Sir Brook William Bridges, 3rd Baronet (17 September 1733 – 4 September 1791) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and Whig politician. Goodnestone House

Born at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

, he was the only son of Sir Brook Bridges, 2nd Baronet by his first cousin and wife Elizabeth Palmer, daughter and co-heiress of

Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham Sir Thomas Palmer, 4th Baronet, of Wingham (5 July 1682 – 8 November 1723) was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons between 1708 and 1723. Early life Palmer was the eldest son of He ...

(her sisters Anne Palmer and

Mary Palmer Mary Palmer (née Reynolds; 9 February 1716 – 27 May 1794) was a British author from Devon who wrote ''Devonshire Dialogue'', once considered the "best piece of literature in the vernacular of Devon." She was the mother of painter Theophi ...

both married into Finch family). Born after his father's death and being the eldest son, he was born into the title and property of the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Goodnestone Park in Kent.

Education and career

Bridges was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

until 1752 and began subsequently his Grand Tour. In 1763, he entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, representing the constituency as Member of Parliament (MP) until 1774. He was for several years

Receiver General A receiver general (or receiver-general) is an officer responsible for accepting payments on behalf of a government, and for making payments to a government on behalf of other parties. See also * Treasurer * Receiver General for Canada * Recei ...

of the

land tax A land value tax (LVT) is a levy on the value of land without regard to buildings, personal property and other improvements upon it. Some economists favor LVT, arguing it does not cause economic inefficiency, and helps reduce economic inequali ...

for Kent.

Marriages and family

On 11 June 1765, he married Fanny Fowler, daughter of Edmund Fowler and heiress to the title

Baron Fitzwalter Baron FitzWalter is an ancient title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 24 June 1295 for Robert FitzWalter. The title was created by writ, which means that it can descend through both male and female lines. History One of the oldest ...

, at

St George's, Hanover Square St George's, Hanover Square, is an Church of England, Anglican church, the parish church of Mayfair in the City of Westminster, central London, built in the early eighteenth century as part of a project to build fifty new churches around London ...

in London. They had six daughters and seven sons. *Sophia (d. 1844), who married Col. William Deedes MP for

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a hamlet in Canada England *The ...

. They had at least four sons. *Harriet Mary, who married Rev. George Moore, son of the Most Rev. John Moore,

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. They had one son, Edward, who later married Lady Harriet Montagu-Scott, daughter of

Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT (24 May 1772 – 20 April 1819), styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician. Background and educ ...

. *Brook (14 Aug 1766 – 9 Jul 1781) * Sir Brook William (22 Jun 1767 – 21 Apr 1829), who married firstly Eleanor Foote with whom he had three children including

Brook Bridges, 1st Baron FitzWalter Brook William Bridges, 1st Baron FitzWalter (2 June 1801 – 6 December 1875), known as Sir Brook Bridges, Bt, between 1829 and 1868, was a British peer and Conservative politician. Background Born at Goodnestone, Kent, FitzWalter was the elde ...

and Sir Brook William Bridges, 5th Baronet. He married secondly Dorothy Hawley, daughter of Sir Henry Hawley, 1st Baronet but without issue. *Rev. Brook Henry (1 Jun 1769 – 20 Sep 1855), who married Jane Hales, daughter of Sir Thomas Hales, 4th Baronet. They had five children. *Elizabeth (1773–1808), who married

Edward Austen Knight Edward Austen Knight (born Edward Austen; 7 October 1767 – 19 November 1852) was the third eldest brother of Jane Austen, and provided their mother with the use of a cottage in Chawton where Jane lived for the last years of her life (now Jane ...

, son of Rev. George Austen and older brother of

Jane Austen Jane Austen ( ; 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist known primarily for #List of works, her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment on the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century ...

(she visited them at Goodnestone regularly). They had eleven children. *Rev. Brook Edward (1779-23 Apr 1825), who married Harriet Foote, sister to Eleanor. They had two sons. (This is the "Edward Bridges" mentioned in Jane Austen's letters and portrayed by

Hugh Bonneville Hugh Richard Bonniwell Williams (born 10 November 1963), known professionally as Hugh Bonneville, is an English actor. He is best known for portraying Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham, in the ITV historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' from ...

in ''

Miss Austen Regrets ''Miss Austen Regrets'' is a 2007 biographical drama television film directed by Jeremy Lovering and written by Gwyneth Hughes. It stars Olivia Williams as Jane Austen, with Imogen Poots, Greta Scacchi, Hugh Bonneville, Adrian Edmondson an ...

''.)

Death and legacy

Bridges died, aged 57 in

Portman Square Portman Square is a garden square in Marylebone, central London, surrounded by townhouses. It was specifically for private housing let on long leases having a ground rent by the Portman Estate, which owns the private communal gardens. It mar ...

in London and was buried in Goodnestone. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his second son William, who after the death of his older brother in 1781 had taken the additional Christian name Brook by licence of the archbishop.

References

External links

Goodnestone Park and Gardens
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridges, Brook 1733 births 1791 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People from Goodnestone, Dover