Berkhamsted Castle

John William Spencer Brownlow Egerton Cust was the eldest son of John Hume Egerton-Cust, Viscount Alford and Lady Marian Compton. Viscount Alford died in 1851, and so upon the death of his grandfather in 1853, the title of Earl Brownlow passed to the nine-year-old John. That same year, he changed his surname to Egerton, and in 1863 he changed it again to Egerton-Cust.

John Egerton-Cust was educated at Eton and went on to study at Christ Church College, Oxford. Throughout his young life, the 2nd Earl suffered from ill health, and often spent time with his mother in Mentone in south-east France to alleviate chronic tuberculosis. He took an interest in the emerging new art form of photography. He and his mother were acquainted with the Christian Socialist poet, Gerald Massey, and allowed him to live at Ward’s Hurst, a house on the Ashridge Estate.

In 1862, the Duchy of Cornwall began negotiations to sell the estates and park around Berkhamsted to Earl Brownlow. The young lord was still under 21 (the age of majority) and so the agreements were drawn up with Lord Brownlow’s trustees. The final arrangements completed the following year, in 1863, when Lord Brownlow came of age. The Castle ruins were retained by the Duchy of Cornwall, and Lord Brownlow agreed to rent the Castle from the Duchy of Cornwall for a nominal rent.

As tenant, Lord Brownlow carried out renovations, and used the main bailey to host local fêtes, horticultural shows and archery meetings. He also built a new cottage in the Castle in 1865 to accommodate guests, built from the fabric of existing buildings on the site.

Lord Brownlow died in 1867 at Mentone, aged just 25 and unmarried. The earldom passed to his younger brother, Adelbert Wellington Brownlow Cust.