George Wilson Bridges
Encyclopedia
Reverend George Wilson Bridges (1788–1863) was a writer, photographer and Anglican cleric. After eloping with his wife, he was rector for the Jamaican parish of Manchester
from 1817 to 1823. He was then rector at the neighbouring parish of St Ann from 1823 to 1837. He published works against William Wilberforce
and another book resulted in his London publisher being found guilty of libel against Louis Celeste Lecesne
and John Escoffery. After his wife left him he lost four of their daughters in a boating accident. Bridges went to Canada and returned to meet William Fox Talbot
and take up photography. He toured around the Mediterranean taking 1,700 early pictures including Egypt, Greece, the Holy Land and Mount Etna
erupting. His last parish
was in Gloucestershire.
to marry. The marriage to Elizabeth Raby Brooks caused a family split and gave a poor start to the marriage.
In 1814, Bridges made a tour of Europe and had an account of his travels published. Whilst still a member of Trinity College, Oxford
, he visited France, Holland, Flanders, Germany and Switzerland.
where he was meant to oversee the Jamaican parish of Manchester
from 1817 to 1823. Mandeville was a new settlement with a church that was founded in 1816 and the very first official building that they built was the rector's house. Bridges let this house out as a tavern.
In 1823 Bridges became responsible for the neighbouring parish of St Ann. He was the rector of this parish until 1837.
Bridges worked in Jamaica where his books and publications caused difficulties. His annals, volume 2 was the subject of a libel case thousands of miles away in England. The case revolved around two men, Louis Celeste Lecesne
and his brother in law John Escoffery, who were thrown off the island using powers under an Aliens Act. His libel against Lecesne
and Escoffery was that Bridges wrote that they "were impatient to sheathe their daggers in the breasts of its white inhabitants". The case resulted in the publisher having to withdraw the second volume of the book. With the publisher's assistance the volume was amended and reissued. This was not the last time that Bridges' behaviour would be discussed in London.
Bridges spoke out against the abolition of slavery and he was an enemy of Methodist missionaries
. There was a parliamentary enquiry into a flogging that Bridges had given to a slave as punishment for attending a Methodist meeting. The case was raised in 1830 in the British House of Commons by Henry Brougham who reported that a girl had been hit by Bridges, flogged by two men at Thomas(sic) Wilson Bridges' instruction. The punishment was for failing to carry out an order. She had complained but the local committee had decided by fourteen to four to take no further action.
Bridges later founded a group who tried to throw the missionaries out of Jamaica.
In 1834 Bridges' wife left him, taking their son, Henry, for company. Elizabeth left for Britain leaving Bridges with four children to parent. At the time of this estrangement they had six children. The last child was in England. After some months Bridges returned to England to find his wife and his missing son and daughter. He didn't return to Jamaica for over twelve months and he spent some time with Somerset Lowry-Corry
who was Earl Belmore and Jamaica's former governor.
. Bridges and his son were there for a number of years and they had an octagonal house built at Lake Rice. In 1842, William Bridges was ill so they returned to England.
in Gloucestershire. where William attended school. It was through a friend of William that Bridges became acquainted with the Talbot family after admiring one of William Fox Talbot
's publications. This was the first book printed with photographs and it was made possible by Fox Talbot's invention of the calotype. Bridges became intrigued by the calotype
process and persuaded Talbot to support him with photographic paper for a major project. Moreover Talbot allowed Bridges to be instructed in its use even though an American patent was some years away.
In 1846 Bridges lent his wooden house at Rice Lake
in Ontario
called Wolf Tower to Catharine Parr Traill
. This may have been because he had little need for this house as for the next seven years he was to wander through Europe and north Africa taking photographs using the novel calotype technique.
In 1847 it was recorded that the Jamaican government would give thirty pounds annually to a Mr Stewart towards the upkeep of the infant son of the Reverend George Wilson Bridges. No explanation is offered. However the government also awarded sixty pounds per year to Bridges himself for 25 years service and because he left because of a "calamitous situation". These monies must have benefited Bridges on his travels.
Bridges first stop was Paris where he had a state of the art camera made for himself by an optician named Charles Chevalier. It was there that he met Richard Haight, an American, who used his camera to take pictures in England.
In Malta
, Bridges met a fellow clergyman Rev. Calvert R. Jones
and an entrepreneur cousin of William Fox Talbot's, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot
, who was touring the Mediterranean in his yacht, Galatea. Both of these had been asked to assist Bridges by Fox Talbot. This wasn't entirely altruistic as Bridges was sending one copy of each exposure back to Fox Talbot so that he could develop the pictures. In return Bridges received more prepared paper.
In 1851 he was in Egypt but during his travels he also visited Italy, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, the Holy Land and the rest of North Africa. Some of the earliest successful photographs in these countries were taken by Bridges. The negatives from these pictures can achieve several thousand pounds each at auction.
, James Monk
in 1852 until Monk gave him the position at the village and ferry port of Beachley
. In return for forty pounds each year Bridges took care of the Gloucestershire parish and St John's church. Bridges published a number of publications based on the 1,700 negatives that he had gathered. He had tried to sell many whilst in Malta, but there was little profit.
