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

. The son of

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

and Elizabeth Ravenscroft, he matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, 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 l ...

in 1589 at the age of 10, graduating as Bachelor of Arts in 1594. Egerton served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Callington from 1597 to 1598, and for

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

in 1601.

Knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed on 8 April 1599, he was

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

of the Exchequer of Chester from 1599 to 1605. In 1603, Sir Thomas was promoted

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

and, in 1605, he proceeded

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) 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. Those admitted to the degree have ...

from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. Having succeeded to his father's

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

s in March 1617, he was created Earl of Bridgewater on 27 May 1617. Lord Bridgewater 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. Between 1631 and 1634, he was Lord President of Wales and Lord Lieutenant of Wales and the Marches of

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

and

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. John Milton's '' Comus'' celebrates his installation as Lord President of Wales. Lord Bridgewater died

intestate Intestacy is the condition of the estate of a person who dies without a legally valid will, resulting in the distribution of their estate under statutory intestacy laws rather than by their expressed wishes. Alternatively this may also apply ...

and was buried at

Little Gaddesden Little Gaddesden (pronounced ) is a village and civil parish in the borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire north of Berkhamsted, close to the border with Bedfordshire. As well as Little Gaddesden village (population 694), the parish contains the se ...

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

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. In the early 17th century, the 1st Earl's father purchased Ashridge House, one of the largest country houses in England, from Queen Elizabeth I, who inherited it from her father who had appropriated it after the dissolution of the monasteries in 1539. Ashridge House remained an

residence until the 19th century. The Egertons later built a domestic chapel with burial vault at Little Gaddesden Church, where many monuments commemorate the Dukes and Earls of Bridgewater and their relatives. Lord Bridgewater died on 4 December 1649.

Family

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

Lady ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

Alice Spencer, Lord Bridgewater's step-mother (after Ferdinando Stanley's death, on 20 October 1600, 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 (d. 1689), married Richard Vaughan, 2nd Earl of Carbery 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 (1623–1686)

Family

References

Further reading