A tribute: Richard Wilson (1938-2026)
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In this post Martin Sheppard presents a tribute to Professor Richard Wilson.
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Few people have made a greater contribution to the understanding of the history of East Anglia, and in particular to that of Norfolk and Norwich itself, than Richard Wilson. As author, editor, administrator and teacher, he was at the heart of historical work on the area throughout much of his long career. As a key figure in the Norfolk Record Society, which he chaired for ten years, he nursed innumerable projects through to publication. His work as a historian was, however, by no means confined to East Anglia, as he also made outstanding contributions to the history of the British brewing industry and to that of the English country house.
Richard George Wilson was born at Terrington, a small farming village on the Castle Howard Estate in God’s own county of Yorkshire on the 28 December 1938. He remained a proud Yorkshireman all his life, exhibiting many of the best qualities associated with that county. His father Francis Wilson, whose parents lived in Hovingham, the seat of the Worsley family, had worked in a number of the local big houses, at one of which he met his wife, Bessie Maughan. Francis later became an extremely skilled mason and built many of the newer houses in Terrington. From an early age Richard, who had an elder sister, Barbara, was surrounded by people with real experience of life in a country house.
At the village school in Terrington there was only one teacher, who taught all subjects. In the run-up to the Eleven Plus, Richard was given extra lessons by the vicar. He attended Malton Grammar School until he was eighteen. Despite episodes of bad behaviour, including once locking a student teacher in a cupboard, Richard flourished and was a frequent prize winner.
By the time he left school, Richard had already met his wife, Marian Myers, who came from Norton, a village to the east of Malton. She saw him one day sitting alone as she came off the tennis court and decided to discover who he was. Being slightly older than he was, she preceded him to Leeds University. Richard chose Leeds, despite being offered a place at Cambridge. Soon afterwards, Richard’s mother and aunt confronted Marian and accused her of being responsible for his decision to turn down the offer. According to Richard, the real reason he went to Leeds was not Marian but the fact that his birthday was three days before the expiry of the obligation to do National Service. Cambridge had insisted on his doing his service before he took up his place but Leeds had not. How far Marian’s presence at Leeds influenced this decision remains open to speculation.
After a successful undergraduate career, Richard wrote a doctoral thesis on the merchants of Leeds, the basis of his first book, Gentlemen Merchants: The Merchant Community of Leeds, 1700-1830, published in 1971. His first academic job was in the Economic History Department of Strathclyde University. From there he moved to the newly established University of East Anglia in 1966; first as a member of the Economic History Sector and later of the School of History. He remained at East Anglia for the rest of his career, becoming a professor. Under Richard’s leadership as Research Director, the School of History secured UEA a coveted 5* research rating—beating Oxford, to the great satisfaction of the university and that of his many admiring colleagues.
Richard’s combination of warmth and dry wit, his economy with words and his unfailing instinct for what was and what was not interesting, made him a superb historian, editor, supervisor and teacher. His stature and personality, his ability to inspire loyalty and his popularity with students made him a natural leader. Under him, in the 1990s, the Centre of East Anglian Studies, part of the University of East Anglia, became an intellectual powerhouse. He brought to it strategic vision, diplomatic skill and an uncompromising eye for quality. An engaging and witty public speaker, he worked tirelessly to promote research into East Anglia’s past both by encouraging applications to grant-giving bodies and through the Centre’s extensive publications programme. He was an intellectual libertarian with an anarchist streak, socially conservative but immensely tolerant of, and interested in, contrary views. He could see through humbug a mile away.
The origins of Richard’s involvement in one of the main areas of his research, the history of brewing, was, as he told it, almost accidental. One afternoon in the 1970s he was summoned at short notice to a meeting with his University’s Vice-Chancellor. Wondering whether he had committed some unknown misdemeanour, and conscious of being dressed in flared trousers and ‘greatly in need of a hair-cut’, he attended with some trepidation. Much to his surprise, the Vice-Chancellor introduced him to Sir Hugh Greene of Greene King, who was looking for an historian to write the history of the company and of the Greene family. The book that followed, Greene King: A Business and Family History (1983), was a triumph.
