Henry Bridgeman, 1st Baron Bradford (7 September 1725 – 5 June 1800),Doyle (1886), p. 208. known as Sir Henry Bridgeman, 5th Baronet, between 1764 and 1794, was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

for 46 years from 1748 to 1794 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

Baron Bradford Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

Background and education

Bridgeman was the second and eldest surviving son of

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

.Debrett (1828), p. 240.BRIDGEMAN, Henry (1725-1800), of Weston Park, Staffs.
Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715-1754, ed. R. Sedgwick, 1970. Accessed May 2020. His mother Anne was the daughter of

Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (3 September 1644 – 14 June 1723), styled The Honourable from 1651 to 1694 and subsequently Viscount Newport until 1708, was an England, English peer and British Whig P ...

. He was educated at

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the 16 "old colleges" of the university, and was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. Its buildings span the R ...

, where he graduated with an MA in 1747. On the death of his maternal uncle,

Thomas Newport, 4th Earl of Bradford Thomas Newport, 4th Earl of Bradford (c. 1696 – 18 April 1762Doyle (1886), p. 208.), was an English peer and noble. Newport was the third son of Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford.Collins (1756), p. 158. His mother Mary was the third daug ...

, in 1762, Bridgeman inherited

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 east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire ...

and two years later he succeeded his father as baronet.Cokayne (1912), p. 275. Cambridge awarded him a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

in 1769 and the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

made him a

Doctor of Civil Laws Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of excepti ...

in 1793.

Career

In 1748, Bridgeman entered the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, having been elected for

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

.Thorne (1986), p. 253. He represented the constituency for twenty years until 1768 and sat then for (Much) Wenlock for another twentysix years. Bridgeman retired as Member of Parliament in 1794 and was elevated the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

with the title Baron Bradford, of Bradford, in the County of

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

on 13 August. He was nominated clerk of the household to George, Prince of Wales, a post he held until the latter's accession in 1760. A year later he was chosen clerk comptroller of the

Board of Green Cloth The Board of Green Cloth was a board of officials belonging to the Royal Household of England and Great Britain. It took its name from the tablecloth of green baize that covered the table at which its members sat. It audited the accounts of the ...

, serving for the following three years. In 1774 Bridgeman became recorder for

Much Wenlock Much Wenlock is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in Shropshire, England; it is situated on the A458 road between Shrewsbury and Bridgnorth. Nearby, to the north-east, is the Ironbridge Gorge and Telford. The civil parish incl ...

, an appointment for life.

Family

Bridgeman married Elizabeth Simpson, daughter of Reverend John Simpson on 12 July 1755; they had eight children, five sons and three daughters. He died, aged 74, in Old Burlington Street in London in 1800Cokayne (1912), p. 276. and his two oldest sons having predeceased him was succeeded in his titles by his third son

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

, later raised to an earl. His fourth son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

took over his seat in Parliament and assumed the surname Simpson.BRIDGEMAN (afterwards SIMPSON), John (1763-1850), of Babworth, Notts.
Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964. Accessed May 2020. Bridgeman was survived by his widow until 1806; she died in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, and was buried in Weston (Weston All Saints?).

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bradford, Henry Bridgeman, 1st Baron 1725 births 1800 deaths Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Barons Bradford British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

Peers of Great Britain created by George III