Francis Henry 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. He was the last earl of Bridgewater, now spelled Bridgwater.

He was a son of John Egerton, Bishop of Durham and Anne Sophia Grey. His maternal grandparents were Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and his second wife Sophia Bentinck. Sophia was a daughter of William Bentinck, 1st Earl of Portland and Anne Villiers. Anne was a daughter of Sir Edward Villiers and his first wife Frances Howard. She was also a sister of Edward Villiers, 1st Earl of Jersey.

Egerton 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 known for giving dinner parties in his Paris mansion for cats and dogs, where the dogs were dressed in the finest fashions of the day, down to fancy miniature shoes. Each day Egerton wore a new pair of shoes and he arranged the worn shoes into rows, so that he could measure the passing time. An animal lover, Egerton kept partridges and pigeons with clipped wings in his garden, allowing him to shoot them despite failing eyesight. Egerton never married, and upon his death, his title became extinct. He was buried at Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire.

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