PRINCIPAL STAIRCASE.

Pale yellow dress. Leaning her elbow on a table.DIED 1744.By Wright.

Pale yellow dress. Leaning her elbow on a table.

DIED 1744.

By Wright.

SHE was the daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, County Chester, by Elizabeth, daughter and sole heir of Edward Mytton, Esq., of Weston-under-Lizard, County Stafford. She married, 1680, Lionel Tollemache, Earl of Dysart, and, becoming co-heir with her sister, the Countess of Bradford, took large estates to her husband’s family. Lady Dysart had one son, who diedv.p., and two daughters.

No.2. MARY, WIFE OF RICHARD NEWPORT, SECOND EARL OF BRADFORD.

Pale yellow dress. Pink drapery. Holding a flower.BORN 1661, DIED 1737.By Wright.

Pale yellow dress. Pink drapery. Holding a flower.

BORN 1661, DIED 1737.

By Wright.

SHE was the daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, County Chester, Bart., by Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Edward Mytton, Esq. of Weston-under-Lizard, which estate (besides a large fortune from her father) Lady Bradford inherited from her mother, and brought into the Newport family.

It is seldom the lot of any woman to live continuously in one loved home, but Mary Wilbraham was born, married, died, and was buried at Weston, where her childhood, youth, the chief part of her married life, and the latter days of her widowhood were all passed, and which she brought into the Newport family. Francis, Earl of Bradford, and his wife were most anxious to secure for their eldest son so desirable a match as this young lady presented, not only on account of her noble inheritance, but in respect of her amiable qualities and the comeliness of her person.

They accordingly made good settlements on Lord Newport to facilitate the union. We have a list of the lands and messuages allotted to him, but to prove their worth we consider two of them will suffice, at least in point of syllables, namely—the Manors of Ginnioneth-ys-Kerdine, and Dykewyde, in the county of Cardigan. Lady Bradford had six sons, of whom four died without children, and two, Henry and Thomas, succeeded to the Earldom, and four daughters, Mary, who died unmarried; Elizabeth, wife of James Cocks of Worcester, Esq.,ancestor to the present Lord Somers; Anne, married to Sir Orlando Bridgeman of Castle Bromwich, County Warwick, Bart.; and Diana, married to Algernon Coote, Earl of Mountrath. Mary, Countess of Bradford, survived her husband many years, and lies buried by his side at Weston. Her loss was deeply mourned by all classes, especially by the poor, to whom her charity was unbounded.

Slashed dress of golden brown. White sleeves. Wig.BORN 1644, DIED 1723.By Sir Peter Lely.

Slashed dress of golden brown. White sleeves. Wig.

BORN 1644, DIED 1723.

By Sir Peter Lely.

HE was the eldest son of the first Earl of Bradford, by Lady Diana Russell. During his father’s lifetime he represented Shropshire in Parliament for many years, and gained great popularity in his county by his strenuous support of the Bill of Exclusion, which obtained for him a complimentary address signed by every member of the grand jury, consisting of all the principal landholders of the neighbourhood. He was Privy Councillor in the reigns of Queen Anne and George the First, and Lord Lieutenant andCustos Rotulorumfor the county of Montgomery. In 1681 he married the daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, and Weston-under-Lizard, Bart., by whom he had a numerous family. During his father’s lifetime he resided chiefly at Eyton-upon-Severn, but in later days he took up his abode at Weston, his wife’s inheritance in Staffordshire.

No.4. SIR ORLANDO BRIDGEMAN.

Robes of the Lord-Keeper. Holding the purse. Oval, in a square frame.BORN 1609, DIED 1674.By Riley.

Robes of the Lord-Keeper. Holding the purse. Oval, in a square frame.

BORN 1609, DIED 1674.

By Riley.

