire, Cheshire and Herefordshire. On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, the third Earl. He was a Whig politician and served as First Lord of Trade and as First Lord of the Admiralty. His eldest son from his first marriage, John Egerton, died as an infant, while his two elder sons from his second marriage, Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley, and the Hon. Thomas Egerton, both died in the fire which destroyed Bridgewater House in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Lord Bridgewater was succeeded by his eldest surviving son from his second marriage, the fourth Earl. He served as Lord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire and also held several positions at court. In 1720 he was created Marquess of Brackley, in the County of Northampton, and Duke of Bridgewater, in the County of Somerset. Both titles were in the Peerage of Great Britain
Peerage of Great Britain
The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain after the Act of Union 1707 but before the Act of Union 1800...
.
Bridgewater outlived his two elder sons and was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son from his second marriage, the second Duke. He died from fever at an early age. On his death the titles passed to his younger brother, the third Duke. He is remembered as the father of British inland navigation and commissioned the Bridgewater Canal
Bridgewater Canal
The Bridgewater Canal connects Runcorn, Manchester and Leigh, in North West England. It was commissioned by Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, to transport coal from his mines in Worsley to Manchester...
, said to be the first true canal
Canal
Canals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
in Britain and the modern world. Bridgewater never married and on his death in 1803 the marquessate and dukedom became extinct. He was succeeded in the other titles by his first cousin once removed, the seventh Earl. He was the son of the Right Reverend the Hon. John Egerton
John Egerton (bishop)
John Egerton was an Anglican bishop.-Family:Egerton was the eldest son of Henry Egerton, the Bishop of Hereford, himself a younger son of the 3rd Earl of Bridgewater. Egerton served under his father as Dean of Hereford and was later Bishop of Bangor from 1756-68, Bishop of Lichfield from 1768-71...
, Bishop of Durham, son of the Right Reverend the Hon. Henry Egerton
Henry Egerton
Henry Egerton was a British clergyman.Egerton was a younger son of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, by his second wife Lady Jane, daughter of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton. Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, was his elder brother...
, Bishop of Hereford
Bishop of Hereford
The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury.The see is in the City of Hereford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary and Saint Ethelbert which was founded as a cathedral in 676.The Bishop's residence is...
, youngest son of the third Earl. Lord Bridgewater was a General in the Army and also sat as Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Morpeth
Morpeth (UK Parliament constituency)
Morpeth was a borough constituency centred on the town of Morpeth in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of England until 1707, the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and then the Parliament of the United Kingdom....
and for Brackley
Brackley (UK Parliament constituency)
Brackley was a parliamentary borough in Northamptonshire, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1547 until 1832, when the constituency was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...
. He was childless and on his death in 1823 the titles passed to his younger brother, the eighth Earl. He was known as a patron of science as well as a great eccentric. Lord Bridgewater never married and on his death in 1829 his titles became extinct.
Lady Amelia Egerton, sister of the seventh and eighth Earls, married Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet. Their daughter Sophia Hume married John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow
John Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow, GCH was a British Peer and Tory politician.Cust was the eldest son of the 1st Baron Brownlow and his second wife, Frances. In 1802, he was elected as MP for Clitheroe and held the seat until he succeeded to his father's title in 1807. In May, 1805 he was elected a...
. Their grandson John William Spencer Brownlow Egerton-Cust, 2nd Earl Brownlow (1842–1867), assumed the additional surname of Egerton and inherited the Bridgewater estates after a lengthy lawsuit (see the Baron Brownlow
Baron Brownlow
Baron Brownlow, of Belton in the County of Lincoln, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1776 for Sir Brownlow Cust, 4th Baronet. The Cust family descends from Richard Cust who represented Lincolnshire and Stamford in Parliament. In 1677 he was created a Baronet, of...
for additional information on the Cust family). Also, Lady Louisa Egerton, daughter of the first Duke of Bridgewater, married Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford
Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1746 to 1754 and as The Earl Gower from 1754 to 1786, was a British politician.-Background:...
. Their son George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford
George Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland
George Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Duke of Sutherland KG, PC , known as Viscount Trentham from 1758 to 1786, as Earl Gower from 1786 to 1803 and as The Marquess of Stafford from 1803 to 1833, was a British politician, diplomat, landowner and patron of the arts. He is estimated to have been the...
, was created Duke of Sutherland
Duke of Sutherland
Duke of Sutherland, derived from Sutherland in Scotland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom held by the head of the Leveson-Gower family. It was created by William IV in 1833 for George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford...
in 1833. His second son Lord Francis Leveson-Gower
Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere
Francis Egerton, 1st Earl of Ellesmere KG, PC , known as Lord Francis Leveson-Gower until 1833, was a British politician, writer, traveller and patron of the arts...
assumed by Royal license the surname of Egerton in lieu of Leveson-Gower according to the will of the third Duke of Bridgewater. In 1846 the Brackley and Ellesmere titles were revived when he was made Viscount Brackley and Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere
Earl of Ellesmere, of Ellesmere in the County of Shropshire , is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1846 for the Conservative politician Lord Francis Egerton. He was granted the courtesy title of Viscount Brackley, of Brackley in the County of Northampton, at the same...
