Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of Great Lever
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- For other persons named Orlando Bridgeman, see Orlando Bridgeman (disambiguation).
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet (30 January 1608 or 1609 – 25 June 1674) was an English common law jurist, lawyer, and politician.
The son of the Bishop of Chester John Bridgeman and Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar, 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, 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 the Prince of Wales. Also in that year, he served as Member of Parliament for Wigan in the English Parliament, holding his seat until 1942.
From 1644 to 1646, Bridgeman was Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire. In 1645, he was Commissioner at the Treaty of Uxbridge, the next year a compounder. On 30 May 1660, he 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, having been knighted already in 1643. From 1660 to 1668, Bridgeman was Lord 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 too.
Bridgeman was highly regarded in his time for his participation in the trial of the Regicides 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.
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[edit] Family
Bridgeman was married twice, firstly to Judith Kynaston, daughter of John Kynaston, on 30 January 1627/28. They had two children:
- Mary Bridgeman
- Sir John Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (1631–1710)
Secondly he married Dorothy Saunders, daughter of John Saunders. They had three children:
- Sir Francis Bridgeman
- Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of Ridley (died 1701)
- Charlotte Bridgeman (died 1694)
[edit] References
- thePeerage. Retrieved on 2006-11-29.
[edit] See also
[edit] Biblography
- Dukeminier, J. & Krier, J. Property, Sixth Ed. (Aspen, 2006); footnote, p. 241.
[edit] External links
- Portraits of Orlando Bridgeman at the National Portrait Gallery, London
- The Twickenham Museum: Orlando Bridgeman
- The Diary of Samuel Pepys: Wednesday 10 October 1660
| Honorary Titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by: Sir George Booth | Custos Rotulorum of Cheshire 1644–1646 | Succeeded by: Interregnum |
| Legal Offices | ||
| Preceded by: John Wilde | Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer 1660 | Succeeded by: Matthew Hale |
| Preceded by: Oliver St John | Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas 1660–1667 | Succeeded by: John Vaughan |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by: The Earl of Clarendon | Lord Keeper of the Great Seal 1667–1672 | Succeeded by: The Earl of Shaftesbury |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by: (new creation) | Baronet (of Great Lever) 1660–1674 | Succeeded by: John Bridgeman |
