Jane Egerton, Countess of Bridgewater


Jane Egerton, Countess of Bridgewater, was the second wife of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater. She was a daughter of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, by his second wife Mary Scrope.
The 3rd Earl and his second wife Jane had nine children:
The eldest son, Viscount Brackley, and his younger brother Thomas, died aged 11 and 7 respectively, along with their private tutor, in a fire which destroyed the family's London home of Bridgwater House. Both boys were buried on 14 April 1687 at Little Gaddesden, Hertfordshire. This left a younger brother, Scroop, as the heir to the earldom.
Following her husband's death, Jane was known by the title "Dowager Countess of Bridgewater". In 1724 a controversy arose over the distribution of property in her will, causing her daughter Elizabeth to instigate a court case.