Michael Richards (1673–1721) was an Irish

military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics b ...

who rose to become Chief Engineer of Great Britain and

Surveyor-General of the Ordnance The Surveyor-General of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the Board of Ordnance, a British government body, from its constitution in 1597. Appointments to the post were made by the crown under Le ...

. He was the son of Jacob Richards, also a leading military engineer, and the grandson of Solomon Richards. The family were Irish Protestants who owned land in

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí Ceinns ...

. His elder brothers

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

and John Richards both pursued military careers. Woolwich Royal Arsenal, Royal Brass Foundary

He was commissioned in 1692 (although he may have seen earlier service in the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland (1688–1691; ga, Cogadh an Dá Rí, "war of the two kings"), was a conflict between Jacobite supporters of deposed monarch James II and Williamite supporters of his successor, William III. It is also called th ...

) and served in

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

in the

Nine Years War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

. He accompanied an expedition to

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

in 1697. He played a role in rebuilding the town of St. John's which had been destroyed in a French attack. In 1711, he was appointed as Chief Engineer of Great Britain, a position that had gone unfilled since the death of Sir

Martin Beckman Sir Martin Beckman (1634/35–1702) was a draughtsman/painter, Swedish-English colonel, chief engineer and master gunner of England. Life Beckman was born in Stockholm, the son of Melcher Beckman and his wife Chistiana van Benningen. He left ...

in 1702.Ostwald, p. 157. On the reappointment of

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, as

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

in 1714, his protégé Richards was made

. Richards moved to Charlton Grove, a hilltop house in Charlton, with a view to the

Royal Arsenal The Royal Arsenal, Woolwich is an establishment on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England, that was used for the manufacture of armaments and ammunition, proofing, and explosives research for the Britis ...

Woolwich Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...

. Here, he oversaw the building of the Royal Brass Foundry (1716–17). This

Grade I listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

building has been attributed to both

Sir John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restorati ...

and

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

, but may have been designed by Richards himself.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 135-137. Richards retired from the Army with the rank of

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. His marble tomb with an effigy in full armour is in St Luke's Church in Charlton.

References

Bibliography

* (2005): ''Follow the Sapper: An Illustrated History of the Corps of Royal Engineers''. Institution of Royal Engineers. * (2007): ''Vauban Under Siege: Engineering Efficiency and Martial Vigor in the War of the Spanish Succession''. BRILL. * (2012): ''Woolwich - Survey of London, Volume 48'', Yale Books, London.
online text
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Michael 17th-century Irish people 18th-century Irish people Irish soldiers 1673 births 1721 deaths Irish engineers British Army generals British military personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession