John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, KB, PC (9 November 1646 – 19 March 1701) was an English politician. He was the eldest son of John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater and his wife Elizabeth Cavendish. His maternal grandparents were

William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, KG, KB, PC (25 December 1676), who after 1665 styled himself as Prince William Cavendish, was an English courtier and supporter of the arts. He was a renowned horse breeder, as well as being ...

and his first wife Elizabeth Basset. On 17 November 1664, he married Lady Elizabeth Cranfield, daughter of

James Cranfield, 2nd Earl of Middlesex James Cranfield, 2nd Earl of Middlesex (1621 – 16 September 1651), styled Lord Cranfield from 1622 until 1645, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640 and inherited his peerage in 1645. Cranfield was the son of Lionel ...

. She gave birth to a son, but died in childbirth. He married his second wife on 2 April 1673, Lady Jane Paulet, eldest daughter of

Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

. Egerton served as a Member of Parliament for

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

as a Whig for Buckinghamshire from 1685 to 1686. He also served as

Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire There has been a Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire almost continuously since the position was created by King Henry VIII in 1535. The only exception to this was the English Civil War and English Interregnum between 1643 and 1660 when there was n ...

following his father's death in 1686 but was dismissed after his first period in office by

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

for refusing to produce a list of

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

to serve as officers in the

English Militia The English Militia was the principal military reserve force of the Kingdom of England. Militia units were repeatedly raised in England from the Anglo-Saxon period onwards for internal security duties and to defend against external invasions. On ...

. He was later reinstated to the position when William III came to the throne and James II was forced into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

. He served as

First Lord of Trade The president of the Board of Trade is head of the Board of Trade. A committee of the His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, Privy Council of the United Kingdom, it was first established as a temporary committee of inquiry in the 17th centur ...

in the Convention Parliament, 1690–1691. He was promoted to the cabinet as

First Lord of the Admiralty First Lord of the Admiralty, or formally the Office of the First Lord of the Admiralty, was the title of the political head of the English and later British Royal Navy. He was the government's senior adviser on all naval affairs, responsible f ...

by the Whigs in 1699. He served in this position until March 1700/1. He was chosen as a Speaker for the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

in 1697 and then again for 1701.

Family

He was first married to Elizabeth Cranfield, a daughter of

and Anne Bourchier. They had only one known child who survived birth: *John Cranfield (11 January 1668 – 31 March 1670). On 2 April 1673, Bridgewater married his second wife Jane Paulet. She was a daughter of

and his second wife Mary Scrope. Mary was the eldest illegitimate daughter of

Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1 August 1584 – 30 May 1630) was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North. Family He was the only child of Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Sc ...

, and his mistress Martha Jones; she became her father's co-heiress when a brother died childless. They had nine children: *Charles Egerton, Viscount Brackley (7 May 1675 – April 1687) died at age 11 at Bridgwater House, the Barbican, London, England, burnt to death in the fire which destroyed Bridgwater House. He was buried on 14 April 1687 at Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England. *Lady Mary Egerton (14 May 1676 – 11 April 1704). Married

William Byron, 4th Baron Byron William Byron, 4th Baron Byron (4 January 1669/70 – 8 August 1736) was an English nobleman, politician, peer, and Gentleman of the Bedchamber to Prince George of Denmark. Early life Byron was the only surviving son of William Byron, 3rd ...

*Hon. Thomas Egerton (15 August 1679 – April 1687) died at age 7 at Bridgwater House, the Barbican, London, England, burnt to death in the fire which destroyed Bridgwater House. He was buried on 14 April 1687 at Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire, England.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14 (1910–1959; reprint in 6 volumes, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 2000), volume II, page 313. *

Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater (11 August 1681 – 11 January 1744), styled as Viscount Brackley from 1687 to 1701 and as the Earl of Bridgewater from 1701 to 1720, was an English peer, courtier and landowner. Born into the Egerton ...

(11 August 1681 – 11 January 1744/5) *Hon. William Egerton (1684-15 July 1732), MP and soldier *Hon.

Henry Egerton Henry Egerton (10 February 1689 – 1 April 1746) was a British clergyman from the Egerton family. He was Bishop of Hereford between 1723 and his death in 1746. Life Egerton was a younger son of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, by his se ...

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

(10 February 1689 – 1 April 1746). Married Elizabeth Ariana Bentinck, a daughter of

William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland ( Dutch: ''Hans Willem Bentinck''; 20 July 164923 November 1709) was a Dutch-born English nobleman who became in an early stage the favourite of William, Prince of Orange, Stadtholder in the Netherlands, ...

and his second wife Jane Martha Temple. They were parents to John Egerton,

Bishop of Durham The bishop of Durham is head of the diocese of Durham in the province of York. The diocese is one of the oldest in England and its bishop is a member of the House of Lords. Paul Butler (bishop), Paul Butler was the most recent bishop of Durham u ...

. *Hon. John Egerton (d. c.1707), a

Page of Honour A Page of Honour is a ceremonial position in the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. It requires attendance on state occasions, but does not now involve the daily duties which were once attached to the office of page. The only ...

*Hon. Charles Egerton (d. 7 November 1725). Married Catherine Greville. His wife was a sister of William Greville, 7th Baron Brooke. *Lady Elizabeth Egerton. Married Thomas Catesby Paget. Her husband was a son of Henry Paget, 1st Earl of Uxbridge and his wife Mary Catesby. They were parents of

Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge Henry Paget, 2nd Earl of Uxbridge (22 January 1719 – 16 November 1769) was a British nobleman, styled Lord Paget from 1742 to 1743. The only son of Thomas Paget, Lord Paget, and his wife Lady Elizabeth, he was commissioned a cornet in the 1st ...

References

Bibliography * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgewater, John Egerton, 3rd Earl Of 1646 births 1701 deaths 17th-century English nobility 18th-century English nobility 17th-century Royal Navy personnel 18th-century Royal Navy personnel 03 Knights of the Bath Lord-lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Lords of the Admiralty Brackley, John Egerton, Viscount Politicians from Buckinghamshire

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Presidents of the Board of Trade Whig (British political party) politicians