George Wilson Bridges

Who was George Wilson Bridges?

Reverend George Wilson Bridges 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 England 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.