THE son of Dr. John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, by Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Helyar, Canon of Exeter, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple. Educated by his father until he went to Queens’ College, Cambridge, where he took his degree of B.A. in 1623. The following year he entered the Inner Temple, and applied himself vigorously to the study of common law, ‘of which he became,’ says Lord Campbell, ‘a profound master, caring little in comparison for either literature or politics.’ When called to the bar he made himself remarkable for his diligent attention to business, although he had the expectation of a goodly inheritance from his father. At the commencement of the Long Parliament Orlando Bridgeman was returned for the borough of Wigan in Lancashire. He voted silently, but, with the exception of some measures on which he had conscientious scruples, almost invariably for the King. He was also one of the few who voted against the attainder of Lord Strafford, in whose behalf he made a short but manly appeal. When the civil war broke out Orlando did not indeed, as was the case with several lawyers, throw aside the gown for the sword; but he went into the north, and in the city of Chester, and elsewhere, did the King good service by affording the royal troops all the assistance in his power, in cooperation with his father, the Bishop of the diocese. Clarendon tells us how ‘the city of Chester remained true to his Majesty,influenced thereto by the credit and example of Bishop John Bridgeman, and the reputation and dexterity of his son Orlando, a lawyer of very good estimation.’ For these proofs of loyalty Bridgeman was expelled the House of Commons, and the Bishop’s estates sequestrated. But when Charles summoned the members of both Houses that had been faithful to him, to his own Parliament at Oxford, Orlando Bridgeman took his seat as member for Wigan, in Christchurch Hall, and was there nominated by patent (sealed by Lord-Keeper Lyttleton) to the post of Attorney-General of the Court of Wards and Liveries, ‘an office,’ says Lord Campbell, ‘when actually exercised, of great importance and emolument, but now a mere feather in his cap, which Parliament would not allow him to wear in their sight. At the time of the Treaty of Uxbridge, Bridgeman was chosen one of the Commissioners, and was thereto designated by his new title, but the potentates of Westminster would not acknowledge the appointment as valid, and treated him as plain Orlando Bridgeman.’ When Oxford capitulated to Fairfax, he retired to his country house at Morton, where he was joined by the Bishop, and afterwards he proceeded privately to London.

During the interregnum he refused to put on his gown or to plead, but contented himself with acting as a conveyancer or chamber counsel. Yet we are informed that he took great note of passing events, whether judicial or political, and though he prudently abstained from any small plot hatching in the King’s name, which he considered would be prejudicial to the royal cause, yet to the great measures which affected the Restoration our lawyer gave his strong adherence, and rejoiced in the return of Charles the Second to England. He had quick promotion, being made Serjeant-at-Law, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer, and Speaker of the House of Lords in the absence of the Lord Chancellor. His conducton the trial of the regicides has naturally been differently judged, according to the bias of party feeling, but at all events his eloquence in charging the jury was highly extolled at the time, and when he had concluded the applause was so great that Judge Bridgeman felt himself called upon to check the expression thereof, saying, ‘that it was more suitable for the audience of a stage-play rather than a court of justice.’ His language indeed was rather fantastic and flowery, but that was the fashion at the time. He explained that ‘the treason of the prisoners consisted not only in compassing and imagining the King’s death, but in executing him in front of his own palace; in fact, not only laying the cockatrice’s egg, but brooding upon the same, until it had brought forth a serpent!’ On the expiration of the trials, Bridgeman was made a Baronet and Chief-Justice of the Common Pleas; and it was said of him that while presiding in this Court his reputation was at its zenith, and ‘his moderation and equity were such that he seemed to carry a chancery in his breast.’ In the intrigues which were being carried on against Lord Clarendon, Sir Orlando took no part; indeed his conduct was invariably marked by generosity towards the man whom he was destined to supplant, and he did all in his power to prevent the Chancellor’s impeachment. In 1667 he was appointed Lord-Keeper at the instigation of some of the King’s advisers, male and female, and it was whispered among his enemies that in that capacity he was at first more complaisant than his predecessor in affixing the great seal to royal grants, in favour of such personages as Lady Castlemaine, and others of her calibre. Be this as it may, the atrocious proceedings of the Cabal roused the Lord-Keeper into resistance, and the opposition he offered to these unscrupulous men hastened his downfall. His own family were also most prejudicial to his prosperity, his wife being an ‘intriguer and intermeddler,’ combining with his sons in matters with which they had no concern. Bridgeman was losingfavour at Court; he had lately made himself obnoxious to the King and his surroundings by opposing many of their measures, and when he refused to confirm the Act of Toleration on the ground of illegality, Lord Shaftesbury hastened to Charles’s presence bent on mischief, for that nobleman had long had his eyes greedily directed towards the Great Seal, and he became very eloquent in counting up all Sir Orlando’s misdemeanours, ending by hisdisinterestedadvice for that minister’s instant dismissal. Charles took a little time to be persuaded, but after a while he sent off secretary Coventry to demand the bone of contention from the Lord-Keeper. Bridgeman was all unprepared for the hasty and peremptory message, but he had no option, and the Great Seal was delivered to the royal messenger. Charles kept it in his own custody all night, and the next morning consigned it with the title of Lord Chancellor into the willing hands of Anthony Ashley Cooper. After his dismissal from office Sir Orlando retired to his villa near Teddington, where he died, and was buried. He was twice married—first to Judith, daughter and heir of John Kynaston, Esq. of Morton, County Salop, who died at Oxford, during the usurpation, and was there buried. He had an only son, Sir John Bridgeman, his successor. Sir Orlando had for his second wife, Dorothy, daughter of Dr. Saunders, Provost of Oriel College, Oxford, and relict of George Cradock, Esq. of Carsewell Castle, County Stafford, by whom he had two sons and one daughter, namely, Sir Orlando, created a Baronet; Sir Francis, knighted in 1673, who married Susanna, daughter and heir of Sir Richard Barker, Knight, but had no children; and Charlotte, married to Sir Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle.

