Egerton family papers

This collection contains the official, semi-official, and personal papers of six generations of the Egerton family of Great Britain. Also known as the "Ellesmere Collection," the papers span from 1150-1803 and include approximately 13,000 pieces with particular strengths related to domestic management, religion, politics, literature, law, and diplomacy from the late 16th through 18th centuries. The geographic scope of the collection includes all of the British Isles, the British Atlantic, and early colonial America, and foreign relations with Western Europe.

The papers include the personal letters and papers of the family (although there are relatively few household and estate accounts), literary manuscripts, and the official and semi-official papers relating to offices held by various members of the family, particularly those accumulated by Sir Thomas Egerton, 1540?-1617, Baron Ellesmere and Viscount of Brackley, Solicitor-General (1581-1592), Attorney-General (1592-1594), Lord Keeper (1596-1603), and Lord Chancellor (1603-1617); Sir John Egerton, 1st Earl of Bridgewater, 1579-1649, President of the Council of Wales (1631-1649); John Egerton, 2nd Earl of Bridgewater, 1622-1686, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (1660-1686); John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater, 1646-1701, President of the Board of Trade (1696-1699), First Lord of Admiralty (1699-1701), Speaker of the House of Lords (1697 and 1700); John Scrope Egerton, 1st Duke of Bridgewater, 1681-1745, a Whig courtier under Anne and George I, and Francis, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater, 1736-1803. Included are literary manuscripts (many of them presentation copies), which comprised the library at Bridgewater House. Also included are the papers of the Stanley family, earls of Derby related to the Egertons, through the marriage of Sir Thomas Egerton to Alice, widow of Ferdinando Stanley, the 5th Earl, including some material concerning the Isle of Man, of which the earls of Derby were hereditary lords. As well, the women in this family are well documented and represented within the papers, including Alice Spencer (1559-1637), Countess of Derby; Frances Stanley Egerton (1583-1636), Countess of Bridgewater; Elizabeth Cavendish Egerton (1626-1663), Countess of Bridgewater; Elizabeth Cranfield Egerton (ca. 1627-1663); Jane Paulet Egerton (ca. 1656-1716), Countess of Bridgewater; Elizabeth Churchill Egerton (ca. 1687-1714), Countess of Bridgewater; and Rachel Russell Egerton (ca. 1700-1777), Dowager Duchess of Bridgewater.

The collection also contains photocopies of some 1,600 manuscripts that the Egerton family chose to retain in their possession.