Egerton, Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
- Egerton, Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
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b. 21 May 1736
d. 9 March 1803 London, England
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English entrepreneur, described as the "father of British inland navigation".
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Francis Egerton was the younger of the two surviving sons of Scroop, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, and on the death of his brother, the 2nd Duke, he succeeded to the title in 1748. Until that time he had received little or no education as his mother considered him to be of feeble intellect. His guardians, the Duke of Bedford and Lord Trentham, decided he should be given an opportunity and sent him to Eton in 1749. He remained there for three years and then went on the "grand tour" of Europe. During this period he saw the Canal du Midi, though whether this was the spark that ignited his interest in canals is hard to say. On his return to England he indulged in the social round in London and raced at Newmarket. After two unsuccessful attempts at marriage he retired to Lancashire to further his mining interests at Worsley, where the construction of a canal to Manchester was already being considered. In fact, the Act for the Bridgewater Canal had been passed at the time he left London. John Gilbert, his land agent at Worsley, encouraged the Duke to pursue the canal project, which had received parliamentary approval in March 1759. Brindley had been recommended on account of his work at Trentham, the estate of the Duke's brother-in-law, and Brindley was consulted and subsequently appointed Engineer; the canal opened on 17 July 1761. This was immediately followed by an extension project from Longford Brook to Runcorn to improve communications between Manchester and Liverpool; this was completed on 31 December 1772, after Brindley's death. The Duke also invested heavily in the Trent \& Mersey Canal, but his interests were confined to his mines and the completed canals for the rest of his life.
It is said that he lacked a sense of humour and even refused to read books. He was untidy in his dress and habits yet he was devoted to the Worsley undertakings. When travelling to Worsley he would have his coach placed on a barge so that he could inspect the canal during the journey. He amassed a great fortune from his various activities, but when he died, instead of leaving his beloved canal to the beneficiaries under his will, he created a trust to ensure that the canal would endure; the trust did not expire until 1903. The Duke is commemorated by a large Corinthian pillar, which is now in the care of the National Trust, in the grounds of his mansion at Ashridge, Hertfordshire.
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Further Reading
H.Malet, 1961, The Canal Duke, Dawlish: David \& Charles.
JHB
Biographical history of technology. - Taylor & Francis e-Librar.
Lance Day and Ian McNeil.
2005.
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Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater — Infobox Person name = Francis Egerton image size = 150px caption = Francis Egerton in a 1788 engraving birth name = birth date = 21 May 1736 birth place = death date = 8 March 1803 death place = death cause = resting place = resting place… … Wikipedia
Scroop Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater — (11 August, 1681 ndash; 11 January, 1744), known as Viscount Brackley from 1687 to 1701 and as the Earl of Bridgewater from 1701 to 1720, was an British peer and courtier. Originally the 4th Earl of Bridgewater he was created Duke of Bridgewater… … Wikipedia
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Bridgewater Canal — /brɪdʒwɔtə kəˈnæl/ (say brijwawtuh kuh nal) noun a canal in England, between Worsley and Manchester; the first major British artificial inland waterway. 68 km. {named after Francis Egerton, 1763–1803, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater} …
BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 3RD DUKE OF — celebrated for his self sacrificing devotion to the improvement and extension of canal navigation in England, embarking in it all his wealth, in which he was aided by the skill of Brindley; he did not take part in politics, though he was a… … The Nuttall Encyclopaedia
Bridgewater Canal — ▪ canal, England, United Kingdom British canal now extending from Worsley to Liverpool. An engineering masterpiece of the 18th century, the Bridgewater (Bridgewater, Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of, Marquess Of Brackley, Earl of Bridgewater,… … Universalium