When his estranged wife, Elizabeth died in 1862 he published a book entitled, Outlines and Notes of Twenty-Nine Years. The 29 years refers to the time from when they parted until her death.
Bridges died on September 20, 1863, whilst still at Beachley parish.
Manchester Parish, Jamaica
The parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the coast or on a major river. The Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley The parish of Manchester is located in...
from 1817 to 1823. He was then rector at the neighbouring parish of St Ann from 1823 to 1837. He published works against William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
and another book resulted in his London publisher being found guilty of libel against Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne , also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands....
and John Escoffery. After his wife left him he lost four of their daughters in a boating accident. Bridges went to Canada and returned to meet William Fox Talbot
William Fox Talbot
William Henry Fox Talbot was a British inventor and a pioneer of photography. He was the inventor of calotype process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also a noted photographer who made major contributions to the development of photography as an...
and take up photography. He toured around the Mediterranean taking 1,700 early pictures including Egypt, Greece, the Holy Land and Mount Etna
Mount Etna
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently standing high, though this varies with summit eruptions; the mountain is 21 m higher than it was in 1981.. It is the highest mountain in...
erupting. His last parish
Beachley
Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the junction between the Rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge for the River Wye begins. The tidal drop here is one of the highest in the UK...
was in Gloucestershire.
Life
Bridges was born to a rich family in Essex. His future was assured as the son and heir and he trained to be a cleric. He caused his first scandal however when he eloped to Gretna GreenGretna Green
Gretna Green is a village in the south of Scotland famous for runaway weddings. It is in Dumfries and Galloway, near the mouth of the River Esk and was historically the first village in Scotland, following the old coaching route from London to Edinburgh. Gretna Green has a railway station serving...
to marry. The marriage to Elizabeth Raby Brooks caused a family split and gave a poor start to the marriage.
In 1814, Bridges made a tour of Europe and had an account of his travels published. Whilst still a member of Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
, he visited France, Holland, Flanders, Germany and Switzerland.
Jamaica
He left for Jamaica in 1816 at the invitation of the Governor of Jamaica where he was reportedly paid very well. He was rector of St Mark's church in MandevilleMandeville, Jamaica
Mandeville is the capital and largest town in the parish of Manchester in the county of Middlesex, Jamaica. In 2005, the town had an estimated population of 50,000, and including the immediate suburbs within a radius of the total population is about 72,000. It is located on an inland plateau at an...
where he was meant to oversee the Jamaican parish of Manchester
Manchester Parish, Jamaica
The parish of Manchester is located in west-central Jamaica, in the county of Middlesex. Its capital, Mandeville, is a major business centre, and the only parish capital not located on the coast or on a major river. The Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley The parish of Manchester is located in...
from 1817 to 1823. Mandeville was a new settlement with a church that was founded in 1816 and the very first official building that they built was the rector's house. Bridges let this house out as a tavern.
In 1823 Bridges became responsible for the neighbouring parish of St Ann. He was the rector of this parish until 1837.
Bridges worked in Jamaica where his books and publications caused difficulties. His annals, volume 2 was the subject of a libel case thousands of miles away in England. The case revolved around two men, Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne , also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands....
and his brother in law John Escoffery, who were thrown off the island using powers under an Aliens Act. His libel against Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne
Louis Celeste Lecesne , also known as Lewis Celeste Lecesne, was an anti-slavery activist from the Caribbean islands....
and Escoffery was that Bridges wrote that they "were impatient to sheathe their daggers in the breasts of its white inhabitants". The case resulted in the publisher having to withdraw the second volume of the book. With the publisher's assistance the volume was amended and reissued. This was not the last time that Bridges' behaviour would be discussed in London.
Bridges spoke out against the abolition of slavery and he was an enemy of Methodist missionaries
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...
. There was a parliamentary enquiry into a flogging that Bridges had given to a slave as punishment for attending a Methodist meeting. The case was raised in 1830 in the British House of Commons by Henry Brougham who reported that a girl had been hit by Bridges, flogged by two men at Thomas(sic) Wilson Bridges' instruction. The punishment was for failing to carry out an order. She had complained but the local committee had decided by fourteen to four to take no further action.
Bridges later founded a group who tried to throw the missionaries out of Jamaica.
In 1834 Bridges' wife left him, taking their son, Henry, for company. Elizabeth left for Britain leaving Bridges with four children to parent. At the time of this estrangement they had six children. The last child was in England. After some months Bridges returned to England to find his wife and his missing son and daughter. He didn't return to Jamaica for over twelve months and he spent some time with Somerset Lowry-Corry
Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore
Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore , styled The Honourable from 1781 to 1797 and then known as Viscount Corry to 1802, was an Irish nobleman and politician.-Politics and inheritance:...
who was Earl Belmore and Jamaica's former governor.
Canada
In 1837 the separated couple were to face a disaster when a boat accident resulted in the loss of all four of their daughters. Some small consolation was that their son was saved. Bridges and his son turned their backs on England and on Jamaica and set out for CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Bridges and his son were there for a number of years and they had an octagonal house built at Lake Rice. In 1842, William Bridges was ill so they returned to England.
