Orlando Bridgeman
Encyclopedia
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet SL
(30 January 1606 – 25 June 1674) was an English common law jurist, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons
from 1640 to 1642. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War
.
, and his wife Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar. He was educated Queens' College, Cambridge
and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
in 1624. In the same year, Bridgeman became a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge
and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
. He worked as barrister until 1632, becoming Vice-Chamberlain of Chester
in 1638. In 1640, he was appointed Attorney of the Court of Wards in 1640, and Solicitor-General to Charles
, the Prince of Wales
.
In April 1640, Bridgeman was elected Member of Parliament
for Wigan
in the Short Parliament
. He was re-elected MP for Wigan for the Long Parliament
in November 1640. He rallied to the royal cause and in 1642 assisted Lord Strange
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 in 1643. From 1644 to 1646, Bridgeman was Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire
. In 1645, he was Commissioner
at the Treaty of Uxbridge
. He componded 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 following week, on 7 June 1660, he was created a Baronet, of Great Lever, in the County of Lancaster
. From 1660 to 1668, Bridgeman was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and from 1667 to 1672 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
. In 1668, he was a member of the New England Company. He died aged 65 in Teddington
, Middlesex
and was buried there.
Bridgeman was highly regarded in his time for his participation in the trial of the Regicide
s of King Charles I
in 1660, and 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, 3 Ch. Ca. 1, 22. Eng. Rep. 931 (Ch. 1681), of the Rule Against Perpetuities
. Following the Great Fire of London
he was one of the judges appointed to resolve disputes about property arising from the fire.
Secondly he married Dorothy Saunders, daughter of John Saunders. They had three children:
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
(30 January 1606 – 25 June 1674) was an English common law jurist, lawyer, and politician who sat in the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
from 1640 to 1642. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
.
Life
Bridgeman was the son of the John Bridgeman, Bishop of ChesterBishop of Chester
The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York.The diocese expands across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the City of Chester where the seat is located at the Cathedral...
, and his wife Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar. He was educated Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The college was founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou , and refounded in 1465 by Elizabeth Woodville...
and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in 1624. In the same year, Bridgeman became a Fellow of Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College, Cambridge
Magdalene College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.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 Magdalene...
and was called to the Bar at the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
. He worked as barrister until 1632, becoming Vice-Chamberlain of Chester
Chester
Chester is a city in Cheshire, England. Lying on the River Dee, close to the border with Wales, it is home to 77,040 inhabitants, and is the largest and most populous settlement of the wider unitary authority area of Cheshire West and Chester, which had a population of 328,100 according to the...
in 1638. In 1640, he was appointed Attorney of the Court of Wards in 1640, and Solicitor-General to Charles
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, the Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales
Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...
.
In April 1640, Bridgeman was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Wigan
Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)
Wigan is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election...
in the Short Parliament
Short Parliament
The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....
. He was re-elected MP for Wigan for the Long Parliament
Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...
in November 1640. He rallied to the royal cause and in 1642 assisted Lord Strange
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby
James Stanley, 7th Earl of Derby KG was a supporter of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Born at Knowsley, he is sometimes styled the Great Earl of Derby, eldest son of William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby and Lady Elizabeth de Vere. During his father's life he was known as Lord Strange...
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 in 1643. From 1644 to 1646, Bridgeman was Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire
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 – bef. 1573...
. In 1645, he was Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
at the Treaty of Uxbridge
Treaty of Uxbridge
The Treaty of Uxbridge of early 1645 was a significant but abortive negotiation 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 into these Propositions of Uxbridge was from...
. He componded for his delinquency in 1646.
On 30 May 1660, Bridgeman was made Serjeant-at-Law
Serjeant-at-law
The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...
, and two days later Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer
The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" 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 presided in the equity court and answered the bar i.e...
. The following week, on 7 June 1660, he was created a Baronet, of Great Lever, in the County of Lancaster
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
. From 1660 to 1668, Bridgeman was Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and from 1667 to 1672 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
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 evolved into one of the Great Officers of State....
. In 1668, he was a member of the New England Company. He died aged 65 in Teddington
Teddington
Teddington is a suburban area in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in south west London, on the north bank of the River Thames, between Hampton Wick and Twickenham. It stretches inland from the River Thames to Bushy Park...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
and was buried there.
Bridgeman was highly regarded in his time for his participation in the trial of the Regicide
Regicide
The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a monarch, or the person responsible for the killing of a monarch. In a narrower sense, in the British tradition, it refers to the judicial execution of a king after a trial...
s of King Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
in 1660, and 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, 3 Ch. Ca. 1, 22. Eng. Rep. 931 (Ch. 1681), of the Rule Against Perpetuities
Rule against perpetuities
The common law rule against perpetuities forbids some future interests that may not vest within the time permitted; the rule "limit[s] the testator's power to earmark gifts for remote descendants"...
. Following the Great Fire of London
Great Fire of London
The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through the central parts of the English city of London, from Sunday, 2 September to Wednesday, 5 September 1666. The fire gutted the medieval City of London inside the old Roman City Wall...
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 RidleySir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of RidleySir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet FRS 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 Saunders. He was educated at Westminster College from 1662 and after two years went to Magdalene...
(died 1701) - Charlotte Bridgeman (died 1694), married Sir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd BaronetSir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd BaronetSir Thomas Myddelton, 2nd Baronet was a Welsh politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1679 and 1681.Myddelton was the son of Sir Thomas Myddelton, 1st Baronet of Chirk Castle and his first wife Mary Cholmondley, daughter of Thomas Cholmondley of Vale Royal, Cheshire...
in 1677