Viscount Newport

Given the apparent age of the sitter, this is probably George Cecil Orlando Bridgeman, who was styled Viscount Newport from 1865 until 1898, when he succeeded his father and became the 4th Earl of Bradford.

Born on 3 February 1845, he was the elder son of Orlando Bridgeman, 3rd Earl of Bradford, and his wife, the Honourable Selina Louisa née Forester.

Following his education at Harrow, he served in the 1st Life Guards and in the Shropshire Yeomanry, reaching the rank of Captain. He was the Member of Parliament for North Shropshire from 1867 to 1885.

Lord Bradford died, aged 69, in London on 2 January 1915 and was buried at Weston Park in Staffordshire.

‘The Earl of Bradford, who had been indisposed for some little time, passed away at his London residence, Lowndes-square, S.W., on Saturday. His lordship, who was the patron of the living of All Saints, Wigan, was in his seventy-first [sic] year, and was the fourth holder of the title, to which he succeeded in 1898. He was formerly an active politician, and between 1867-85 represented North Shropshire in the House of Commons.

‘He married in 1869 Ida Francis [sic] Arabella, the second daughter of the ninth Earl of Scarborough, and had three sons and four daughters.

‘Lord Bradford, who owned about 22,000 acres of land, was a pleasant host, and his home at Weston Park, Shifnal, was a favourite resort of Lord Beaconsfield, who spent many pleasant holidays there. In the grounds, which cover 1,200 acres, he kept rare breeds of foreign sheep, some of which are of Egyptian stock, and said to descend from the species which the Israelites tended in the days of their captivity under the Pharaohs. […] By the death of the Earl of Bradford Bolton has lost a generous friend. He was an extensive landowner in the district, and some of the ground in the centre of the town also belonged to him. He was the proprietor of the Bradford Colliery, Manchester-road, which provides work for many hundreds of men. Included in his benefactions have been the gift of […] the Great Lever Park and Recreation Ground, opened in July, 1913. He was a liberal subscriber to the funds of the Bolton Infirmary and several churches and schools’ (Wigan Observer and District Advertiser, 5 January 1915).

Photographed by William Bennett of 30 Sloane Square, London.