As must invariably be the case with men in prominent positions, more especially in times of great civil, religious, and political struggles, Sir Orlando Bridgeman’s character was by turns eulogised and blamed; in spite of his loyal servicesto Charles the First, that King found occasion to censure his faithful servant at the time of the Treaty of Uxbridge, on a question of religion, ‘having,’ said his Majesty, ‘expected otherwise from the son of a Bishop.’ Yet Sir Orlando was a staunch Churchman. Burnet’s testimony was merely to his judicial capacity. He said: ‘Bridgeman’s practice was so entirely in common law that he did not seem to understand what equity was.’ Roger North said: ‘He was a celebrated lawyer, and sat with high esteem in the place of Chief-Justice of Common Pleas: the moving him then to the Chancery did not contribute to his fame’; while elsewhere we are told ‘he carried a chancery in his breast.’ ‘He grew timorous, which was not mended by age; he laboured to please everybody, and that is a temper of ill consequence in a judge.’ On the other hand, Lord Nottingham writes: ‘It is due to the memory of so great a man to mention him with reverence and veneration for his learning and integrity.’ While Lord Ellenborough extols him as an eminent judge, distinguished by the profundity of his learning and the extent of his industry. At all events, there is no doubt that the name of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal, continues to be honoured, not only in the annals of his own family, but in the learned profession of the Law.

No.5. JOHN BRIDGEMAN, BISHOP OF CHESTER, FATHER OF THE LORD-KEEPER.

Black gown and ruff. Shield episcopal. Arms of Chester, impalingBridgeman. Dated 1616. Aged 41.BORN 1575, DIED 1657-8.By Jansen.

Black gown and ruff. Shield episcopal. Arms of Chester, impaling

Bridgeman. Dated 1616. Aged 41.

BORN 1575, DIED 1657-8.

By Jansen.

EDWARD BRIDGEMAN was the younger son of William Bridgeman of Dean Parva, in the county of Gloucester. He settled in the city of Exeter, and was, in 1578, High-Sheriff of the said city and the county of Devon. His son John was born in Exeter, in a house not far from the palace-gate, which seemed an omen of his future dignity. He was a studious boy, and loved his books, and was carefully kept at school until it was deemed advisable ‘to transplant him to the University,’ when he was entered at Magdalen College, Cambridge, of which he became a Fellow, and eventually the Master. In 1600, being M.A., he was admittedad eundemat Oxford, and here he attained the degree of Doctor of Divinity, being the highest, we are told, ‘a scholar can receive, or the University bestow.’ Dr. Bridgeman’s character for learning and piety, combined with refinement of manners and good breeding, had reached the ears of King James the First, who appointed him one of his Domestic Chaplains, and soon afterwards he became incumbent of Wigan in Lancashire. For upwards of two hundred years, even to the present day, the living in question has been held, with scarcely any intermission, by a member of the family of Bridgeman. In 1619 the Doctor was raised to the See of Chester, being consecrated at Lambeth, at the same time as the Bishops of Oxford and Bristol. Now the Kingtaking into consideration that the Bishopric of Chester was less lucrative than some others, His Majesty also preferred John Bridgeman to the living of Bangor in Wales, which he was to holdad commendam, or temporarily. Collins tells us that his Lordship was not present in the Upper House, in the year 1641, when the bishops protested against the proceedings in Parliament, and were impeached, and sent to the Tower, whereby he was saved the tedious imprisonment to which his right reverend brethren were subjected. But all his proclivities were Royalist, and during the usurpation, his estates being sequestrated, he took refuge at his son’s country house at Moreton, near Oswestry, in Salop, where he died about the year 1657 or 1658, being buried in the neighbouring church of Kinnerley, and not in the Cathedral of Chester, as some writers have it.

