and 1848 respectively), was chartered in 1864.

BRIDGETT, THOMAS EDWARD (1829-1899), Roman Catholic priest and historical
writer, was born at Derby on the 20th of January 1829. He was brought up a
Baptist, but in his sixteenth year joined the Church of England. In 1847 he
entered St John's College, Cambridge, with the intention of taking orders.
Being unable to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles he could not take his
degree, and in 1850 became a Roman Catholic, soon afterwards joining the
Congregation of the Redemptorists. He went through his novitiate at St
Trond in Belgium, and after a course of five years of theological study at
Wittem, in Holland, was ordained priest. He returned to England in 1856,
and for over forty years led an active life as a missioner in England and
Ireland, preaching in over 80 missions and 140 retreats to the clergy and
to nuns. His stay in Limerick was particularly successful, and he founded a
religious confraternity of laymen which numbered 5000 members. Despite his
arduous life as a priest, Bridgett found time to produce literary works of
value, chiefly dealing with the history of the Reformation in England;
among these are _The Life of Blessed John Fisher, Bishop of Rochester_
(1888); _The Life and Writings of Sir Thomas More_ (1890); _History of the
Eucharist in Great Britain_ (2 vols., 1881); _Our Lady's Dowry_ (1875, 3rd
ed. 1890). He died at Clapham on the 17th of February 1899.

For a complete list of Bridgett's works see _The Life of Father Bridgett_,
by C. Ryder (London, 1906).

BRIDGEWATER, FRANCIS EGERTON, 3RD DUKE OF (1736-1803), the originator of
British inland navigation, younger son of the 1st duke, was born on the
21st of May 1736. Scroop, 1st duke of Bridgewater (1681-1745), was the son
of the 3rd earl of Bridgewater, and was created a duke in 1720; he was the
great-grandson of John Egerton, 1st earl of Bridgewater (d. 1649; cr.
1617), whose name is associated with the production of Milton's _Comus_;
and the latter was the son of Sir Thomas Egerton (1540-1617), Queen
Elizabeth's lord keeper and James I.'s lord chancellor, who was created
baron of Ellesmere in 1603, and in 1616 Viscount Brackley (_q.v._).

Francis Egerton succeeded to the dukedom at the age of twelve on the death
of his brother, the 2nd duke. As a child he was sickly and of such
unpromising intellectual capacity that at one time the idea of cutting the
entail was seriously entertained. Shortly after at