John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater KB, PC (1579 – 4 December 1649) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

peer and politician from the

Egerton family The Egerton family (pronunciation: "''edge-er-ton''") is a British aristocratic family. Over time, several members of the Egerton family were made Dukes, Earls, knights, baronets and peers. Hereditary titles held by the Egerton family include t ...

. The son of

Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley Thomas Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley, (1540 – 15 March 1617), known as 1st Baron Ellesmere from 1603 to 1616, was an English nobleman, judge and statesman from the Egerton family who served as Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor for twenty- ...

and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1589 at the age of 10, and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1594. He was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

from 1597 to 1598, and for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

in 1601. Knighted on 8 April 1599, he was Baron of the Exchequer of Chester from 1599 to 1605. In 1603, Egerton was appointed Knight of the Order of the Bath and in 1605, he received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. 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 in 1626. From 1605 to 1646, he was Custos Rotulorum of Shropshire 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&nd ...

. Between 1631 and 1634, he was

Lord President of Wales The Court of the Council in the Dominion and Principality of Wales, and the Marches of the same, commonly called the Council of Wales and the Marches () or the Council of the Marches, was a regional administrative body based in Ludlow Castle wi ...

and Lord Lieutenant of Wales and the Marches of

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

, Monmouthshire,

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

. John Milton's ''

Comus In Greek mythology, Comus (; grc, Κῶμος, ''Kōmos'') is the god of festivity, revels and nocturnal dalliances. He is a son and a cup-bearer of the god Dionysus. He was represented as a winged youth or a child-like satyr and represents ana ...

'' celebrates the installation of Egerton, as Lord President of Wales. Egerton died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without having in force a valid will or other binding declaration. Alternatively this may also apply where a will or declaration has been made, but only applies to part of the estat ...

and was buried in

Little Gaddesden Little Gaddesden (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire north of Berkhamsted. As well as Little Gaddesden village (population 694), the parish contains the settlements of Ashridge (population 53), H ...

. The 1st Earl of Bridgewater is commemorated by a memorial at the Bridgewater Chapel at St. Peter and St. Paul Church,

, Hertfordshire. In the early 17th century, the 1st Earl's father had purchased Ashridge House, one of the largest

country houses An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...

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 Ferdinando Stanley, 5th Earl of Derby (1559 – 16 April 1594), was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Henry Stanley, 4th Earl of Derby, and Lady Margaret Clifford. Ferdinando had a place in the line of succession to Eliza ...

and Lady Alice Spencer, 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 David Cecil, 3rd Earl of Exeter (c. 1600–1643) was an English peer and member of the House of Lords. Life David Cecil was the son of Sir Richard Cecil of Wakerley, Northamptonshire. He was educated at Clare College, Cambridge, and admitted at ...

*Lady Mary Egerton (d. 1659), married

Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury Richard Herbert, 2nd Baron Herbert of Chirbury (''c.'' 1604 – 13 May 1655) was an Anglo-Welsh Member of Parliament, a Royalist who fought with the rank of colonel in the English Civil War, and a peer whose membership of the House of Lor ...

*Lady Frances Egerton (d.1664), married

Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet Sir John Hobart, 2nd Baronet (19 April 1593 – 20 April 1647) was an English politician and baronet. Background Born in Norwich, he was the eldest son of Sir Henry Hobart, 1st Baronet, and his wife Dorothy Bell, daughter of Sir Robert Bell. ...

* Lady Alice Egerton (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, Vaugha ...

as his third wife. *Lady Arabella Egerton (d. 1669), married

Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso Oliver St John, 5th Baron St John of Bletso KB (1603 – 23 October 1642) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1624 to 1629 and in the House of Lords from 1639. He died fighting in the Parliamentary army in the English ...

*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