Earldom of Bradford
Arms of Bridgeman: Sable, ten Plates, four, three, two and one, on a Chief Argent, a Lion passant Ermines.Crest: A Demi-Lion rampant Argent, holding between the paws a Wreath of Laurel proper.Supporters: On either side a Lion guardant Gules pellettée.
Creation date	30 November 1815
Creation	Second
Created by	The Prince Regent (acting on behalf of his father,King George III)
Peerage	Peerage of the United Kingdom
First holder	Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baron Bradford
Present holder	Richard Bridgeman, 7th Earl
Heir apparent	Alexander Bridgeman, Viscount Newport
Remainder to	the 1st Earl'sheirs maleof the body lawfully begotten.
Subsidiary titles	Viscount Newport Baron Bradford Baronet Bridgeman of Great Lever
Status	Extant
Former seats	Weston Park Castle Bromwich Hall
Motto	NEC TEMERE NEC TIMIDE (Neither rashly nor timidly)

Earl of Bradford, of Bradford in theCounty of Salop,^[a] is a title that has been created twice, once in thePeerage of England and once in thePeerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 forFrancis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport. However, all the Newport titles became extinct on the death of the fourth Earl in 1762. The earldom was revived in 1815 forOrlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baron Bradford. The Bridgeman family had previously succeeded to the Newport estates.

The Newports were an ancientShropshire family. One member of the family,Richard Newport, representedShropshire andShrewsbury in Parliament and was a supporter ofKing Charles I during theCivil War. In 1642 he was raised to the Peerage of England asBaron Newport, ofHigh Ercall in the County of Shropshire. His son Francis, the second Baron, representedShrewsbury in theLong Parliament and fought as a Royalist in theCivil War. After theRestoration he served asLord Lieutenant of Shropshire, asComptroller of the Household and asTreasurer of the Household. In 1676 Newport was createdViscount Newport, of Bradford in the County of Shropshire, and on 11 May 1694 he was further honoured when he was madeEarl of Bradford, in the County of Shropshire. Both titles were in the Peerage of England.

Lord Bradford was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Earl. He sat as aWhigMember of Parliament forShropshire and served asLord Lieutenant of Shropshire. In 1681 Lord Bradford married Mary Wilbraham, daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham, Bt, and Elizabeth Mytton. Through this marriageWeston Park inStaffordshire came into the Newport family. Their eldest son, the third Earl, representedBishop's Castle andShropshire in theHouse of Commons and was alsoLord Lieutenant of Staffordshire. He had no legitimate children and on his death the peerages passed to his younger brother, the fourth Earl. When he died in 1762 all the Newport titles became extinct. The family estates, including Weston Park, were inherited by his nephew, Sir Henry Bridgeman, 5th Baronet, of Great Lever (see below).

The Hon.Thomas Newport, younger son of the first Earl, was createdBaron Torrington in 1716.

The Bridgeman family originally stems fromDevon. One member of the family,John Bridgeman, grandson ofEdward Bridgeman, served asBishop of Chester from 1619 to 1652. His son,Orlando Bridgeman, was a prominent lawyer and politician. In 1660 he was created abaronet, of Great Lever in the County of Lancaster, in the Baronetage of England. His great-grandson, the fourth Baronet, representedShrewsbury in Parliament. In 1719 he married Lady Anne Newport, daughter ofRichard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford. Their son, the fifth Baronet, was aMember of Parliament forLudlow andWenlock for over forty years. In 1762 he succeeded through his mother to the Newport estates, includingWeston Park, on the death of his uncle, the fourth Earl of Bradford (see above). After Bridgeman's retirement from theHouse of Commons in 1794, the Bradford title held by his mother's family was revived when he was raised to the peerage asBaron Bradford, of Bradford in theCounty of Shropshire.^[1]

His son, the second Baron, representedWigan in Parliament. In 1815, the earldom of Bradford was revived when he was createdViscount Newport, in the County of Shropshire, andEarl of Bradford, in the County of Shropshire.^[2] His grandson, the third Earl, was aConservative politician and notably served asLord Steward of the Household and asMaster of the Horse. He was alsoLord Lieutenant of Shropshire. His eldest son, the fourth Earl, representedNorth Shropshire in Parliament as aConservative. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the fifth Earl. He was aLieutenant-Colonel in the army and fought in theBoer War and in theFirst World War. Lord Bradford was also Private Secretary to both Prime MinisterLord Salisbury and to Prime MinisterArthur Balfour and held office as a Government Whip in theHouse of Lords from 1919 to 1924. The present holder of the titles is his grandson, the seventh Earl, who succeeded in 1981.

