John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC (1579 – 4 December 1649) was an English peer and politician from the Egerton family. The son of Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

in 1589 at the age of 10, and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1594. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for Shropshire in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of the

Exchequer of Chester The Exchequer of Chester was a fiscal court based in the County Palatine of Chester. In 1071 the Earldom of Chester was created, and due to the Earldom's size it ruled Chester almost entirely independently as a County Palatine. This arrangement ne ...

from 1599 to 1605. In 1603, Egerton was appointed

Knight of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

and in 1605, he received a Master of Arts from the University of Oxford. Having succeeded to his father's titles in March 1617, he was created Earl of Bridgewater on 27 May 1617. Egerton was sworn of the

Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...

in 1626. From 1605 to 1646, he was

Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire. * Thomas Holte bef. 1544–1546 * Thomas Bromley (chief justice), Thomas Bromley 1546–1555 * Humphrey Onslow bef. 1562 – aft. 1564 * George Bromley (politi ...

and from 1628 to 1649

Custos Rotulorum of Buckinghamshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Buckinghamshire. * Sir Francis Bryan bef. 1544 – bef. 1547 * Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford bef. 1547 – c. 1578 * Arthur Grey, 14th Baron Grey of Wilton c. 1578&nda ...

. Between 1631 and 1634, he was Lord President of Wales and

Lord Lieutenant of Wales The Lord Lieutenant of Wales was an office associated with the Lord President of the Council of Wales and the Marches until the abolition of that body in 1689. The Lord Presidents of Wales were also Lord Lieutenants of Wales, except for the years 1 ...

and the Marches of Herefordshire,

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( cy, Sir Fynwy) is a county in the south-east of Wales. The name derives from the historic county of the same name; the modern county covers the eastern three-fifths of the historic county. The largest town is Abergavenny, with ...

, Shropshire and Worcestershire. John Milton's '' Comus'' celebrates the installation of Egerton, as Lord President of Wales. Egerton died intestate and was buried in Little Gaddesden. The 1st Earl of Bridgewater is commemorated by a memorial at the Bridgewater Chapel at St. Peter and St. Paul Church, Little Gaddesden,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. In the early 17th century, the 1st Earl's father had purchased

Ashridge House Ashridge is a country estate and stately home in Hertfordshire, England in the United Kingdom. It is situated in the Chiltern Hills, an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, about north of Berkhamsted and north west of London. The estate c ...

, one of the largest country houses in 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 with burial vault in Little Gaddesden Church, where many monuments commemorate the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater and their families. Lord Bridgewater died on 4 December 1649.

Family

On 27 June 1602, Egerton married Lady Frances Stanley, daughter of Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby and Lady

Alice Spencer Alice Spencer, Countess of Derby (4 May 1559 – 23 January 1637) was an English noblewoman from the Spencer family and noted patron of the arts. Poet Edmund Spenser represented her as "Amaryllis" in his eclogue ''Colin Clouts Come Home Againe'' ...

, Lord Egerton's step-mother (after Ferdinando Stanley's death, on 20 October 1600,Cokayne, and others, The Complete Peerage, volume II, page 272. Lady Alice had married John's father Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley). John and Frances had eight children: *Lady Elizabeth Egerton (d. 1688), married David Cecil, 3rd Earl of Exeter *Lady Mary Egerton (d. 1659), married Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury *Lady Frances Egerton (d.1664), married Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet *

Lady Alice Egerton Lady Alice Egerton (7 August 1923 – 7 October 1977) was a British courtier from the Egerton family. Lady Alice was the youngest child of the 4th Earl of Ellesmere and his wife, Violet. In 1949, she replaced her sister, Lady Margaret Co ...

(d. 1689), married

Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery KB, PC (c. 1600 – 1686), styled The Honourable from 1621 until 1628 and then Lord Vaughan until 1634, was a Welsh soldier, peer and politician. Born the son of a Welsh noble with an Irish peerage, Vaughan ...

as his third wife. *Lady Arabella Egerton (d. 1669), married Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso *James Egerton, Viscount Brackley (1616–1620), died young *Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley (b. 1623), died young *

John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater PC (30 May 1623 – 26 October 1686) was an English nobleman from the Egerton family. Life He was a son of John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Lady Frances Stanley. His maternal grandpar ...

(1623–1686)

References

;General *

Family

References

Further reading