Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet
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Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (27 April 1678 – 5 December 1746) was a
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landowner and Whig politician who sat in the
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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 (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...
in
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and matriculated at
Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...
on 10 November 1694, aged 15. He succeeded his father to the
baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...
on the latter's death in 1701 He inherited the family estate at Bowood Park,
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, 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, 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 United Kingdom constituencies, 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 ...
Bridgeman stood as a Whig for
Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...
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 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 gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...
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
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, 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
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at the
1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...
. In 1716, he was appointed
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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 {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, which would have largely halted th ...
. He lost his seat at the
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but was returned as MP for
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at a
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on 25 February 1724. When the Prince of Wales succeeded to the throne in 1727, Bridgeman was appointed to the
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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 Great Britain, 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 Scot ...
when was returned as MP for
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. 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
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near
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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
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in October 1738 and was imprisoned.


Death and legacy

Bridgeman died at the gaol of
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...
on 5 December 1746, aged 68, and was buried in St Nicholas' Church, Gloucester. He had three sons and two daughters. His eldest son
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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, ( – 27 May 1719) was an English barrister, Whig politician and peer who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1695 until 1716 when he was raised to the peerage of Great Britain as Baron ...
.


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 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 ...
Members of Parliament for Coventry British people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in England and Wales detention