The Egerton Collection is a collection of historical

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

s held in the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. The core of the collection comprises 67 manuscripts bequeathed to the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

in 1829 by

Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater, (11 November 1756 – 11 February 1829), known as Francis Egerton until 1823, was a noted British eccentric from the Egerton family and supporter of natural theology. Egerton was a Church of Engl ...

, along with £12,000 (the Bridgewater fund). To this sum a further £3000 (the Farnborough Fund) was added in 1838 by Egerton's cousin,

Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough Charles Long, 1st Baron Farnborough (2 January 1760 – 17 January 1838) was an English politician and connoisseur of the arts. Early life Born in London, he was the fourth surviving son of West Indies merchant Beeston Long and his wife Sara ...

. The income from the bequests is devoted to the purchase of further manuscripts, which are added to the original collection.Egerton MSS
British Library, 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2011. This means that the Egerton series, unlike most other named series of manuscripts held by the Library, remains open to new accessions.

References

1829 establishments in England {{British-Library-stub

See also

References