George Brudenell 1685-1732

George BRUDENELL, 3rd Earl of Cardigan 1685-1732

One of Brudenell's bookplates (British Museum Franks Collection *47)

Biographical Note

Son of Francis Brudenell, and grandson of Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl of Cardigan; Francis died in 1698, before the 2nd Earl, from whom George inherited the title and family estates (principally Deene Park, Northamptonshire) in 1703. The family were Roman Catholic, and George was living in Rome at the time of his inheritance; he returned to England in 1706, and after converting to the Church of England, took his seat in the House of Lords. He undertook some modernisation of Deene Park, without significantly remodelling the house.

Books

Brudenell inherited the extensive library of Deene Park (see Thomas Brudenell, 1st Earl of Cardigan); the extent to which he augmented it is not known, but he used two engraved armorial bookplates (Franks 4163, *47). The house and library were inherited by his son George, later 1st Duke of Montagu.

Sources

• George Brudenell, Wikipedia.
• Deene Park, family history.
• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903-4.