The Earl of Bridgewater
First Lord of the Admiralty
In office
1699–1701
Preceded byThe Earl of Orford
Succeeded byThe Earl of Pembroke
First Lord of Trade
In office
16 December 1695 – 9 June 1699
Preceded byVacant
Last held by
The Earl of Shaftesbury
Succeeded byThe Earl of Stamford
Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire
With Thomas Warton
In office
1685–1686
Preceded byRichard Hampden
Succeeded byThomas Lee
Personal details
Born9 November 1646
Died19 March 1701
Spouse(s)Lady Elizabeth Cranfield
Lady Jane Paulet
Children10
Parent(s)John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater
Lady Elizabeth Cavendish

John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater KB PC (9 November 1646 – 19 March 1701) was a British nobleman from the Egerton family.

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 and his first wife Elizabeth Basset.

On 17 November 1664, he married Lady Elizabeth Cranfield, daughter of James Cranfield, 2nd Earl of Middlesex. 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.

Egerton served as a Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire as a Whig for Buckinghamshire from 1685 to 1686. He also served as Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire following his father's death in 1686 but was dismissed after his first period in office by King James II for refusing to produce a list of Roman Catholics to serve as officers of the militia. He was later reinstated to the position when William III came to the throne and James II was forced into exile.

He served as First Lord of Trade in the Convention Parliament, 1690–1691. He was promoted to the cabinet as First Lord of the Admiralty 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 in 1697 and then again for 1701.

Family

John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgwater by Godfrey Kneller, 1685
Memorial to the 3rd Earl of Bridgewater and his family in the Bridgewater Chapel, Little Gaddesden Church

He was first married to Elizabeth Cranfield, a daughter of James Cranfield, 2nd Earl of Middlesex and Anne Bourchier. They had only one known child who survived birth:

On 2 April 1673, Bridgewater married his second wife Jane Paulet. She was a daughter of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton and his second wife Mary Scrope. Mary was the eldest illegitimate daughter of Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, and his mistress Martha Jones; she became her father's co-heiress when a brother died childless. They had nine children:

References

Arms of Egerton: Argent, a lion rampant gules between three pheons sable[2]
  1. ^ a b 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.
  2. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.1077, Duke of Sutherland
Bibliography
Political offices New titleEstablishment of the Board of Trade First Lord of Trade 1695–1699 Succeeded byThe Earl of Stamford Preceded byThe Earl of Orford First Lord of the Admiralty 1699–1701 Succeeded byThe Earl of Pembroke and Montgomeryas Lord High Admiral Parliament of England Preceded byThomas WhartonRichard Hampden Member of Parliament for Buckinghamshire 1685–1686 With: Thomas Wharton Succeeded byHon. Thomas WhartonSir Thomas Lee, Bt Honorary titles Preceded byThe Earl of Bridgewater Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire 1686–1687 Succeeded byThe Lord Jeffreys Preceded byThe Lord Jeffreys Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire 1689–1701 Succeeded byThe Lord Wharton Peerage of England Preceded byJohn Egerton Earl of Bridgewater 2nd creation1686–1701 Succeeded byScroop Egerton