Born and bred in Bristol, and now living in Clevedon, Richard holds two degrees in Ancient History as well as a Diploma in History of Art. He was Head of History at Bristol Cathedral School for many years, and has also taught at the University of Bristol in the Department of Archaeology, as well as a number of specialist units for teenagers who do not fit in to mainstream education. He now runs adult education classes and local history guided walks. He is a long-standing Senior Examiner for OCR writing GCSE and A-level exams.