Earl of Bridgewater - Definition

The title Earl of Bridgewater has been created twice in the Peerage of England. It was first created in 1486 for Henry Daubney, 9th Baron Daubney. That creation became extinct in 1548. It was then created in 1617 for John Egerton, 1st Viscount Brackley. The fourth earl was created Duke of Bridgewater in 1720 with the subsidiary title Marquess of Brackley. These creations became extinct in 1803. The earldom became extinct in 1829.

A scoundrel claiming to be the long-lost but rightful Duke of Bridgewater appears in the 1885 novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, which is set before the American Civil War.

The original spelling is likely to have been Bridgwater, meaning the burg of Water, and the same as Bridgwater in Somerset (see archive reference 2/79 (http://www.isd.salford.ac.uk/specollect/bwa2.pdf)).

Earls of Bridgewater, First Creation (1486)

• Henry Daubney, 1st Earl of Bridgewater (1493-1548) (extinct)

Earls of Bridgewater, Second Creation (1617)

• John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater (1579-1649)
• John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater (1623-1686)
• John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater (1646-1701)
• Scroop Egerton, 4th Earl of Bridgewater (1681-1745) (created Duke of Bridgewater in 1720)

Dukes of Bridgewater (1720)

• Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, 4th Earl of Bridgewater (1681-1745)
• John Egerton, 2nd Duke of Bridgewater, 5th Earl of Bridgewater (1727-1748)
• Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, 6th Earl of Bridgewater (1736-1803) (Dukedom extinct)

Earls of Bridgewater, Second Creation, contd.

• John William Egerton, 7th Earl of Bridgewater (1753-1823)
• Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater (1756-1829) (extinct)