This worthy Prelate was said to have been ‘as ingenious as he was brave, and a great patron of those gifts in others which he himself owned. He, moreover, was the father of that great and good man, Sir Orlando Bridgeman, the Lord-Keeper, who was a glory to his family, and indeed to the country at large.’ The Bishop of Chester married Elizabeth, daughter of Dr. Helyar (of a good old Somersetshire family), Canon of Exeter, and Archdeacon of Barnstaple, by whom he had five sons—

1. Sir Orlando Bridgeman, afterwards First Baronet, and eventually Lord-Keeper.

2. Dove, Prebendary of Chester, married Miss Bennet of Cheshire (who survived him), by whom he had one son, Charles, Archdeacon of Richmond, in Yorkshire, who died unmarried 1678. The widow of Dove Bridgeman married, as her second husband, Dr. John Halkett, Bishop of Lichfield.

3. Henry Bridgeman, who was indeed rich in church preferment, being successively Rector of Bangor and Barrow, and Bishop of the Isle of Man. He married Catherine, daughterof Robert Lever, of Lancashire, Gent., by whom he had one daughter, who married Sir Thomas Greenhalgh of Brundlesham, County Lancaster.

4. Sir James Bridgeman, Knight, who married the daughter of one Mr. Allen, a gentleman of Cheshire, by whom he had (beside a son and daughter, who died unmarried) Frances, wife of William, Lord Howard of Escrick, and Magdalen, wife of William Wynder, Esq.

5. Richard, a merchant in Amsterdam, married the daughter of one Mr. Watson, also an English merchant in that city, by whom he had a daughter, Elizabeth, married to John Dove, Surveyor of the Customs; and a son, William, of Westminster, some time Secretary of the Admiralty, and one of the Clerks of the Privy Council, who married Diana, daughter of Mr. Vernatti, an Italian gentleman. Their children were Orlando, and Catherine, married to a relative, son of Sir John Bridgeman, Bart.

Blue coat. Red overcoat. Wig.DIED 1764.By Vanderbank.

Blue coat. Red overcoat. Wig.

DIED 1764.

By Vanderbank.

HE was the son and successor of Sir John Bridgeman, third Baronet, by Ursula Matthews. He married Lady Anne Newport, daughter and co-heir of Richard, second Earl of Bradford, who, beside a large fortune, brought the beautiful estate of Weston into the Bridgeman family. Sir Orlando was for some time M.P. for Shrewsbury.

No.7. HENRY NEWPORT, VISCOUNT NEWPORT, AFTERWARDS THIRD EARL OF BRADFORD.

Red coat. Silver brandebourgs.DIED 1734.By Dahl.

Red coat. Silver brandebourgs.

DIED 1734.

By Dahl.

HE was the eldest son of Richard Newport, second Earl of Bradford, by Mary Wilbraham. He represented Shropshire in several Parliaments during his father’s life, and was at different times Lord-Lieutenant andCustos Rotulorumof the Counties of Stafford, Shropshire, and Montgomery. Lord Bradford died unmarried at his house in St. James’s Place, and was buried in Henry the Seventh’s Chapel at Westminster.

He was succeeded in his titles, and such estates as he could not alienate, by his brother Thomas, who had become imbecile through a fall from his horse in early life in Cowhay Wood, Weston Park. He was incompetent to manage his own affairs, and, dying at Weston, 1762, his titles became extinct, and his property descended to his nephews, the sons of Lady Anne Bridgeman; and the Countess of Mountrath. Henry, Lord Bradford was an immoral and vindictive man, and having quarrelled with his mother on account of her endeavour to disentangle him from some disgraceful connection, he vowed vengeance on her and her whole family. This threat he carried out in a shameful manner, and though the story is long and complicated, yet it bears so nearly on the fortunes of the present possessor of Weston, that we cannot refrain from entering into details. In 1715, Lord Bradford cut off and debarred all the then existing entails of the family estates over which he had any power, and in 1730 he made a will by which he left all his large estates in trust, for the use of John Newport,aliasHarrison,aliasSmyth, his illegitimate son by Anne,wife of Ralph Smyth, son of the Dean of Raphoe, that lady being then Lord Bradford’s mistress; the property to revert to the testator’s lawful heirs in the event of the aforementioned John’s death without children. But two days afterwards he repented of this partial act of compensation, and added a codicil by which he left the same property to the same trustees, in case of John’s death without heirs, to his mother, Mrs. Anne Smyth, for her own personal use, to be devised as she saw fit, provided that during John’s lifetime she should set aside a proper sum for his use and maintenance, after which she might make any use she chose of the residue. Four days afterwards another codicil assured the lady in question a further sum of £10,000.

