September 2014

From September 6 to 11, 2014, more than 75 Bridger cousins traveled to England to visit sites where our ancestors lived, played, worked, worshipped, and died.

After an overnight stay at a hotel near Heathrow Airport, our group headed by bus to Oxford to visit Magdalen College, founded in 1458, where Lawrence Bridger and his son Samuel were students. The cloister and chapel were constructed between 1474 and 1480, and the tower was completed in 1509. The next stop was Tortworth Court, a Victorian-era mansion in Wotton-under-Edge that would be our headquarters for the week.

The next day began with a visit to Woodmancote Manor, the home of Lawrence Bridger’s son Samuel, and the house where Joseph Bridger was born in 1631. The current owners, Ian and Rachael Fairbourn, were gracious enough to open their home to our large group. We showed our thanks by everyone giving them a bottle of wine. The entrance hall still had the original slate floor that our ancestors walked on. Later in the day we drove past Gossington Hall, the home of Lawrence Bridger, on our way to visit Bath, stopping in Cheddar along the way.

Gloucester Cathedral was the first stop the next day. Samuel Bridger was the Auditor of the Dean and Chapter of the cathedral and is buried in the Lady Chapel. The cathedral dates to 1058. The day ended with a visit to Stonehenge.

Our last day took our group to Chepstow Castle in Wales and then to Berkeley Castle owned by the family of Sir William Berkeley, who was governor of the Virginia Colony when Joseph Bridger moved there. That evening we held our annual Bridger Family Meeting in the Orangery at Totworth Court and were entertained by the Slimbridge Singers.

Our dinner speaker was Nick Hartley, a “reverse” cousin descendant of Grandfather Joseph’s granddaughter Margaret who married John Goodrich and went to England after the Revolutionary War. He discussed his book The Prince of Privateers, Bridger Goodrich and His Family in America, Bermuda and Britain 1775-1825.

Thanks to Trish and David Carrington, the Church Warden of the Slimbridge church, for helping organize our trip.

Part 3