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Earl of Bridgewater

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Earl of Bridgewaterwas a title that has been created twice in thePeerage of England,once for theDaubenyfamily (1538) and once for theEgerton family(1617). From 1720 to 1803, the Earls of Bridgewater also held the title ofDuke of Bridgewater.The3rd Duke of Bridgewateris famously known as the "Canal Duke", for his creation of a series of canals in North West England.

Arms of Egerton, Dukes of Bridgewater:Argent, a lion rampant gules between three pheons sable

History

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Creation for the Daubeny family (1538)

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The titleEarl of Bridgewaterwas first created in 1538 forHenry Daubeny, 9th Baron Daubeny.The Daubeney (or Dabney[1]) family descended from Elias Daubeny, who in 1295 was summoned bywritto theModel ParliamentasLord Daubeny.The eighth Baron was createdBaron Daubenybyletters patentin the Peerage of England in 1486 and was also made aKnight of the Garterthe following year. All three titles became extinct on the first Earl of Bridgewater's death in 1548.

Creation for the Egerton family (1617)

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St. Peter and St. Paul Church atLittle Gaddesden,where manyEgerton familymembers are buried in the Bridgewater Chapel
The Bridgewater Chapel at St. Peter and St. Paul Church,Little Gaddesden

The titleEarl of Bridgewaterwas created secondly in 1617 forJohn Egerton, Baron Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley,after the town ofBridgwaterin Somerset, where he owned estates.[2]The Egerton family descended from Sir Richard Egerton ofRidley, Cheshire,whose illegitimate sonSir Thomas Egertonwas a prominent lawyer who served asMaster of the Rollsfrom 1594 to 1603, asLord Keeper of the Great Sealfrom 1593 to 1603 and asLord High Chancellor of Englandfrom 1603 to 1617. Thomas Egerton was knighted in 1594, admitted to thePrivy Councilin 1596 and in 1603 he was raised to the Peerage of England asBaron Ellesmere,in the County of Shropshire, and in 1616 toViscount Brackley.In 1598 he had inherited theTatton estateinCheshirefrom his brother-in-law Richard Brereton. He was succeeded by his son, John who representedCallingtonandShropshirein theHouse of Commonsand served asLord-Lieutenantof several counties in Wales and western England and who in 1617 was madeEarl of Bridgewaterin the Peerage of England.

He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, the second Earl. He wasLord-Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire,Lancashire,CheshireandHerefordshire.On his death the titles passed to his eldest son, the third Earl. He was aWhigpolitician and served asFirst Lord of Tradeand asFirst 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 Bridgwater House inLondon.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 createdMarquess of Brackley,in the County of Northampton, andDuke of Bridgewater,in the County of Somerset. Both titles were in thePeerage of Great Britain.

The first Duke 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 theBridgewater Canal,said to be the first truecanalin Britain and the modern world. Bridgewater never married and on his death in 1803 the marquessate and dukedom became extinct.

The last Duke 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,Bishop of Durham,son of the Right Reverend the Hon.Henry Egerton,Bishop of Hereford,youngest son of the third Earl. Lord Bridgewater was a General in the Army and also sat asToryMember of ParliamentforMorpethand forBrackley.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.

In the early 17th century,Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley,had purchasedAshridge HouseinHertfordshire,one of the largestcountry housesin England, from Queen Elizabeth I, who had inherited it from her father who had appropriated it after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Ashridge House served the Egerton family as a residence until the 19th century. The Egertons later had a family chapel (the Bridgewater Chapel) with burial vault inLittle GaddesdenChurch, where many monuments commemorate the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater and their families.[3]Among those buried here is the3rd Duke of Bridgewater.[4]

Lady Amelia Egerton, sister of the seventh and eighth Earls, marriedSir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet.Their daughter Sophia Hume marriedJohn Cust, 1st Earl Brownlow.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 theBaron Brownlowfor additional information on the Cust family). Also, Lady Louisa Egerton, daughter of the first Duke of Bridgewater, marriedGranville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford.Their sonGeorge Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford,was createdDuke of Sutherlandin 1833. His second sonLord Francis Leveson-Gowerassumed by Royal licence 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 madeViscount BrackleyandEarl of Ellesmere.The Hon. Thomas Egerton, ofTatton Park,Cheshire,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 licence the surname of Egerton in lieu of Tatton. Their great-grandsonWilliam Tatton Egertonwas createdBaron Egertonin 1859.

A scoundrel claiming to be the long-lost but rightful Duke of Bridgewater appears in the 1885 novelAdventures of Huckleberry FinnbyMark Twain,which is set before theAmerican Civil War.

The original spelling is likely to have beenBridgwater,meaning the burg of Water, and the same asBridgwaterinSomerset(see archive reference 2/79).

Holders of the title

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Arms of Baron Daubeney, also known as Dabney.[1]Not to be confused with their cousins, theAbneyandAbney-Hastingsfamily. Coat of arms:Gules, 4 fusils conjoined in fess argent.The arms are derived from their ancestral home ofSaint-Aubin-d'Aubigné.

Daubeny family

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Barons Daubeney (1486)

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Earls of Bridgewater, First Creation (1538)

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Egerton family

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Arms of Egerton:Argent, a lion rampant gules between threepheonssable[5]
Main article:Egerton family
Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater,the "Canal Duke"

Earls of Bridgewater, Second Creation (1617)

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Other titles:Baron Ellesmere(1603)andViscount Brackley(1616)

Dukes of Bridgewater (1720)

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Other titles: Baron Ellesmere (1603),Viscount Brackley (1616),Earl of Bridgewater (1617)andMarquess of Brackley (1720)

Earls of Bridgewater, Second creation (1617; Reverted)

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Other titles: Baron Ellesmere (1603)andViscount Brackley (1616)

Family tree

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^abRogers, William (1888). Memorials of the West, Historical and Descriptive, Collected on the Borderland of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon, Volume 44 Memorials of the West, Historical and Descriptive, Collected on the Borderland of Somerset, Dorset, and Devon, W. H. Hamilton Rogers. J.G. Commin | London. p. 205.p. 205.
  2. ^Bridgewater Estates CollectionThe National Archives
  3. ^Monuments in the Bridgewater Chapel,accessed 24 July 2015
  4. ^Bridgewater Chapel at Little Gaddesden Church,accessed 24 July 2015
  5. ^Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1077, Duke of Sutherland
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