Robert Bridgeman
Born 1844
Died 1 March 1918
Active: 1871 - 1911
Country of birth and death: England
Architectural sculptor, ecclesiastical sculptor, stone carver and stonemason
Born in Burwell, Cambridgeshire. He was the son of Charles Bridgeman (c.1825-1903, Burwell), a farmer, turf dealer and digger. Robert may have learned his craft in Cambridge with one of the large carving firms such as Rattee and Kett. In 1872 he married the daughter of his landlady and by 1877 they were living in Lichfield where Robert worked on the cathedral.
In 1879 Bridgeman established his own firm in Lichfield, which specialised in ecclesiastical and architectural work in wood, stone, alabaster and metal. Sometime before 1912, Robert's son Joseph joined the firm and it traded as Robert Bridgeman & Son. A third generation, Charles William Bridgeman (1902-2004), son of Joseph, later joined the business which then traded as Bridgeman & Sons of Lichfield until his retirement in 1968, when it was sold to Linfords and operated as Linford-Bridgeman.
The firm produced pieces for churches, cathedrals, schools and other historic buildings, as well as doing conservation and restoration work. Their major commissions includes the Gothic façade of the John Rylands Library, Deansgate, Manchester and restoration work on the west front of Lichfield Cathedral during the 1880s as well as pieces in St Philip’s Cathedral and St Chad’s Cathedral in Birmingham and sculptures in most other cathedrals in England. In addition, their works can be seen in Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Italy.
Wealth at death: £10,485 9s. 9d.
Resworn, effects originally valued at £10,153 1s. 6d.
Probate date: 17 April 1918
Locations
Address North Street Burwell England | View on map
1861 (Circa)
Address 86 Russell Street Cambridge England | View on map
1871 (Circa)
Lodger at this address.
Address Dam Street Lichfield England | View on map
1881 (Circa)
Address 3 Quonian's Lane Lichfield England | View on map
1891 (Circa)
Address 21 Dam Street Lichfield England | View on map
1901 (Circa)
Personal and Professional Connections
Employed Charles Rutland
Charles Rutland may have worked for Robert Bridgeman's firm around 1901 because in the Census Returns he was a 'Sculptor' worker residing at 99 Birmingham Road, Lichfield. The major employer of sculptors in the city at that date would have been the Bridgeman firm. Rutland's son, George H. Rutland (born c.1882), resident at the same address, was a 'Stone Carver' worker.
Mother/father/parent of Joseph Henry Bridgeman
Descriptions of Practice
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
'Carver'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
'Architectural Sculptor & Carver Employing 4 Men & 1 Boy'
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
'Architectural Sculptor & Carver' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
'Sculptor & Stone & Wood Carver' employer
Occupation given in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
'Sculptor & Carvers' Head of firm of Robert Bridgeman and Sons Ecclesiastical Builders and general [?] Art Workers
Sources
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861
2005
Class: RG 9; Piece: 1032; Folio: 32; Page: 17; GSU roll: 542740
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871
2004
Class: RG10; Piece: 1587; Folio: 84; Page: 20; GSU roll: 829807
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881
2004
Class: RG11; Piece: 2772; Folio: 49; Page: 18; GSU roll: 1341664
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1891
2004
Class: RG12; Piece: 2212; Folio: 35; Page: 3; GSU Roll: 6097322
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1901
2005
Class: RG13; Piece: 2654; Folio: 32; Page: 2
Census Returns of England and Wales, 1911
2011
RG14PN16860 RG78PN1044 RD367 SD1 ED2 SN30
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
2006
Name: Robert Bridgeman
Date of Registration: Jul-Aug-Sep 1844
Registration district: Newmarkt
Inferred County: Cambridgeshire
Volume: 14
Page: 103
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966
2010
Name: Robert Bridgeman
Probate Date: 17 Apr 1918
Registry: Lichfield
Death Date: 1 Mar 1918
Death Place: Lichfield, Staffordshire, England
England, Select Marriages, 1538–1973
2014
Name: Martha Mckean Ripley
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Birth Date: 1847
Marriage Date: 16 Jul 1872
Marriage Place: Saint Paul,Cambridge,Cambridge,England
Father: Thomas Ripley
Spouse: Robert Bridgeman
FHL Film Number: 1040431
Citing this record
'Robert Bridgeman', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 [http://sculpture.gla.ac.uk/view/person.php?id=ann_1394806036, accessed 24 Sep 2023]