William Fox Talbot
Bridges took a new job as rector of St Giles Church in MaisemoreMaisemore
Maisemore is a village and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England. It lies on the A417 road 2.5 miles northwest of Gloucester, on the west bank of the River Severn. In the 2001 census the parish had a population of 488. There is a church, dedicated to St Giles.Maisemore Bridge connects the...
in Gloucestershire. where William attended school. It was through a friend of William that Bridges became acquainted with the Talbot family after admiring one of William Fox Talbot
William Fox Talbot
William Henry Fox Talbot was a British inventor and a pioneer of photography. He was the inventor of calotype process, the precursor to most photographic processes of the 19th and 20th centuries. He was also a noted photographer who made major contributions to the development of photography as an...
's publications. This was the first book printed with photographs and it was made possible by Fox Talbot's invention of the calotype. Bridges became intrigued by the calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
process and persuaded Talbot to support him with photographic paper for a major project. Moreover Talbot allowed Bridges to be instructed in its use even though an American patent was some years away.
In 1846 Bridges lent his wooden house at Rice Lake
Rice Lake (Ontario)
Rice Lake is a lake located in south-eastern Ontario, in Northumberland County, south of Peterborough and the Kawartha lakes and north of Cobourg. The lake is part of the Trent-Severn Waterway, which flows into the lake by the Otonabee and out via the Trent. The lake is 32 km long and...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
called Wolf Tower to Catharine Parr Traill
Catharine Parr Traill
Catharine Parr Traill, born Strickland was an English-Canadian author who wrote about life as a settler in Canada.-Biography:...
. This may have been because he had little need for this house as for the next seven years he was to wander through Europe and north Africa taking photographs using the novel calotype technique.
In 1847 it was recorded that the Jamaican government would give thirty pounds annually to a Mr Stewart towards the upkeep of the infant son of the Reverend George Wilson Bridges. No explanation is offered. However the government also awarded sixty pounds per year to Bridges himself for 25 years service and because he left because of a "calamitous situation". These monies must have benefited Bridges on his travels.
Bridges first stop was Paris where he had a state of the art camera made for himself by an optician named Charles Chevalier. It was there that he met Richard Haight, an American, who used his camera to take pictures in England.
In Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Bridges met a fellow clergyman Rev. Calvert R. Jones
Calvert Jones
Calvert Richard Jones , was a Welsh mathematician and painter, best known for his seascapes.Jones belonged to a wealthy Swansea family. He was educated at Eton and Oriel College, Oxford, and was rector of Loughor...
and an entrepreneur cousin of William Fox Talbot's, Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot
Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot FRS was a landowner, industrialist and Liberal politician. He developed his estate at Margam near Swansea as an extensive ironworks, served by railways and a port, which was re-named Port Talbot.-Early life:Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot was born at Penrice, Swansea,...
, who was touring the Mediterranean in his yacht, Galatea. Both of these had been asked to assist Bridges by Fox Talbot. This wasn't entirely altruistic as Bridges was sending one copy of each exposure back to Fox Talbot so that he could develop the pictures. In return Bridges received more prepared paper.
In 1851 he was in Egypt but during his travels he also visited Italy, Sicily, Greece, Turkey, the Holy Land and the rest of North Africa. Some of the earliest successful photographs in these countries were taken by Bridges. The negatives from these pictures can achieve several thousand pounds each at auction.
Later publications
Bridges became secretary to the Bishop of BristolBishop of Bristol
The Bishop of Bristol heads the Church of England Diocese of Bristol in the Province of Canterbury, in England.The present diocese covers parts of the counties of Somerset and Gloucestershire together with a small area of Wiltshire...
, James Monk
James Henry Monk
James Henry Monk was an English divine and classical scholar.-Life:He was born at Buntingford, Hertfordshire. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge, and in 1809 was elected Regius Professor of Greek in succession to Porson. The establishment of the classical tripos...
in 1852 until Monk gave him the position at the village and ferry port of Beachley
Beachley
Beachley is a village in Gloucestershire, England, near the border with Wales. It is located on a peninsula at the junction between the Rivers Wye and Severn, where the Severn Bridge ends and the smaller secondary bridge for the River Wye begins. The tidal drop here is one of the highest in the UK...
. In return for forty pounds each year Bridges took care of the Gloucestershire parish and St John's church. Bridges published a number of publications based on the 1,700 negatives that he had gathered. He had tried to sell many whilst in Malta, but there was little profit.
When his estranged wife, Elizabeth died in 1862 he published a book entitled, Outlines and Notes of Twenty-Nine Years. The 29 years refers to the time from when they parted until her death.
Bridges died on September 20, 1863, whilst still at Beachley parish.
Works
- Alpine sketches, comprised in a short tour through parts of Holland..., 1814
- A Voice from Jamaica; in reply to William Wilberforce, London, 1823
- Dreams of dulocracy: or, The puritanical obituary, 1824
- The driving system, 1824
- The annals of Jamaica, Volume 2, 1828
- Outlines and Notes of Twenty-Nine Years
- Palestine as it is: in a series of photographic views, 1858