Bridges was a talented, personable and highly literate man, but when he arrived in Bristol in the mid-1750s he never claimed any previous work.
He made several trips to London at his own expense to consult Robert Mylne and Sir Isaac Ware on his plans.
It included a famous pleasure garden, incorporating remnants of St Werburgh's church in the centre of the city,[4] which he was rebuilding at the same time.
After the Second World War the estate fell into neglect and the bath house was rescued and relocated to Portmeirion in Wales.
A number of locals waged a war against him, mocking his lack of classical education and claiming he was a carpenter and joiner, but his assessment of St Nicholas' wooden tower as sound makes it clear he knew little of wood.