Lady Ida Frances Annabella Bridgeman, Countess of Bradford

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lumley-121

https://www.thepeerage.com/p1177.htm#i11766

The 1891 Census records 8 family members living at the Hall with Viscount Newport’s sister’s family as guests. 19 servants were also resident.

Orlando, 3rd Earl of Bradford died in 1898 and was succeeded by George, who continued to live at Castle Bromwich. He died in London in 1915 and was buried at Weston. Lady Ida stayed at Castle Bromwich after his death while her eldest son, Orlando, 5th Earl of Bradford made Weston his seat.

Lady Ida, Countess of Bradford 1848-1936 Lady Ida, Countess of Bradford 1848-1936 Castle Bromwich was the home of Lady Ida for 60 years; she was the last of the Bridgeman family to live at the hall.

She played an active part in the life of the village and attended the garden fetes held in the grounds in the early 1900s. (Church fetes were still held there until the early 1980s.)

Lady Ida continued to receive royal and distinguished guests after her husband’s death. Her friend Queen Mary visited on more than one occasion, and other visitors to the British Industries Fair were generally entertained at Castle Bromwich Hall.

When Lady Ida died in 1936 the Hall was advertised for sale or to let, furnished or unfurnished. Weston was the family seat and Castle Bromwich was now superfluous. Furthermore, what had been a country retreat was now being encroached on by housing spreading out from Birmingham, much of it on former Bridgeman land and paying the family ground rent. There was little interest in the building and most of the furniture was sold. There was an expression of interest by GEC but, with the outbreak of the Second World War, the transaction was put on hold. During the War the hall was used to billet troops.

After the War, GEC, whose Birmingham base was at Witton, rented the Hall for some years as a residence for their apprentices. By 1960 they left and the empty building began to deteriorate and was subject to vandalism.

Source: Home / Archives for Castle Bromwich Hall & Park Hall http://www.birminghamhistory.net/category/castle-bromwich-hall-and-... Added by Janet Milburn 7/5/19