. The Hon. Thomas Egerton, of Tatton Park
Tatton Park
Tatton Park is a historic estate in Cheshire, England, to the north of the town of Knutsford. It contains a mansion, Tatton Hall, a manor house dating from medieval times, Tatton Old Hall, gardens, a farm and a deer park of . It is a popular visitor attraction and hosts over 100 events annually...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, youngest son of the second Earl of Bridgewater, was the grandfather of Hester Egerton (d. 1780). She married William Tatton. In 1780 they assumed by Royal license the surname of Egerton in lieu of Tatton. Their great-grandson William Tatton Egerton
William Egerton, 1st Baron Egerton
William Tatton Egerton, 1st Baron Egerton was a British peer and politician.Egerton was the son of Wilbraham Egerton and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Christopher Sykes, 1st Baronet. On his father's side he was descended in the female line from the Hon...
was created Baron Egerton in 1859.
A scoundrel claiming to be the long-lost but rightful Duke of Bridgewater appears in the 1885 novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by...
by Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
, which is set before the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
The original spelling is likely to have been Bridgwater, meaning the burg of Water, and the same as Bridgwater
Bridgwater
Bridgwater is a market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It is the administrative centre of the Sedgemoor district, and a major industrial centre. Bridgwater is located on the major communication routes through South West England...
in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
(see archive reference 2/79).
Barons Daubeny (1295)
- Elias Daubeny, 1st Baron Daubeny (1264–1305)
- Ralph Daubeny, 2nd Baron Daubeny (1305–c. 1342)
- Giles Daubeny, 3rd Baron Daubeny (d. 1386)
- Giles Daubeny, 4th Baron Daubeny (1371–1403)
- John Daubeny, 5th Baron Daubeny (1394–1409)
- Giles Daubeny, 6th Baron Daubeny (1393–1446)
- William Daubeny, 7th Baron Daubeny (1424–1461)
- Giles Daubeny, 8th Baron Daubeny (d. 1508)
- Henry Daubeny, 9th Baron Daubeny (1494–1548) (created Earl of Bridgewater in 1538)
Earls of Bridgewater, First Creation (1538)
- Henry Daubney, 1st Earl of BridgewaterHenry Daubney, 1st Earl of BridgewaterHenry Daubeney, 1st Earl of Bridgewater was an English peer and member of the House of Lords.He was the son of Sir Giles Daubeney and Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir John Arundell of Lanherne...
(1493–1548)
Viscounts Brackley (1616)
- Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount BrackleyThomas Egerton, 1st Viscount BrackleyThomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley PC was an English Nobleman, Judge and Statesman who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty-one years.-Early life, education and legal career:...
(1540–1617) - John Egerton, 2nd Viscount BrackleyJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC was an English peer and politician.The son of the Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he was a Member of Parliament for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the...
(1579–1649) (created Earl of Bridgewater in 1617)
Earls of Bridgewater, Second Creation (1617)
- John Egerton, 1st Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC was an English peer and politician.The son of the Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he was a Member of Parliament for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the...
(1579–1649)- James Egerton, Viscount Brackley (1616–1620)
- Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley (c. 1617–1623)
- John Egerton, 2nd Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 2nd Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater PC was an English nobleman.He was a son of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Lady Frances Stanley...
(1623–1686) - John Egerton, 3rd Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 3rd Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater was the eldest son of John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Elizabeth Cavendish. His maternal grandparents were William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle and his first wife Elizabeth Basset.He served as a Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire as...
(1646–1701)- Hon. John Egerton (1669–1670)
- Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley (1675–1687)
- Scroop Egerton, 4th Earl of BridgewaterScroop Egerton, 1st Duke of BridgewaterScroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater , known as Viscount Brackley from 1687 to 1701 and as the Earl of Bridgewater from 1701 to 1720, was a British peer and courtier...
(1681–1745) (created Duke of Bridgewater in 1720)
Dukes of Bridgewater (1720)
- Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, 4th Earl of BridgewaterScroop Egerton, 1st Duke of BridgewaterScroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater , known as Viscount Brackley from 1687 to 1701 and as the Earl of Bridgewater from 1701 to 1720, was a British peer and courtier...
(1681–1745)- John Egerton, Viscount Brackley (1704–1719)
- Charles Egerton, Marquess of Brackley (1725–1731)
- John Egerton, 2nd Duke of Bridgewater, 5th Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 2nd Duke of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 2nd Duke of Bridgwater , known as Lord John Egerton until 1731 and as Marquess of Brackley from 1731 to 1745, was a British peer....
(1727–1748) - Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, 6th Earl of BridgewaterFrancis Egerton, 3rd Duke of BridgewaterFrancis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
(1736–1803)
Earls of Bridgewater, Second creation (1617; Reverted)
- John William Egerton, 7th Earl of BridgewaterJohn Egerton, 7th Earl of BridgewaterJohn William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater FRS , known as John Egerton until 1803, was a British soldier and Tory politician....
(1753–1823) - Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of BridgewaterFrancis Egerton, 8th Earl of BridgewaterFrancis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater , known as Francis Egerton until 1823, was a noted British eccentric, and supporter of natural theology....
(1756–1829)