Page:The Complete Peerage Ed 1 Vol 2.djvu/24

 BRIDGEWATER. 23 Earldom, 7. John William (Egerton), Earl of Bridgewater, VIII 1803 ^ c,msm an< ' m!l ' e, being 2ml but 1st surv. s. and h. of John Egerton, Bishop OK Duiihasi, by his 1st wife, Anne Sophia, da, and co- heir of Henry (Gkky), Duke ok Kent, which John was 6th s. of John, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater and yst. br. of Scroop, the 1st Duke. He was b. 14 April 1753 and bap. 8 May at St Geo. Han. sq. ; entered the military service 1771 ; Capt. 177G ; Major, 1 77!) ; Lieut-Col. 7th Light Dragoons, 17U0 ; Col., 1703 ; Major-Gen., 1796; Col. Of the Mth Light Dragoons 1797 ; Lieut-Gen., 1802 ; Gen. in the Army, 1812. Ue was M.P. for Morpeth, 1777-80 ; and for Brackley, 1780-1803. VMS., &c. Hera, by spec, lie. at her Fathers house (No. 58) Welbeck street, Marylebone, 14 Jan. 1783, Charlotte Catharine Anne, only da. and h. of Samuel Haynes. He d. s.p. at Ashridge Park (the mansion whereof he had rebuilt), 21 Oct. 1S23, and was bur. 30 at Little Gaddesden. M.L Under his will, dat. 31 March 1823, his estates in Midx. Herts, Bucks, Beds, Northamptonshire, Oxoo, Salop, Cheshire, Flintshire, Yorkshire, Durham and elsewhere devolved, after the death of his widow and his br., on his great nephew, John Hume Home-Oust, styled Viscount Alfonl, for life and his issue in tail male, subject however to certain conditions!*) which were set aside as illegal. His willow, who was 6. 20 Nov. 1763, d. at Ashridge Park 11 Feb. 1S49, and was bur. 22nd as afsd., aged 85. Her will pr. May 1S49. IX. 1S23, S. Fran-cis Henry (Egerton), Earl of Bridgewater to [1617], Viscount Brackley [1616] and B.vnoN Elt.esmere [1603], 1829. only surv. br. and h., 6. 11 Nov. 1756, bap 14 Dec. at St. Geo. Han. Sep; ed. at Eton ; matric, at Oxford (Ch. Ch.) 27 March 1773, aged 16 ; B.A. 1776 ; Fellow of All Souls and M.A., 1780; Preb. of Durham, 17S0 ; Rector of Whitchurch, Salop, 1781 ; F.R.S, 1781 ; F S.A, 1791. He, who was well known for his eccentricity, (>') d. unm. at his residence, Hotel do Noailles, Rue St. Hcuiore, Paris, 11 Feb 1S29, when all his I'ccrayc di'jnitics became extinct. Bur. I .March at 1 ittle Gaddesden, aged 72. Will dat. 25 Feb. 1825, pr. April 1829. ( a ) These were that if " Lord Viscount Alford shall die without having acquired the title and dignity of Duke or Marauis of Bridycicafcr to him and the heirs male of his body" (unless such title had been obtained by Earl Brownlow [the Viscount's father] or by testator's brother with a spec. rem. to Earl Brownlow and the heirs male of that Earl's body by his first wife) then ill such case the estate limited to the heirs male of the said Viscount's body slid, be void and the next rem. take effect Lord Alford came into possession of the estates in 1849 as life tenant and d. 3 Jan. 1851, not having acquired either of the titles indicated. The question of the succes- sion of his s. and h. to these vast estates (valued at £70,000 a year) under these circumstances was decided against him 20 Aug. 1851 by Vice Chancellor, Lord Cranworth, in the case of " Egerton v. Brownlow," subject to the possibility of his becoming so entitled, if Earl Brownlow (who still survived) should be eft Marquis or Duke in the manner above-named. This opinion was shared by most of the Common Law Judges, viz. Justices Crompton, Creswell, Talfourd, Coleridge, Wightman, and Erie, by Barons Alderson and Park, and (save as to the possibility of the revival of the appellant's title) by Justice Williams. On the other hand, Ch. Baron Pollock and Baron Piatt held that the conditions were void and that the appellant took an inde- feasible estate in tail male. This decree of the Vice Chancellor's was (somewhat unexpectedly) reversed by the House of Lords, 19 August 1S53, a vast majority of the Law Lords, viz. Lords Lyndhurst, Brougham, Truro and St. Leonards, being for the appellant, while Lord Cranworth (then Lord Chancellor) alone supported (his own) the opposite view. The appellant consequently (who the next month sue. his grandfather as Earl Brownlow) became entitled to the Bridgewater estates. See account of these trials in " Annual Reg." 1S51, pp. 388-392, and 1SS3, pp. 296-30S. ( b ) His house Wa8 full of cats and dogs, who were dressed as ladies and gentlemen, and taken out in his carriage and fed at his table. See Record kept by the police in Paris. He was however a good scholar and a great lover and patron of literature. He bequeathed £8000 for the best work on the Goodness of God as manifested in the Creation. This was divided among eight different persons, authors of eight different treatises (eg, Sir Charles Bell on the Hand, Dr. Buckland on Geology, &c.) called "the Bridgewater Treatises." His valuable .MSS. he bequeathed to the British Museum, with a sum of £12,000, of which the interest was partly for the Custodian and partly for the augmentation, &c. thereof. These are called "The Egerton MSS," and relate chietly to French and Italiau literature.