One member of the family, Richard Newport, represented Shropshire and Shrewsbury in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I during the Civil War.

In 1642 he was raised to the Peerage of England as Baron Newport, of High Ercall in the County of Shropshire.

His son Francis, the second Baron, represented Shrewsbury in the Long Parliament and fought as a Royalist in the Civil War.

Their eldest son, the third Earl, represented Bishop's Castle and Shropshire in the House of Commons and was also Lord Lieutenant of Staffordshire.

He had no legitimate children and on his death the peerages passed to his younger brother, the fourth Earl.

The family estates, including Weston Park, were inherited by his nephew, Sir Henry Bridgeman, 5th Baronet, of Great Lever (see below).

In 1762 he succeeded through his mother to the Newport estates, including Weston Park, on the death of his uncle, the fourth Earl of Bradford (see above).

[2] His grandson, the third Earl, was a Conservative politician and notably served as Lord Steward of the Household and as Master of the Horse.

Gerald, the 6th Earl of Bradford, who had succeeded to the title in 1957, died in 1981, leaving the family with large death duties.

Since then, a G8 Summit Retreat was held at Weston Park in 1998 with the heads of State or Government present including US President Bill Clinton and Russian President Boris Yeltsin and, since 1999, the grounds of Weston Park have been used as one of the sites of the annual dual-site Virgin sponsored V Festival.