Lord Bradford died in 1734, and Mrs. Anne Smyth in 1742, having two months before her death made a will leaving all the property bequeathed her by the said Earl to one Alexander Small, a surgeon (excepting as before what was set aside for the maintenance of John Newport), until John should have attained his majority, which was not to be until he was twenty-six years old. In the event of John Newport’s death without children, then the reversion and inheritance of the said estates she devised to William Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath, his heirs and assigns for ever. It would be tedious to relate all the legal proceedings which arose out of this eccentric will; suffice it to say that it could not be proved till 1751, nine years after the death of the testatrix. Lord Bath on his part devised the reversion of the property expectant on the death of John Newport, to his brother, General Harry Pulteney, who in turn devised it to the daughter of his cousin-german (Daniel Pulteney), Frances, wife of William Johnstone, and her said husband (who afterwards became a baronet, and took the name of Pulteney), and to their heirs in tail male, with remainder to Harry, Earl of Darlington, whose grandmother was Anne Pulteney, aunt to the Earl of Bath, anddaughter of Sir William Pulteney of Misterton, County Leicester and his sons in tail male.

All these aforementioned legatees died in succession without male heirs, excepting the Earl of Darlington, who left an only son, afterwards Duke of Cleveland, on whom the whole of this enormous fortune devolved, and is part of the heritage of the present Duke (1888). Thus the ancient estates of the Newports, including those which descended to them from the Princes of South Wales, passed away from the rightful owners, excepting Weston-under-Lizard, Walsall, and some other estates elsewhere mentioned, which became the property of Sir Henry Bridgeman, grandson of Mary, Countess of Bradford. The savings from the estate during the lifetime of John Newport, which were said to exceed £200,000, were ultimately divided (after deducting the great law charges) between the Crown (to which it passed in default of heirs), and, through a ridiculous quibble of the law, the representatives of Ralph Smyth (John Newport’s mother’s husband).

White satin dress. Leaning her arm on a table. Fair hair.BORN 1690, DIED 1752.By Vanderbank.

White satin dress. Leaning her arm on a table. Fair hair.

BORN 1690, DIED 1752.

By Vanderbank.

SHE was the third daughter of Richard Newport, second Earl of Bradford, by Mary Wilbraham. She married Sir Orlando Bridgeman of Castle Bromwich, Bart., by whom she had (besides a daughter and two sons who died young) Sir Henry, who succeeded his father, and Diana, married to John Sawbridge of Ollantigh, in Kent.This lady’s descendants are now the only representatives of the ancient family of Newport.

DIED 1691.By Wissing.

DIED 1691.

By Wissing.

EDWARD, first Lord Herbert of Ripsford, the ‘noble author’ of whom Horace Walpole speaks in terms of the highest enthusiasm, and whose autobiography he published, was succeeded by his son Richard, who married a daughter of John, Earl of Bridgewater, by whom he had two surviving sons (who in turn succeeded to the title) and two daughters. The youngest, Florence, married her kinsman, Richard Herbert of Oakley Park. Edward, third Lord Herbert of Cherbury, a zealous loyalist, dying without children by either of his three wives, the titles and estates devolved on his brother Henry, who married Lady Catherine Newport, daughter of Francis, first Earl of Bradford. On the fourth Lord’s deceases.p., the title became extinct, but the dignity of Herbert of Cherbury was revived in favour of his nephew (son of his sister Florence), Henry Arthur Herbert, afterwards Earl of Powis, in 1743.

Catherine Newport, Lady Herbert, survived her husband, and resided till her death at Lymore in Montgomeryshire, the considerable estate belonging to Herbert which had been appointed her as her jointure. She was remarkable for her extensive charities.

No.10. SIR JOHN BRIDGEMAN, SECOND BART.

Red dress. Holding a jewelled sword.BORN 1630, DIED 1710.By Victor.

Red dress. Holding a jewelled sword.

