Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet,
SL (30 January 1606 – 25 June 1674) was an
English common law jurist, lawyer, and politician who sat in the
House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He supported the
Royalist cause in the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...
.
Life
Bridgeman was the son of
John Bridgeman,
Bishop of Chester, and his wife Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar. He was educated
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1624. In the same year, Bridgeman became a Fellow of
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College ( ) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1428 as a Benedictine hostel, in time coming to be known as Buckingham College, before being refounded in 1542 as the College of St Mary ...
and was
called to the Bar
The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call ...
at the
Inner Temple. He worked as barrister until 1632, becoming Vice-Chamberlain of
Chester
Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...
in 1638. In 1640, he was appointed Attorney of the
Court of Wards in 1640, and Solicitor-General to
Charles
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
, the
Prince of Wales.
In April 1640, Bridgeman was elected Member of Parliament for
Wigan in the
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on the 20th of February 1640 and sat from 13th of April to the 5th of May 1640. It was so called because of its short life of only three weeks.
Aft ...
. He was re-elected MP for Wigan for the
Long Parliament in November 1640.
He rallied to the royal cause and in 1642 assisted
Lord Strange
Baron Strange is a title which has been created four times in the Peerage of England. Two creations, one in 1295 and another in 1326, had only one holder each, upon whose deaths they became extinct. Two of the creations, that of 1299 and that ...
at Chester against the parliamentary forces. As a result, he was disabled from sitting in parliament on 29 August 1642.
He was knighted by the King,
Charles I, in 1643. From 1644 to 1646, Bridgeman was
Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire. In 1645, he was
Commissioner
A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something).
In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...
at the
Treaty of Uxbridge on behalf of the King.
He compounded for his delinquency in 1646.
On 30 May 1660, Bridgeman was made
Serjeant-at-Law, and two days later
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. The following week, on 7 June 1660, he was created a
Baronet, of Great Lever, in the County of
Lancaster. From 1660 to 1668, Bridgeman was
Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and from 1667 to 1672
Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, resigning because he refused to apply the Great Seal to the
Royal Declaration of Indulgence, which he regarded as too generous to Catholics. In 1668, he was a member of the
New England Company. In his final years, Bridgeman appointed the priest, theologian, and
metaphysical poet Thomas Traherne (c. 1637 – 1674) as his private chaplain at Teddington and supported the publication of his writings. Bridgeman died aged 65 in
Teddington,
Middlesex and was buried there.
Bridgeman was highly regarded in his time for his participation in the trial of the
regicides of King
Charles I in 1660, and also for devising complex legal instruments for the conveyance of estates in land. Among Bridgeman's most enduring inventions was a device for the
22nd Earl of Arundel, which led to the creation in the
Duke of Norfolk's Case
Duke of Norfolk's Case (1682) 3 Ch Cas 1; 22 ER 931 is an important legal judgment of the House of Lords that established the common law rule against perpetuities. The case related to establishing inheritance for grandchildren of Henry Howard ...
, 3 Ch. Ca. 1, 22. Eng. Rep. 931 (Ch. 1681), of the
Rule Against Perpetuities. Following the
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...
he was one of the judges appointed to resolve disputes about property arising from the fire.
Family
Bridgeman married twice, firstly Judith Kynaston, daughter of John Kynaston, on 30 January 1627 or 1628. They had two children:
*Mary Bridgeman, married, firstly Sir Edward Morgan, married secondly Richard Hanbury
*Sir John Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (1631–1710)
Secondly he married Dorothy Saunders, daughter of John Saunders. They had three children:
*Sir Francis Bridgeman, married Susan Barker, daughter of Sir Richard Barker
*
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of Ridley (died 1701)
*Charlotte Bridgeman (died 1694), married
Sir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd Baronet (ca. 1651 – 5 February 1684) was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1679 and 1681.
Myddelton was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet and his first wife Mary Cholmondle ...
, in 1677
See also
*
Bunbury Agreement
The Bunbury Agreement of December 23, 1642 was a declaration of neutrality drawn up by some prominent gentlemen of the county of Cheshire shortly after the outbreak of the First English Civil War. Like similar attempts in Lancashire and other coun ...
References
*
*
External links
*
The Twickenham Museum: Orlando BridgemanThe Diary of Samuel Pepys: Wednesday 10 October 1660
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeman, Orlando, 1st Baronet
1606 births
1674 deaths
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
Chief Barons of the Exchequer
Chief Justices of the Common Pleas
Fellows of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Members of the Inner Temple
Serjeants-at-law (England)
Orlando
17th-century English judges
English MPs 1640 (April)
English MPs 1640–1648