Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater

Francis Henry Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater (11 November 1756 – 11 February 1829), FRS, FSA (1791), known as Francis Egerton until 1823, was a noted British eccentric from the Egerton family and supporter of natural theology.

Egerton held the rectories of Middle and Whitchurch in Shropshire, but the duties were performed by a proxy. He succeeded his brother John in the earldom in 1823, and spent the latter part of his life in Paris. He was a fair scholar, and a zealous naturalist and antiquarian. When he died in February 1829 the earldom became extinct.

Egerton was a son of John Egerton, Bishop of Durham and Anne Sophia Grey. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, and became a fellow of All Souls in 1780, and Fellow of the Royal Society in 1781. He inherited his title and a large fortune in 1823 from his brother, the 7th Earl.

Egerton was eccentric. According to the Parisian police, Egerton kept dogs and cats in his house which he dressed as ladies and gentlemen and would take them with him in his carriage. he kept partridges and pigeons with clipped wings in his garden, allowing him to shoot them despite failing eyesight. He never married, and upon his death, his title became extinct. He was buried at Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire.

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