BORN 1630, DIED 1710.

By Victor.

HE was the eldest son of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, Lord-Keeper, and the only child by that gentleman’s ‘first venter’ (so runs a line in the learned gentleman’s biography), Judith, daughter and heir of John Kynaston of Morton, in Shropshire, Esq. He married Mary, daughter and heir of George Cradock of Carsewell Castle, in Staffordshire, whose widow married Sir Orlando as his second wife. By this alliance John Bridgeman’s mother-in-law became his step-mother, a singular relationship. He had four sons, three of whom died unmarried; the two who survived him were John, his namesake and successor, and Orlando, married to Catherine, daughter of William Bridgeman of Comb, County Suffolk, Esq. The daughters were Mary, married to Robert Lloyd, Esq. of Aston, in Shropshire; Judith, married to Richard Corbet of Morton Corbet, County Shropshire; Dorothy, wife of Lisle Hackett of Moxhull, County Warwick; and three others who died unmarried. Sir John died at his own house of Castle Bromwich, but was buried at Aston, in Warwickshire.

No.11. FRANCIS NEWPORT, SECOND LORD NEWPORT, AND FIRST EARL OF BRADFORD.

Blue mantle. Long wig.BORN 1619, DIED 1708.By Dahl.

Blue mantle. Long wig.

BORN 1619, DIED 1708.

By Dahl.

HE was the eldest son of Sir Richard Newport, Kt. of High Ercall, who was knighted by King James the First, at Theobalds, and, in 1642, in consequence of his unswerving loyalty to King Charles the First, created Baron Newport. Sir Richard married Rachel, daughter of Sir John Leveson, Kt. of Haling, or Halington, County Kent, and sister to Sir Richard Leveson of Trentham, County Stafford, Knight of the Bath. Francis was the first born of a large family, and began public life at an early age, being chosen to represent the borough of Shrewsbury in Parliament, a few days after he had attained his majority. He was one of the few members (fifty-six in number) who had the courage to vote for the acquittal of Lord Strafford, a proceeding which brought down on the heads of the so-called ‘Straffordians’ both insult and obloquy. He followed in the footsteps of his father, declared for the Royal cause in the unhappy differences between Charles and his Parliament, and was soon expelled the House of Commons as a ‘malignant.’ He took arms in the Royal army, and did gallant service in the field, till he was made prisoner at Oswestry, when that town was taken by the Earl of Denbigh and Colonel Mytton. At the time of the insurrection in North Wales, Francis Newport proved himself a zealous friend to Charles the Second, and as powerful as he was zealous. He was also engaged in the unsuccessful siege of Shrewsbury, which town, in the beginning of the ensuing year, was once morein the hands of the Royalists. On this occasion, as we have mentioned elsewhere, Sir Edward Hyde (Lord Clarendon) was sorely puzzled as to the respective claims to the Governorship of Shrewsbury, between Sir Thomas Myddleton, and his friend, Francis Newport. Two months after the restoration of the King (May 29, 1660), Lord Newport was appointed Lord-Lieutenant andCustos Rotulorumof Shropshire, and later on, by Charles the Second, Comptroller and Treasurer of the Household, and a Privy Councillor. In 1674 he was advanced to the title of Viscount Newport of Bradford, County Salop, and, on the accession of James the Second, his lordship was continued in all his former offices for a time, but he was a true patriot, and the arbitrary and unconstitutional measures of the new King called forth in him a vigorous opposition. So open was he in the expression of his political opinions that he was not only superseded in all his offices at Court, but was also removed from the Lord-Lieutenancy of Shropshire, which was given up to the unworthy hands of the Lord Chancellor Jefferies. He upheld the cause of religion at the trial of the seven Bishops, and, being a firm Protestant, he voted for the succession of the Prince and Princess of Orange. On the day that William and Mary were proclaimed, Lord Newport was reinstated in his posts in the Royal Household and his Lord-Lieutenancy of Shropshire, in all of which offices he continued until he attained the age of eighty-four, when they devolved on his son. In 1694 he was created Earl of Bradford, and on the accession of Queen Anne again sworn of the Privy Council. Lord Newport was an object of special dislike to James the Second, as we find from one of the ex-King’s declarations (respecting a projected descent upon England), that this nobleman would certainly be debarred from all hope of pardon. Lord Bradford died at Twickenham in his eighty-ninth year, and was buried at Wroxeter, near his country house of Eyton, in Shropshire, where a marble monument on the southwall of the chancel bears a long inscription to his memory. It was written of him that ‘at the time of his death, he was the most venerable character of any nobleman in England, on account of his virtues, and the unblemished honour with which he had filled every station of life. Equally a friend to the clergy and to the poor, having enlarged the endowments of several poor vicarages, and erected a charitable foundation at Ercall for the support of the needy.’ King William had so great a regard for the Earl of Bradford, that he paid him a visit, and honoured him with his presence at dinner on his eightieth birthday. He married Lady Diana Russell, daughter of the fourth Earl of Bedford, by whom he had a large family, five dying in their infancy; and

