Professor Richard G. Wilson, BA, PhD, FRHistS
1938-2026
Obituary
Richard was a proud Yorkshireman and never forgot his northern roots. In his youth he had shown people around Castle Howard as an official guide and in later life he expanded this skill into leading tours of country houses, especially in the Midlands and North, for the Art Fund. From school he proceeded to the University of Leeds where he graduated in History and then did research on the merchant community of that city. His doctoral thesis was the basis of his first book, entitled Gentlemen Merchants: the merchant community in Leeds 1700-1830, published in 1971. By then he had been teaching at University of East Anglia for five years, initially in the School of Economic and Social Studies, later transferring to the newly-formed Department and later School of History. Further books followed: Greene King – a Business and Family History (1983); with T. R. Gourvish, The British Brewing Industry, 1830-1980 (1994); and, with Alan Mackley, Creating Paradise: the building of the English country house, 1660-1880 (2000). There were also numerous reviews, articles and essays, including 21 entries in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, and Richard became a prolific editor. For the Norfolk Record Society he contributed ‘The Autobiography of Elizabeth Oakley (1831-1900)’ to a Miscellany volume in 1991, and co-edited The Great Tour of John Patteson, 1778-1779, in 2003. He was co-editor of two collections of essays in tribute to other historians: Counties and Communities, Essays in East Anglian History presented to Hassell Smith (1996); and East Anglia’s History, Studies in Honour of Norman Scarfe (2002). Two substantial volumes on the history of Norwich followed, co-edited with his friend and colleague Carole Rawcliffe: Medieval Norwich and Norwich since 1550 (2004).
As well as being a first-rate historian and teacher, both respected and loved by generations of students, Richard turned his hand successfully to administration, succeeding Hassell Smith as director of the re-vamped Centre of East Anglian Studies in the 1990s,and continuing the already well-established tradition of promoting local and regional history, while enhancing the university’s regional and national reputation, during the Centre’s ‘glory years’. There were varied and stimulating research seminars, spring lectures for a wider audience, outings to places of historic interest in both Norfolk and Suffolk, and the even more memorable (almost notorious) Christmas parties for the Centre’s members and associates, initially held in Earlham Hall and then successfully transferred to the ‘new’ premises on the University Plain. Under his leadership, the Centre published a number of books and pamphlets, most notably Studies in East Anglian History, designed to showcase the best recent scholarship. Richard’s academic expertise and no-nonsense approach to bureaucracy ideally qualified him to serve as an early chair of the School of History’s Research Committee, in which capacity he laid secure and lasting foundations for the School’s achievements in successive Research Assessment Exercises.
Richard joined the council of the Norfolk Record Society as modern editor in 1992 and combined this demanding position with the chairmanship of the council in 2001, continuing in both roles until 2007. He finally retired as chairman in 2012 but remained an ‘ordinary’ member of council until elevated to a vice presidency in 2022. He conducted and led our affairs with characteristic good humour as well as unfussy efficiency. His dry wit enlivened many a council meeting, but business was always transacted with despatch and sensitivity. He brought the same qualities to the Pasold Research Fund (for Textile History), where he served as governor and chairman for many years. Richard will be sorely missed by colleagues and friends as well as by his loving family.
The Council of the Norfolk Record Society extends its sincere condolences to his family.
Link to the notice, which appeared in The Eastern Daily Press (EDP) on 11 March 2026