Oddlet: Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater · 1 min read
Oct 20, 2026
The Bread of Shame
Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater — Fellow of the Royal Society, prebendary of Durham — dined every night in Paris with a dozen dogs in tailored coats and linen napkins, each attended by its own footman.
Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater, was Fellow of the Royal Society, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, prebendary of Durham, and a Christ Church man. His will would endow the Bridgewater Treatises on the wisdom of God and found the Egerton Manuscripts at the British Museum.
In Paris he dined every night with a dozen dogs.
They sat at his table in armchairs, in tailored coats, in custom leather boots on all four feet, linen napkins tied around their necks. Each had a personal footman who served its plate the instant the earl was served. A contemporary reported that they behaved "with a decency and decorum which would do more than honour to a party of gentlemen."
Some were then driven along the rue Saint-Honoré on silk cushions, a plumed and gold-embroidered chasseur riding behind the carriage. The chasseur's face must have been a small triumph of professional discipline.
A dog who misbehaved at dinner was stripped of his finery. He was put into the yellow coat and knee breeches of a footman. He was banished to the ante-chamber for a week to eat what one paper called "the bread of shame."
He died in Paris in 1829 and the earldom died with him. Two of the dogs had been called Bijou and Biche.
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- Wikipedia — Francis Egerton, 8th Earl of Bridgewater — Overview of birth/death, education, ecclesiastical career, Fellowships, Paris residence, dogs, boots, pigeons, bequests, extinction of earldom.
- Dictionary of National Biography (1885-1900) — Egerton, Francis Henry — Authoritative Victorian entry giving Oxford matriculation date, B.A./M.A. dates, Prebendary of Durham date, Hôtel Egerton residence, will date, £8,000 bequest, eccentricities re dogs and cats.
- Wikipedia — Bridgewater Treatises — £8,000 bequest, eight treatises 1833-1836, exact wording of the commission, role of Royal Society/Archbishop of Canterbury/Bishop of London.
- Wikipedia — Egerton Collection (British Library) — 67 manuscripts bequeathed in 1829 with £12,000 Bridgewater Fund; collection has grown to 3,800+ items.
- Parisian Fields — 'The strange case of the disappearing hôtel' — Hôtel de Noailles / Hôtel Egerton at rue St-Honoré no. 211 (renumbered 335), built 1687, acquired by Noailles 1711, purchased by Egerton c.1814, demolished 1830; dogs, shoes, partridges.
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