Earl of Bridgewater

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

Earl of Bridgewater was a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England, once for the Daubeny family (1538) and once for the Egerton family (1617). From 1720 to 1803, the Earls of Bridgewater also held the title of Duke of Bridgewater. The 3rd Duke of Bridgewater is famously known as the "Canal Duke", for his creation of a series of canals in North West England.

History

Creation for the Daubeny family (1538)

The title Earl of Bridgewater was first created in 1538 for

Knight of the Garter
the following year. All three titles became extinct on the first Earl of Bridgewater's death in 1548.

Creation for the Egerton family (1617)

St. Peter and St. Paul Church at Little Gaddesden, where many Egerton family members are buried in the Bridgewater Chapel
The Bridgewater Chapel at St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Little Gaddesden

The title Earl of Bridgewater was created secondly in 1617 for

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

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 Bridgwater House in London. 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
.

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 the Bridgewater Canal, said to be the first true canal in 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.

Member of Parliament for Morpeth and for Brackley
. 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,

3rd Duke of Bridgewater.[4]

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. 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 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. Their son George Leveson-Gower, 2nd Marquess of Stafford, was created Duke of Sutherland in 1833. His second son Lord Francis Leveson-Gower assumed 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 made Viscount Brackley and Earl of Ellesmere. The Hon. Thomas Egerton, of Tatton 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-grandson William Tatton Egerton 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 by Mark Twain, which is set before the American Civil War.

The original spelling is likely to have been Bridgwater, meaning the burg of Water, and the same as Bridgwater in Somerset (see archive reference 2/79).

Holders of the title

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

Daubeny family

Barons Daubeney (1486)

Earls of Bridgewater, First Creation (1538)

Egerton family

pheons sable[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)

Other titles:
Baron Ellesmere (1603) and Viscount Brackley
(1616)

Dukes of Bridgewater (1720)

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

Earls of Bridgewater, Second creation (1617; Reverted)

Other titles: Baron Ellesmere (1603) and Viscount Brackley (1616)

Family tree

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Rogers, 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 Collection The 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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