The Earl of Bradford | |
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| Tenure | 30 August 1981 – present |
| Other titles | Viscount Newport |
| Born | 3 October 1947 |
| Spouse(s) | Joanne Miller (m. 1979;div. 2006)Dr Penelope Law (m. 2008;div. 2021) |
| Issue |
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| Heir | Alexander Bridgeman |
| Parents | Gerald Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford Mary Willoughby Montgomery |
Richard Thomas Orlando Bridgeman, 7th Earl of Bradford (born 3 October 1947), styled Viscount Newport from 1957 to 1981, is a British peer and businessman.
Bradford is the son of Gerald Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford, and Mary Willoughby Montgomery. He was educated at St. Ronan's School, Hawkhurst, and Harrow School, just outside London, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969 and a Master of Arts in 1973. He succeeded to his father's title in 1981.
In 1979, Bradford opened Porters English Restaurant in London's Covent Garden. He later opened the Covent Garden Grill next door. In January 2015 the restaurants closed as the landlord would not extend the lease and Bradford moved his business to Hertfordshire, where he opened Porters Restaurant in Berkhamsted. [1] The restaurant closed on 30 September 2018.[ citation needed ]
From 1986 to 1999 he was Chairman of Weston Park Enterprises. Because the 6th Earl left the family with large death duties, Bradford gifted his home Weston Park and 1,000 acres to the nation in 1986, with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, to the Weston Park Foundation. [2] As of 1998, he is Chairman of VIP Internet Ltd, a website design company, which also operates its own websites, such as Stately-Homes.com, now sold, and A-London-Guide.com.
In the 2001 general election, he was a candidate for parliament in the House of Commons, running as a candidate for the UK Independence Party, obtaining 5.2% support (2,315 votes) in Stafford, losing to David Kidney, but achieving the 4th best result for the party. [3] He ran again for UKIP in the European Elections for the West Midlands region in 2004, coming eighth, seven candidates were elected. [4] In May 2012 he stood unsuccessfully for the party in a by election in the Hyde Park ward of Westminster City Council, with the support of celebrity nightclub-owner Peter Stringfellow. [5]
Lord Bradford is an active campaigner against the sale of false titles of nobility. [6] [7] [8] Bradford has alleged that he has been subjected to an online smear campaign in retaliation for his campaign, with unfavourable reviews being posted on TripAdvisor and the appearance of fraudulent review websites. [9]
On 15 September 1979, he married Joanne Elizabeth Miller, elder daughter of Mayfair bookmaker Benjamin Miller. They divorced in 2006. They have four children:
On 30 August 2008, he married Dr. Penelope Ann Lowe, a consultant obstetrician and author of the book "Expecting a Baby? It Is Born Every Minute".
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Peter James Stringfellow was an English businessman who owned several nightclubs.
Earl of Bradford is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was first created in 1694 for Francis 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 for Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baron Bradford. The Bridgeman family had previously succeeded to the Newport estates. The title of the peerage refers to the ancient hundred of Bradford in Shropshire, and not, as might be assumed, to the city of Bradford, Yorkshire, or the town of Bradford-on-Avon in Wiltshire.
Weston Park is a country house in Weston-under-Lizard, Staffordshire, England, set in more than 1,000 acres (400 ha) of park landscaped by Capability Brown. The park is located 10 miles (16 km) north-west of Wolverhampton, and 8 miles (13 km) east of Telford, close to the border with Shropshire. The 17th-century Hall is a Grade I listed building and several other features of the estate, such as the Orangery and the Stable block, are separately listed as Grade II.
Orlando George Charles Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford, PC, DL, styled Viscount Newport between 1825 and 1865, was a British courtier and Conservative politician. In a ministerial career spanning over thirty years, he notably served as Lord Chamberlain of the Household between 1866 and 1868 and as Master of the Horse between 1874 and 1880 and again between 1885 and 1886.
George Augustus Frederick Henry Bridgeman, 2nd Earl of Bradford, styled Viscount Newport from 1815 to 1825, was a British peer.
Thomas Newport, 4th Earl of Bradford, was an English peer and noble.
Henry Newport, 3rd Earl of Bradford was an English peer and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1706 and 1722.
Lieutenant-Colonel Orlando Bridgeman, 5th Earl of Bradford, DL, JP, styled Viscount Newport from 1898 to 1915, was a British peer, Conservative politician and soldier. He was a major landowner, owning up to 20,000 acres (8,100 ha).
George Cecil Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Earl of BradfordJP DL, styled Viscount Newport from 1865 to 1898, was a British soldier and peer.
Orlando Bridgeman, 1st Earl of Bradford was a British peer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1784 to 1800.
Thomas Newport, 1st Baron Torrington, 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 Torrington.
Brigadier-General Francis Charles Bridgeman JP, styled The Honourable from 1865, was a British Army officer and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1895.
Reginald Francis Orlando Bridgeman CMG, MVO was a British diplomat and politician associated with a number of left wing causes including British-Soviet friendship and nuclear disarmament.
Henry Bridgeman, 1st Baron Bradford, known as Sir Henry Bridgeman, 5th Baronet, between 1764 and 1794, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons for 46 years from 1748 to 1794 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Bradford.
Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 4th Baronet was a British baronet and politician.
Gerald Michael Orlando Bridgeman, 6th Earl of Bradford, TD, DL, JP, styled Viscount Newport between 1915 and 1957, was a British peer and soldier.
Liberty Great Britain or Liberty GB was a minor far-right British nationalist political party founded and led by Paul Weston that described itself as "counter-jihad".
Ida Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford, was a British noblewoman who served as a Lady of the Bedchamber for Mary of Teck. She was the wife of George Bridgeman, 4th Earl of Bradford, and the mother of Orlando Bridgeman, 5th Earl of Bradford.
Florence Lascelles, Countess of Harewood, was the wife of Henry Lascelles, 5th Earl of Harewood and mother of Henry Lascelles, 6th Earl of Harewood who married Mary, Princess Royal, the only daughter of King George V.
Selina Louisa Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford born Selina Louise Weld-Forester was a British peeress. Prime minister Benjamin Disraeli was her admirer and he wrote her over 1,000 letters.