Richard, second Earl of Bradford;

Francis, who died unmarried;

Thomas, a Commissioner of the Customs in the reigns of William and Mary, and Queen Anne, who, in the first year of George the First was made a Lord of the Treasury and raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Torrington of Torrington, County Devon, and sworn of the Privy Council. He was also at the time of his death a Teller of the Exchequer. He had three wives: first, Lucy, daughter of Sir Edward Atkyns, Lord Chief Justice of the Exchequer in the time of James the Second; second, Penelope, daughter of Sir Orlando Bridgeman of Ridley, County Chester, Bart., who died in 1705; third, Anne, daughter of Robert Pierrepoint of Nottingham, Esq., son of Francis Pierrepoint, and grandson of Robert, Earl of Kingston. He died the 27th of May 1719, in the sixty-fifth year of his age (when his title became extinct), and lies buried at Wroxeter with Anne, his third wife, who survived him many years, and died on the 7th February 1734.

No.12. LADY WILBRAHAM.

Pale yellow dress. Grey drapery. Pointing to a tulip.By Sir Peter Lely.

Pale yellow dress. Grey drapery. Pointing to a tulip.

By Sir Peter Lely.

ELIZABETH, daughter and sole heir of Edward Mytton, Esq. of Weston-under-Lizard, which place he inherited through females from the ancient possessors. She married Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, Bart., by whom she had three daughters, co-heiresses, who each inherited a large property, both landed and funded, from both parents. They were, Charlotte, wife of Sir Thomas Myddleton of Chirk Castle; Mary, Countess of Bradford; and Grace, Countess of Dysart.

Red coat. Blue mantle.By Verelst.

Red coat. Blue mantle.

By Verelst.

THE family of Wilbraham, or, as it was formerly written, Wilburgham, derived its name from a manor in Cambridgeshire, where it was settled in the reign of Henry the Second. They afterwards removed to Cheshire, where they became much respected and very influential. The subject of the present notice was the son of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, of Woodhey, County Chester, by the daughter of Sir Roger Wilbraham of Bridgemoor, in thesame county. He married the daughter and sole heir of Edward Mytton, Esq., of Weston-under-Lizard, by whom he had three daughters, co-heiresses. The direct male line of a very ancient Cheshire family ended in the person of Sir Thomas Wilbraham.

As a youth. Blue and gold dress.DIED 1747.By Victor.

As a youth. Blue and gold dress.

DIED 1747.

By Victor.

HE was the son of Sir John Bridgeman, second baronet (the only son of the Lord-Keeper by his ‘first venter,’ so runs an old biography), by the daughter and co-heir of George Cradock of Carsewell, County Stafford. He was the eldest surviving of many children, and married Ursula, daughter and sole heir of Roger Matthews of Blodwell, County Salop; by whom he had a large family, both sons and daughters, of whom only two survived, namely, Orlando, his successor, and a daughter, married to Hugh Williams, Esq.

No.15. FAMILY GROUP.

Henry Bridgeman,first Lord Bradford;yellow dress, hat and feathers.Lady Bradford,in green.The eldest daughter in a pink gown, playing the harpsichord.Her sister in a white gown, playing the harp.Orlandoin red.Johnin blue.Georgesitting on the step near the pianoforte.

By Pine.SIR HENRY BRIDGEMAN, BART., FIRST BARON BRADFORD.BORN 1725, DIED 1800.

By Pine.

SIR HENRY BRIDGEMAN, BART., FIRST BARON BRADFORD.

BORN 1725, DIED 1800.

