Sir Egerton Brydges, Bt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 30 November 1762 Wootton, Kent |
| Died | 8 September 1837 (aged 74) Geneva |
| Occupation | bibliographer, genealogist, Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1812 to 1818 |
| Nationality | English |
Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges, 1st Baronet (30 November 1762 – 8 September 1837) was an English bibliographer and genealogist. He was also Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1812 to 1818.[1]
Educated at Maidstone Grammar School and The King's School, Canterbury, Brydges was admitted to Queens' College, Cambridge in 1780, though he did not take a degree.[2] He was called to the bar from the Middle Temple in 1787.[2] He wrote some novels and poems, now forgotten, but rendered valuable service through his bibliographical publications (printed at the Lee Priory Press),[3] Censura Literaria, Titles and Opinions of Old English Books (10 vols. 1805–9), his editions of Edward Phillips's Theatrum Poetarum Anglicanorum (1800), Arthur Collins's Peerage of England (1812), and of many rare Elizabethan authors. He was a founding member of the Roxburghe Club, a publishing club of wealthy bibliophiles. He was elected a Knight Grand Commander of the Equestrian, Secular, and Chapterial Order of St. Joachim in 1807, at a chapter held in Franconia.[4]
In 1789, the Chandos barony became dormant. Egerton Brydges attempted to claim the title, initially on behalf of his older brother Rev. Edward Tymewell Brydges, then later on his own behalf. The litigation continued from 1790 to 1803, before the claims were ultimately rejected, but he continued to style himself "per legem terrae Baron Chandos of Sudeley". It seems likely that not only was the claim groundless but that the evidence was forged.[citation needed]
He was made a baronet on 27 December 1814.[5][4] In 1824, he started The Literary Magnet as a weekly magazine with his son Egerton Anthony Brydges under the joint pseudonym Tobias Merton (perhaps an anagram of their names).[a] He continued editing it until around August 1824, when it was passed to another editor.[6] He died in Geneva.
