Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (27 April 1678 – 5 December 1746) was a
British landowner and
Whig politician who sat in the
House of Commons between 1707 and 1738. He faked his own death in 1738 and spent the rest of his life in prison.
Early life
Bridgeman was the eldest son of
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet and his wife Mary Cave, daughter of Sir Thomas Cave, 1st Baronet.
[ He was educated at ]Rugby School
Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England.
Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...
in Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
and matriculated at Trinity College, Oxford on 10 November 1694, aged 15. He succeeded his father to the baronetcy on the latter's death in 1701[ He inherited the family estate at Bowood Park, ]Wiltshire
Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...
, where a lease from the crown was renewed in 1702. On 15 April 1702, he married Susanna Dashwood, daughter of Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet
Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet ( – 4 November 1724), of St. Botolph without Bishopsgate, London, and West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was a British merchant, landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1713.
Ea ...
, a wealthy City merchant. It was a financially advantageous match as Bridgeman acquired Wanstead, one of Dashwood's manors in Essex, as part of the marriage settlement. He used Wanstead as his main country residence for a while, but later sold it.[
]
Career
Bridgeman's father had a high reputation at Coventry At the 1705 English general election
The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...
Bridgeman stood as a Whig for Coventry
Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...
where there was a significant family electoral interest. He was defeated, but he and his partner petitioned and as a result, the election was declared void on 7 February 1707. After a second contest on 25 February 1707, he was returned as a 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 ...
for Coventry. He was re-elected MP for Coventry at the 1708 British general election
The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland.
The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...
and saw off a petition by his opponents accusing him of bribery. He voted for the naturalization of the Palatines and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. At the 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 defeated at Coventry as a result of the Tory resurgence in the city.
After five years out of Parliament, Bridgeman was returned as MP for Calne at the 1715 British general election
The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...
. In 1716, he was appointed Auditor General to George, Prince of Wales. He voted for the septennial bill, but in 1717 went into opposition with the Prince of Wales and voted against the Government on 4 June 1717 on Lord Cadogan and on the Peerage Bill. He lost his seat at the 1722 British general election
The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...
but was returned as MP for Lostwithiel at a by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
on 25 February 1724. When the Prince of Wales succeeded to the throne in 1727, Bridgeman was appointed to the Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
as a Lord of Trade, an office he held until 1738. At the 1727 British general election
The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...
, he was returned unopposed at Calne and also at Blechingley and chose to sit chose to sit at Bletchingley. He changed seats again at the 1734 British general election
The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...
when was returned as MP for Dunwich. On 10 March 1735 he seconded a petition from the Georgia Society for a grant-in-aid to the colony.[ He had started to build a new house at Bowood but he got deeply into debt and the Chancery Courts started with proceedings against him in 1737.][ In 1737, he was nominated as Governor of Barbados,] a lucrative post, but with a high mortality rate.
Disappearance
Bridgeman disappeared before sailing to Barbados. He left farewell letters to his family and to the king and left his clothes by the side of the Thames. On 10 June 1738, a body was found drowned in the Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
near Limehouse and because it had been disfigured by the water, the body was falsely identified as Bridgeman's.
Bridgeman's principal creditor Richard Long acquired ownership of the estate after a Chancery Decree in his favour in 1739. The diary of John Perceval, 1st Earl of Egmont says the following:
Sir Orlando Bridgeman who, instead of going to his government of Barbados conferred on his last winter, made his escape (as he hoped) from the world, to avoid his creditors, by pretending to make himself away, and accordingly gave it out that he had drowned himself, was ferreted out of his hole by the reward advertised for whoever should discover him, and seized in an inn at Slough, where he had ever since concealed himself.
Bridgeman was found in an inn at Slough
Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...
in October 1738 and was imprisoned.
Death and legacy
Bridgeman died at the gaol of Gloucester
Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
on 5 December 1746, aged 68, and was buried in St Nicholas' Church, Gloucester. He had three sons and two daughters.[ His eldest son ]Francis
Francis may refer to:
People
*Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome
*Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
*Francis (surname)
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* Rural M ...
succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's apparent death in 1738. However, with his father restored, he predeceased his father in 1740 and the title became extinct with Bridgeman's death.[ Bridgeman's sister Penelope was married to ]Thomas Newport, 1st Baron Torrington
Thomas Newport, 1st Baron Torrington (c. 1655 – 27 May 1719), styled The Honourable from 1675 until 1716, was an English barrister and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1716 when he was raised ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bridgeman, Orlando, 2nd Baronet
1678 births
1746 deaths
People educated at Rugby School
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
British MPs 1707–1708
British MPs 1708–1710
British MPs 1715–1722
British MPs 1722–1727
British MPs 1727–1734
British MPs 1734–1741
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies
Orlando
Members of Parliament for Coventry
British people who died in prison custody
Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention