Sir Brook William Bridges, 3rd Baronet (17 September 1733 – 4 September 1791) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English ...

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and Whig politician. Goodnestone House

Born at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament ...

, he was the only son of Sir Brook Bridges, 2nd Baronet and his wife Anne Palmer, daughter of

Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham (5 July 1682 – 8 November 1723) was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1708 and 1723. Early life Palmer was the eldest son of Herbert Palmer of Wingham, Ke ...

. Born after his father's death and being the eldest son, he was born into the title and property of the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

Goodnestone Park Goodnestone Park is a stately home and gardens in the southern part of the village of Goodnestone, Dover, Kent. It is approximately from Canterbury. The palladian house was built in 1704 by Brook Bridges, 1st Baronet. His grandson, Brook Br ...

in Kent.

Education and career

Bridges was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI of England, Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. i ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

until 1752 and began subsequently his

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

. In 1763, he entered the British House of Commons for

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, representing the constituency as

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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

(MP) until 1774. He was for several years

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Rece ...

of the

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements. It is also known as a location value tax, a point valuation tax, a site valuation tax, split rate tax, or a site-value r ...

for Kent.

Marriages and family

On 11 June 1765, he married Fanny Fowler, daughter of Edmund Fowler and heiress to the title

Baron Fitzwalter Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 24 June 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. His great-grandson, the f ...

, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London (the Queen Anne ...

in London. They had six daughters and seven sons. *Sophia (d. 1844), who married Col. William Deedes MP for Hythe. They had at least four sons. *Harriet Mary, who married Rev. George Moore, son of the Most Rev. John Moore, Archbishop of Canterbury. They had one son, Edward, who later married Lady Harriet Montagu-Scott, daughter of

Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT (24 May 1772 – 20 April 1819), styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician. Background and educ ...

. *Brook (14 Aug 1766 – 9 Jul 1781) * Sir Brook William (22 Jun 1767 – 21 Apr 1829), who married firstly Eleanor Foote with whom he had three children including

Brook Bridges, 1st Baron FitzWalter Brook William Bridges, 1st Baron FitzWalter (2 June 1801 – 6 December 1875), known as Sir Brook Bridges, Bt, between 1829 and 1868, was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Born at Goodnestone, Kent, FitzWalter was the eld ...

and Sir Brook William Bridges, 5th Baronet. He married secondly Dorothy Hawley, daughter of Sir Henry Hawley, 1st Baronet but without issue. *Rev. Brook Henry (1 Jun 1769 – 20 Sep 1855), who married Jane Hales, daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, 4th Baronet. They had five children. *Elizabeth (1773–1808), who married

Edward Austen Knight Edward Austen Knight (born Edward Austen; 7 October 1767 – 19 November 1852) was the third eldest brother of Jane Austen, and provided her with the use of a cottage in Chawton where she lived for the last years of her life (now Jane Austen's ...

, son of Rev. George Austen and older brother of Jane Austen (she visited them at Goodnestone regularly). They had eleven children. *Rev. Brook Edward (1779-23 Apr 1825), who married Harriet Foote, sister to Eleanor. They had two sons. (This is the "Edward Bridges" mentioned in Jane Austen's letters and portrayed by

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonneville Williams (born 10 November 1963) is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series '' Downton Abbey''. His performance on the show earned him a n ...

in ''

Miss Austen Regrets ''Miss Austen Regrets'' is a 2007 biographical drama television film directed by Jeremy Lovering and written by Gwyneth Hughes. It stars Olivia Williams as Jane Austen, with Imogen Poots, Greta Scacchi, Hugh Bonneville, Adrian Edmondson and ...

''.)

Death and legacy

Bridges died, aged 57 in

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by elegant townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal garden ...

in London and was buried in Goodnestone. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his second son William, who after the death of his older brother in 1781 had taken the additional Christian name Brook by licence of the archbishop.

References

External links

Goodnestone Park and Gardens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Brook 1733 births 1791 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People from Goodnestone, Dover