THE eldest surviving son of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, by Lady Anne Newport, daughter of the second Earl of Bradford. He sat in Parliament for many years, and in 1794 was advanced to the Peerage, as Baron Bradford of Bradford, County Salop. He married Elizabeth, daughter and heir of John Simpson, Esq., by whom he had a large family. His wife, three sons, and two daughters are represented in this group, namely, Orlando, his successor, John (Bridgeman Simpson), George, Rector of Wigan. The daughters married Henry Greswolde Lewis of Malvern Hall, Esq., and Sir George William Gunning, Bart.

No.16. THE HONOURABLE MRS. GUNNING.

White lace cap, and fichu.BORN 1764, DIED 1810.By Hoppner.

White lace cap, and fichu.

BORN 1764, DIED 1810.

By Hoppner.

SHE was the younger daughter of Henry Bridgeman, first Lord Bradford, by Miss Simpson; married in 1794 George William, only son of Sir Robert Gunning of Horton, County North Hants, by whom she had several children.

Black dress. Cap.DIED 1636.After Jansen.

Black dress. Cap.

DIED 1636.

After Jansen.

SHE was the daughter of Dr. Helyar, Canon of Exeter and Archdeacon of Barnstaple, of an ancient family in Somersetshire. She married John Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester, famed alike for his piety and his loyalty, by whom she was the mother of five sons:—1. Sir Orlando, afterwards Lord-Keeper; 2. Dove, Prebendary of the Cathedral Church of Chester; 3. Henry, Dean of Chester;4. Sir James, Knight; 5. Richard, a merchant in Amsterdam, whose grand-daughter married her kinsman, Orlando Bridgeman, fourth son of the second Baronet, and grandson of the Lord-Keeper.

Mrs. Bridgeman was buried in Chester Cathedral.

Black coat. Blue overcoat on left arm. Long black wig.BORN 1671, DIED 1721.By Dahl.

Black coat. Blue overcoat on left arm. Long black wig.

BORN 1671, DIED 1721.

By Dahl.

HE was the fifth son of Sir John Bridgeman, second Baronet, by Mary, daughter of George Cradock, Esquire, of Carsewell Castle, County Stafford. Orlando was M.P. for Wigan, and married his cousin Katherine, daughter of William Bridgeman, Esquire of Coombes, Secretary to the Admiralty.

As a child. In a white frock. With an Italian greyhound.BORN 1761, DIED 1802.

As a child. In a white frock. With an Italian greyhound.

BORN 1761, DIED 1802.

DAUGHTER of Henry, first Lord Bradford, afterwards the Honourable Mrs. Greswolde Lewis.

No.21. VISCOUNTESS TORRINGTON.

Brown gown. Black mob cap.BORN 1744, DIED 1792.By Gainsborough.

Brown gown. Black mob cap.

BORN 1744, DIED 1792.

By Gainsborough.

SHE was the daughter of John Boyle, Earl of Cork and Orrery, by his second wife, Margaret Hamilton of Caledon, County Tyrone. She married, in 1765, George, fourth Viscount Torrington, by whom she had four daughters—Lady John Russell, the Countess of Bradford, the Marchioness of Bath, and Emily, married to Henry, eldest son of Lord Robert Seymour.

Brown dress. Wig.BORN 1648, DIED 1727.By Riley.

Brown dress. Wig.

BORN 1648, DIED 1727.

By Riley.

HE was the son of Sir Lionel Tollemache of Helmingham, County Norfolk, by Lady Elizabeth Murray, elder daughter and heir of William Murray, Lord Huntingtower, first Earl of Dysart. These honours were conferred on William Murray, a member of a younger branch of the house of Tullibardine by Charles the First, with remainder to heirs male and female. His eldestdaughter, Elizabeth, married Sir Lionel Tollemache, and succeeded her father as Countess of Dysart in her own right, having obtained from Charles the Second, in 1670, a confirmation of her honours, with a clause in the charter allowing her to nominate any one of her children she pleased as her heir. After the death of Sir Lionel Tollemache, his widow married the Duke of Lauderdale, and dying in 1697 was succeeded by her eldest son, Sir Lionel Tollemache, as Lord Huntingtower and Earl of Dysart. He was M.P. for Orford in 1678 and 1685, and represented the County of Suffolk until he was incapacitated from sitting in the House by the passing of the Act of Union with Scotland. He had declined an English barony upon the accession of Queen Anne. He married, in 1680, Grace, daughter and co-heir of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, by whom he had a son and two daughters. The eldest son, who married Miss Cavendish, diedv.p., and their son succeeded his grandfather as Earl of Dysart.

By Mrs. Beale.

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