Another member of the Bridgeman family was theConservative politicianWilliam Bridgeman, 1st Viscount Bridgeman. He was the son of Reverend the Hon. John Robert Orlando Bridgeman, third son of the second Earl of Bradford.

The family seat isWeston Park inStaffordshire. They also heldCastle Bromwich Hall, a manor inWarwickshire, along with the adjoiningCastle Bromwich Hall Gardens. The Hall is now a hotel, and its gardens have been restored by a Trust and are open to the public.

Weston Park was held by the family until 1986. Gerald, the 6th Earl of Bradford, who had succeeded to the title in 1957, died in 1981, leaving the family with large death duties. After five years of negotiations with the Treasury, Weston Park was donated to the nation via a Foundation established in 1986.

Since then, a G8 Summit Retreat was held at Weston Park in 1998 with the heads of State or Government present including US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin and, since 1999, the grounds of Weston Park have been used as one of the sites of the annual dual-site Virgin sponsored V Festival. While the family of the 7th Earl of Bradford has no remaining claim to Weston Park, much of the artwork (including works by van Dyck and others) remains privately held.

• Richard Newport, 1st Baron Newport (1587–1651)
• Francis Newport, 2nd Baron Newport (1620–1708) (createdViscount Newport in 1675)

• Francis Newport, 1st Viscount Newport (1620–1708) (createdEarl of Bradford in 1694)

• Francis Newport, 1st Earl of Bradford (1620–1708)
• Richard Newport, 2nd Earl of Bradford (1644–1723)
• Henry Newport, 3rd Earl of Bradford (1684–1734)
• Thomas Newport, 4th Earl of Bradford (c. 1696 – 1762)

• Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet (30 January 1606 – 25 June 1674), son ofJohn Bridgeman, Bishop of Chester.
• Sir John Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (16 August 1631 – 24 August 1710). Bridgeman was the son of theLord Keeper of the Great Seal Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of Great Lever, and Judith Kynaston, and older brother of Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Baronet, of Ridley, he was admitted to theInner Temple in 1647 and called to theBar in 1654,^[3] though given his father's expression of regret in his will that none of his sons followed him into the legal profession, one must infer that he never practiced.^[4] John succeeded to his father's baronetcy on 25 June 1674. He was married to Mary Cradock, daughter of George Cradock ofCaverswall Castle. They had two children: Orlando Bridgeman, married Katherine Bridgeman, daughter of William Bridgeman; Sir John Bridgeman, 3rd Baronet. Bridgeman died, aged 79, inCastle Bromwich,Warwickshire, and was buried inAston.

• Sir John Bridgeman, 3rd Baronet (9 August 1667 – 21 July 1747). Bridgeman was the second son of Sir John Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet, and Mary Cradock, and was educated atOriel College, Oxford. In 1689, he was called to theBar,Inner Temple. On 24 January 1710, Bridgeman succeeded in his father's baronetcy. He married Ursula Matthews, daughter of Roger Matthews, in 1694. They had two children: Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Baronet; Ursula Bridgeman, married Hugh Williams. Bridgeman died, aged 79, and was buried inLlanyblodwel,Shropshire.
• Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Baronet (2 July 1695 – 25 July 1764). Married Lady Anne Newport, third daughter of the2nd Earl of Bradford (of the first creation,see above).
• Sir Henry Bridgeman, 5th Baronet (7 September 1725 – 5 June 1800) (createdBaron Bradford in 1794).

• Henry Bridgeman, 1st Baron Bradford (1725–1800)
• Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baron Bradford (1762–1825) (createdViscount Newport andEarl of Bradford in 1815)

• Baron Torrington
• Viscount Bridgeman
• Bridgeman baronets

Wikimedia Commons has media related toEarls of Bradford.

• Hesilrige, Arthur G. M. (1921).Debrett's Peerage and Titles of courtesy. London: Dean & Son, limited. p. 134.
• Weston Park
• Castle Bromwich Hall Gardens Trust websiteArchived 29 June 2013 at theWayback Machine

• Extinct earldoms in the Peerage of England
• Earldoms in the Peerage of the United Kingdom
• Bridgeman family
• Earls of Bradford
• Noble titles created in 1694
• 1694 establishments in England
• Noble titles created in 1815
• 1815 establishments in the United Kingdom

• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the ODNB
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use dmy dates from April 2022
• Commons category link is on Wikidata
• Webarchive template wayback links