Author: Brydges, Samuel Egerton
Biography:
BRYDGES, Samuel Egerton (1762-1837: ODNB)
He was born at Wootton Court in Wootton, Kent, on 30 Nov. 1762 to Edward Brydges (or Bridges) and his wife Jemima Egerton, the daughter of a Canterbury prebendary. He was educated at Maidstone grammar school and at King’s school, Canterbury, before being admitted on 12 Feb. 1780 to Queen’s College, Cambridge. He left without taking a degree and was admitted to the Middle Temple on 2 May 1782. He was called to the bar in 1787 but never practiced. On 24 Jan. 1786 he married Elizabeth Byrche (d 1796); they had five children, one of whom, Jemima, married Edward Quillinan (q.v.). Brydges purchased Denton Court, near Wootton; although it became dilapidated during his ownership, the house still stands. Elizabeth died on 30 July 1796 and he married Mary Robinson on 15 Sept. of the same year; they had ten children. Brydges devoted himself to literature and published numerous works of topography, genealogy, biography, travel, and autobiography. (The bibliography of his works that he prepared in 1831 lists 71 individual titles.) He wrote two moderately successful novels: Mary De-Clifford (1792) and Arthur Fitz-Albini (1798) but he was disappointed that his poetry never met with acclaim. He also reissued long-forgotten English books and in 1813 established a printing press at Lee Priory, Ickham, Kent; among other works, it printed some of his and Quillinan’s books. With a brother, the Rev. Edward Brydges, he spent years prosecuting a claim to the Barony of Chandos; the claim was rejected first in 1803 and again in 1834 but this did not stop Brydges from styling himself Baron Chandos. In 1812 he was elected MP for Maidstone, Kent, and on 27 Dec. 1814 he was made a baronet. He lost his seat in the 1818 election and, embarrassed for money, he settled near Geneva in about 1821. His sons devised a fraudulent scheme to recover money lost on his estates; its discovery led to their disgrace. In July 1836 friends applied to the RLF for his support. A private subscription raised £80 and the RLF awarded £50. Brydges died at home near Geneva on 8 Sept. 1837 and was buried in Geneva. The RLF awarded £50 to Mary Brydges in 1837. (ODNB 6 Sept. 2023; Catalogue of the Works of Sir Egerton Brydges [1831]; The Autobiography, Times, Opinions, and Contemporaries of Sir Egerton Brydges [1834]; ACAD; RLF file 860) SR
Other Names:
- S. Egerton Brydges
- Sir Egerton Brydges
- Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges