Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet (30 January 1606 – 25 June 1674) was an

English common law English law is the common law legal system of England and Wales, comprising mainly criminal law and civil law, each branch having its own courts and procedures. The judiciary is independent, and legal principles like fairness, equality bef ...

jurist, lawyer, and 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 ...

from 1640 to 1642. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause in the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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 policies.J ...

Early life and education

Bridgeman was the son of John Bridgeman,

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar. 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 ...

and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1624. The same year, Bridgeman became a fellow at

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 to ...

at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

Career

Bridgeman worked as a barrister until 1632, and was named vice chamberlain of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

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 ''* ...

, the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. In April 1640, Bridgeman was elected Member of Parliament for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

in the

Short Parliament The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I of England on 20 February 1640 and sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640. It was so called because of its short session of only three weeks. After 11 years of per ...

. He was re-elected MP for Wigan for the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

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 Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, in 1643. From 1644 to 1646, Bridgeman was

Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire. * Richard Sampson, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield bef. 1544–1547 * Sir Thomas Holcroft 1548–1558 * Richard Harpour 1558–? * William Gerard bef. 1564 ...

. 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 incl ...

at the

Treaty of Uxbridge The Treaty of Uxbridge was a significant but abortive negotiation in early 1645 to try to end the First English Civil War. Background Parliament drew up 27 articles in November 1644 and presented them to Charles I of England at Oxford. Much input ...

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 Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pres ...

. The following week, on 7 June 1660, he was created a Baronet, of Great Lever, in the County of

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

. From 1660 to 1668, Bridgeman was

Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest Common law#History, common law court in the English law, English lega ...

, and from 1667 to 1672

Lord Keeper of the Great Seal The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of England, and later of Great Britain, was formerly an officer of the English Crown charged with physical custody of the Great Seal of England. This position evolved into that of one of the Great Officers of ...

, resigning because he refused to apply the Great Seal to the

Royal Declaration of Indulgence Declaration of Indulgence may refer to: *Declaration of Indulgence (1672) by Charles II of England in favour of nonconformists and Catholics *Declaration of Indulgence (1687) by James II of England granting religious freedom See also *Indulgence ...

, which he regarded as too generous to Catholics. In 1668, he was a member of the

New England Company The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England (also known as the New England Company or Company for Propagation of the Gospel in New England and the parts adjacent in America) is a British charitable organization created to promote ...

. In his final years, Bridgeman appointed the priest, theologian, and

metaphysical poet The term Metaphysical poets was coined by the critic Samuel Johnson to describe a loose group of 17th-century English poets whose work was characterised by the inventive use of conceits, and by a greater emphasis on the spoken rather than lyrica ...

Thomas Traherne Thomas Traherne (; 1636 or 1637) was an English poet, Anglican cleric, theologian, and religious writer. The intense, scholarly spirituality in his writings has led to his being commemorated by some parts of the Anglican Communion on 10 October ...

(c. 1637 – 1674) as his private chaplain at Teddington and supported the publication of his writings. Bridgeman died aged 65 in

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

and was buried there. Bridgeman was highly regarded in his time for his participation in the trial of the

regicide Regicide is the purposeful killing of a monarch or sovereign of a polity and is often associated with the usurpation of power. A regicide can also be the person responsible for the killing. The word comes from the Latin roots of ''regis'' ...

s of King

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 is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

, 3 Ch. Ca. 1, 22. Eng. Rep. 931 (Ch. 1681), of the

Rule Against Perpetuities The rule against perpetuities is a legal rule in common law that prevents people from using legal instruments (usually a deed or a will) to exert control over the ownership of private property for a time long beyond the lives of people living at ...

. 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 Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

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 Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, FRS (9 December 1649 – 20 April 1701) was an English baronet and politician. Background Bridgeman was the second son of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, by his second wife Dorothy, daughter of John ...

(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 of England, House of Commons between 1679 and 1681. Myddelton was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet and hi ...

, in 1677

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 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 ...

17th-century English judges English MPs 1640 (April) English MPs 1640–1648 Burials at St Mary with St Alban, Teddington