[1] He was educated at Magdalene College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a Master of Arts,[2] and then at the University of Oxford, receiving there a Doctor of Divinity.

[3] Two years before, he had been consecrated Bishop of Chester, a post he held until the abolition of episcopacy in 1646.

[4] In 1633 Bridgeman was subject to a royal commission of enquiry led by Thomas Canon following complaints to the privy council that Bridgeman had embezzled fines taken for commuting penances.

[5] During his tenure, he initialised suspensions against the puritans Thomas Paget, John Angier and Samuel Eaton.

[6] He was deprived of his See by Parliament on 9 October 1646, as episcopacy was abolished for the duration of the Commonwealth and the Protectorate.