Richard Thomas Orlando Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford (born 3 October 1947), styled Viscount Newport from 1957 to 1981, is a British peer and businessman.

Background and education

Bradford is the son of Gerald Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford, and Mary Willoughby Montgomery. He was educated at St. Ronan's School,

Hawkhurst Hawkhurst is village and civil parish in the borough of Tunbridge Wells in Kent, England. The village is located close to the border with East Sussex, around south-east of Royal Tunbridge Wells and within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Na ...

, and Harrow School, just outside

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

, where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in 1969 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

in 1973. He succeeded to his father's title in 1981.

Career

In 1979, Bradford opened Porters English Restaurant in London's Covent Garden. He later opened the Covent Garden Grill next door. In January 2015 the restaurants closed as the landlord would not extend the lease and Bradford moved his business to Hertfordshire, where he opened Porters Restaurant in

Berkhamsted Berkhamsted ( ) is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, in the Bulbourne valley, north-west of London. The town is a civil parish with a town council within the borough of Dacorum which is based in the neighbouring large new town ...

. The restaurant closed on 30 September 2018. From 1986 to 1999 he was Chairman of Weston Park Enterprises. Because the 6th Earl left the family with large death duties, Bradford gifted his home

Weston Park Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located north-west of Wolverhampton, and north-east of Telford, close to the border with Shrop ...

and 1,000 acres to the nation in 1986, with the support of the

National Heritage Memorial Fund The National Heritage Memorial Fund (NHMF) was set up in 1980 to save the most outstanding parts of the British national heritage, in memory of those who have given their lives for the UK. It replaced the National Land Fund which had fulfilled the ...

, to the Weston Park Foundation. As of 1998, he is Chairman of VIP Internet Ltd, a website design company, which also operates its own websites, such as Stately-Homes.com, now sold, and A-London-Guide.com. In the 2001 general election, he was a candidate for parliament in the House of Commons, running as a candidate for the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

, obtaining 5.2% support (2,315 votes) in Stafford, losing to

David Kidney David Neil Kidney (born 21 March 1955) is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Stafford from 1997 to 2010. Early life Kidney attended Pinewood Primary School in Meir (now the new Crescent Primary School), L ...

, but achieving the 4th best result for the party. He ran again for UKIP in the European Elections for the

West Midlands region The West Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of International Territorial Level for statistical purposes. It covers the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. The region consists ...

in 2004, coming eighth, seven candidates were elected. In May 2012 he stood unsuccessfully for the party in a by election in the Hyde Park ward of

Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...

, with the support of celebrity nightclub-owner

Peter Stringfellow Peter James Stringfellow (17 October 1940 – 7 June 2018) was an English businessman who owned several nightclubs. Early life Stringfellow was born in the City General Hospital, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, on 17 October 1940, to Elsie Bowers a ...

. Lord Bradford is an active campaigner against the sale of

false titles of nobility False titles of nobility or royal title scams are claimed titles of social rank that have been fabricated or assumed by an individual or family without recognition by the authorities of a country in which titles of nobility exist or once existed. ...

. Bradford has alleged that he has been subjected to an online smear campaign in retaliation for his campaign, with unfavourable reviews being posted on TripAdvisor and the appearance of fraudulent review websites.

Family

On 15 September 1979, he married Joanne Elizabeth Miller, elder daughter of Mayfair bookmaker Benjamin Miller. They divorced in 2006. They have four children.

Works

*''My Private Parts and The Stuffed Parrot'' (1984) *''The Eccentric Cookbook'' (1985) *''Stately Secrets'' (1994) *''Porters English Cookery Bible – Ancient and Modern'', with Carol Wilson (2004) *''Porters Seasonal Celebrations Cookbook'', with Carol Wilson (2007)

Notes

External links

*
Porters English RestaurantFake Titles
– a website run by Lord Bradford
VIP Internet websiteStately Homes websiteRestaurant Guide website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Richard Bridgeman, 7th Earl Of 1947 births Living people People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 7 UK Independence Party parliamentary candidates Richard Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers UK Independence Party hereditary peers Bradford