Henry Newport, 3rd Earl of Bradford (8 August 1683 – 25 December 1734) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

peer and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1706 and 1722. Weston Park 2018 07

Newport was the eldest son of

Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford PC (3 September 1644 – 14 June 1723), styled The Honourable from 1651 to 1694 and subsequently Viscount Newport until 1708, was an English peer and Whig politician. Background He was the oldest son of ...

and his wife Mary Wilbraham. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 4 May 1699 aged 15. Newport was returned unopposed as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales-England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of ...

at a by-election on 5 March 1706. At the

1708 general election Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

, he was returned unopposed as MP for

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

but was defeated in

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin b ...

. He was again elected MP for Shropshire at the 1713 general election and at the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

but was defeated in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

. He was

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...

and

Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Staffordshire. * William Whorwood bef. 1544–1545 * William Paget, 1st Baron Paget bef. 1547–1563 * Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex 1569–1576 * Thomas Trentham be ...

between 1715 and 1725. During the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

he was colonel of a regiment of militia he raised in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

. Newport succeeded his father's titles on 14 June 1723. He was

Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire. Before the English Civil War, the lieutenancy of Shropshire was always held by the Lord Lieutenant of Wales, but after the Restoration, its lieutenants were appointed sep ...

and Custos Rotulorum of Montgomeryshire between 1724 and 1734. Lord Bradford died in St James Place,

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, on 25 December 1734 aged 51. He was unmarried, but father of an illegitimate son. He was buried on 20 January 1734/35 in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

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and was succeeded in his titles by his younger brother Thomas Newport, an imbecile who never married. The entailed estates such as Weston Park then passed to the 4th earl's sister Anne, who had married

Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Baronet Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Baronet (2 July 1695 – 25 July 1764) was a Great Britain, British baronet and politician. Born in Blodwell in Shropshire, he was the oldest son of Sir John Bridgeman, 3rd Baronet and his wife Ursula, daughter of Ro ...

. The illegitimate son of Sir Henry, Lord Bradford was born John Harrison to Ann Smyth in 1720. His father died before John Harrison obtained his majority and the considerable unentailed estate left to him was administered by a committee chaired by his mother. In accordance with his late father's wishes, John Harrison changed his name to John Newport by private act of parliament.Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1735 (9 Geo. 2). c. 1
/ref> His mother had him declared insane before he came into his inheritance and she remained in control of his fortune. Upon her death,

William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath William Pulteney, 1st Earl of Bath, (22 March 16847 July 1764) was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1707 to 1742, when he was created the first Earl of Bath by King George II. Bath is sometimes stated to have b ...

, controlled the estate. John Newport had no children per the official record, however this is disputed by a large number of descendants of one Samuel Newport and his two brothers, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1842 and were purportedly the great-grandsons of John Newport. This claim has only been supported by coincident records and oral history to date.

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Henry Newport, 3rd Earl of 1683 births 1734 deaths British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 03 Newport, Henry Newport, Viscount Newport, Henry Newport, Viscount Lord-Lieutenants of Shropshire Lord-Lieutenants of Staffordshire