B. (Benjamin) Richings

Benjamin Richings was a 19th-century English clergyman and writer, usually listed as Benjamin Richings (1788?–1872). He is chiefly remembered for books centered on epitaphs, memorial inscriptions, and the customs surrounding death and burial.

His best-known works include A General Volume of Epitaphs, Original and Selected (1840) and the later Voices from the Tombs; Or, Epitaphs, Original and Selected (1858), which expanded that interest into a broader collection of inscriptions, scriptural passages, and commentary. These books suggest a writer drawn to the moral and emotional force of memorial language, and to the ways ordinary lives were remembered in stone.

Very little biographical detail is easy to confirm beyond his dates and authorship, so he remains a somewhat shadowy figure. Even so, his work offers a clear window into Victorian attitudes toward memory, mourning, and the lasting power of a few carefully chosen words.