Richard’s interest in brewing history then expanded from the study of one individual brewery to that of the brewing industry as a whole. As brewing was the source of some of the largest fortunes in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain, it was an important but little studied sector of the economy. Starting where Peter Mathias’s previous account had left off in 1830, Richard worked together with his friend and one-time UEA colleague, Terry Gourvish, to produce The British Brewing Industry, 1830-1980 (1994), of which Richard wrote the section dealing with the industry between 1830 and 1914.
His next major project reflected his lifelong interest in the history of the country house. Working with his doctoral student Alan Mackley, Creating Paradise: The Building of the English Country House, 1660-1880 (2000) was an account of the practical considerations, and many pitfalls, involved in the decision to build a country house. A wonderful book wonderfully titled, combining scholarship, originality and readability, it attracted excellent reviews, including a favourable lead review in the Sunday Times.
Despite his many other commitments, Richard still found time to write a string of articles and reviews. His interest in the human side of history was reflected in the twenty-one entries he contributed to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. For the Norfolk Record Society, he co-edited The Great Tour of John Patteson, 1778-1779 (2003), a Norwich merchant’s eighteen-month commercial odyssey around Europe.
One of Richard’s favourite Norfolk characters was Parson James Woodforde, the diarist (1740-1803). He was a founder member of the Parson Woodforde Society, its president for seven years and a major contributor to its journal. He was also the chairman for many years of the Pasold Research Fund for textile history and actively involved in the affairs of the Economic History Society, acting as its secretary from 1986 to 1992.
A major project that showed Richard’s outstanding abilities as an editor and coordinator was a two-volume history of Norwich itself, published in 2004. It totalled almost 1,100 pages with 200 illustrations. Working with his friend and colleague Carole Rawcliffe, Richard ensured that the over thirty individual contributors delivered their chapters on time and to a high standard. By securing funding from a number of Norwich charities, he also enabled the two volumes, Medieval Norwich and Norwich since 1550, to be published at a price that allowed many copies to be bought by individual purchasers.
Richard’s hugely productive professional life was made possible by his happy personal life. He and Marian were married in 1963. They shared a talent for friendship, making their homes at Long Stratton, Hethel and finally Pulham St Mary unfailing centres of hospitality. Much of the furniture and many of the illustrations in the houses were from the eighteenth century, a period with which Richard was on intimate terms.
Richard was at his most relaxed and happy when gardening. Around each of his houses he created a carefully planned garden, with beautiful borders of flowers as well as expertly grown vegetables. He was very proud of his gardens and loved being outside, chopping things down and building bonfires, although often grumbling about weeding. His other leisure interests included bridge and racing at Newmarket, where he usually lost money while Marian often won.
Richard and Marian had three children, Isobel, Edmund and James, and four grandchildren, Emma, Mimi, Thea and Alys. Richard was always a supportive and engaged father and grandfather. His children remember holidays in old houses, many of them belonging the Landmark Trust, with innumerable visits to churches and houses—and then more churches and houses—together with looking at and buying antiques.
Richard’s final years were overshadowed by Parkinson’s Disease, though there were bright moments as well as difficult ones. He died at home with Marian at his side on 27 February 2026. The large turnout at his funeral at Pulham St Mary attested to the esteem and affection in which he was held by the great number of people whose lives he had touched for the better. He is buried amidst tall grasses and wild flowers at Hethel Church, within sight of the Red House where he and Marian had lived for many happy years.
I am grateful the following for sending me their memories of Richard Wilson: Edward Acton; Alan Mackley; Roger Munting; Carole Rawcliffe; Tom Williamson; and Edmund, Isobel, James and Marian Wilson.
To contact the author:
Martin Sheppard
