John Egerton, Viscount Alford

Monument to Viscount Alford erected by his father in the grounds of Belton House, Lincolnshire. John Hume Egerton, Viscount Alford (born Cust; 15 October 1812 – 3 January 1851) was an English Tory Member of Parliament and landowner from the Egerton family.

Early life Alford was born at Hill Street at Berkeley Square, Mayfair, the eldest son of John Cust, 2nd Baron Brownlow by his first wife, Sophia Hume. His mother was the daughter of Sir Abraham Hume, 2nd Baronet and Lady Amelia Egerton, great-granddaughter of John Egerton, 3rd Earl of Bridgewater. He gained the courtesy title of Viscount Alford on his father being created Earl Brownlow in 1815. Alford was educated at Eton and Magdalene College, Cambridge.

Career

In 1835, he was elected to the House of Commons for Bedfordshire, a seat he held until his death in 1851. He was strong supporter of Sir Robert Peel, until the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846. inscribing his name into a block in the castle's wall.

He fell ill in 1849 and spent the winter of 1850 in Egypt, hoping the climate would benefit his health. He returned to England in the summer, with no improvement. He died in January 1851 at his seat at Ashridge Park, aged only 38. His father-in-law the Marquess of Northampton, brother-in-law Earl Compton, and other family members had gathered at Ashridge when he died.

His eldest son, John, succeeded his grandfather in the earldom of Brownlow in 1853, but died in Italy, aged 24. His second son, Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust, succeeded his brother as 3rd Earl Brownlow and later became a government minister.