John Bridgeman (bishop)

For other people named John Bridgeman, see John Bridgeman (disambiguation).

John Bridgeman (2 November 1577 – 11 November 1652)^[1] was an English Anglican clergyman.

The Right Reverend John Bridgeman
Bishop of Chester
Diocese	Diocese of Chester
In office	1619–1646 (abolition of episcopacy)
Predecessor	Thomas Morton
Successor	Brian Walton
Personal details
Born	2 November 1577 Exeter
Died	11 November 1652(1652-11-11) (aged 75) Morton, Shropshire
Buried	Kinnerley, Shropshire
Nationality	British
Denomination	Anglican
Spouse	Elizabeth Helyar (m.1606)
Alma mater	Magdalene College, Cambridge

Born in Exeter, he was the eldest son of Thomas Bridgeman and grandson of Edward Bridgeman.^[1] He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Master of Arts,^[2] and then at the University of Oxford, receiving there a Doctor of Divinity.^[3] Bridgeman became rector of Wigan in 1615 and also of Bangor in 1621.^[3] Two years before, he had been consecrated Bishop of Chester, a post he held until the abolition of episcopacy in 1646.^[4] In 1633 Bridgeman was subject to a royal commission of enquiry led by Thomas Canon following complaints to the privy council that Bridgeman had embezzled fines taken for commuting penances.^[5] During his tenure, he initialised suspensions against the puritans Thomas Paget, John Angier and Samuel Eaton.^[6] He was deprived of his See by Parliament on 9 October 1646, as episcopacy was abolished for the duration of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.^[7][8]

On 29 April 1606, he married Elizabeth Helyar, daughter of Reverend William Helyar,^[9] and had by her five sons.^[3] Bridgeman died at Moreton, Shropshire and was buried at Kinnerley.^[1] His oldest son Orlando was a judge and baronet^[10] and his third son Henry Bridgeman a bishop.^[3]

Arms: Sable ten plates in pile on a chief Argent a lion passant also Sable.^[11]

References

1. "Bridgeman, John" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
2. "Bridgeman, John (BRGN593J)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
3. Collins, Arthur (1812). Sir Egerton Brydges (ed.). Collin's Peerage of England. Vol. I. London: T. Bensley. pp. 367–369.
4. Haydn, Joseph (1851). The Book of Dignities: Containing Rolls of the Official Personages of the British Empire. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longman's. pp. 377.
5. Papers for Sir Thomas Canon’s enquiry of 1633; Staffordshire Record Office D1287/18/2
6. Summers, Montague (2003). Geography of Witchcraft. Kessinger Publishing. p. 350. ISBN 0-7661-4536-0.
7. Plant, David (2002). "Episcopalians". BCW Project. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
8. King, Peter (July 1968). "The Episcopate during the Civil Wars, 1642–1649". The English Historical Review. 83 (328). Oxford University Press: 523–537. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxiii.cccxxviii.523. JSTOR 564164.
9. "ThePeerage". Retrieved 29 November 2006.
10. Debrett, John (1828). Debrett's Peerage of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. I (17th ed.). London: G. Woodfall. p. 239.
11. "The Armorial Bearings of the Bishops of Chester". Cheshire Heraldry Society. Retrieved 9 February 2021.

Church of England titles
Preceded by Thomas Morton	Bishop of Chester 1619–1646	Succeeded by Commonwealth abolition of episcopacy, then Brian Walton