General John Richmond Webb

John Richmond Webb was born in Wiltshire on 26 Dec 1667. He was the son of Colonel Edmund Richmond Webb, a Wiltshire gentleman. John was commissioned into a regiment of Dragoons and accompanied Patrick Sarsfield when he took the dragoons, loyal to King James, to confront approaching Dutch troops at Wincanton. In the ensuing skirmish John Webb was badly injured and had to remain in Wincanton after Sarsfield retreated following a false report of a large number of Dutch reinforcements.
The Wincanton Skirmish, along with the battle of Reading were the only incidents of serious fighting in the Glorious (bloodless) Revolution. Webb soon proved his loyalty to the new King William and pursued a political career as a Tory MP. In 1695 he was appointed Colonel of the Princess Anne of Denmark’s Regiment. In September 1697 he was seriously injured in a duel. He was staunchly anti-Jacobite and pro-Hanoverian. He joined Marlborough’s campaign in the Low Countries, fighting at Blenheim, Ramillies, Oudenarde and especially Wijnendale where Webb distinguished himself. But Marlborough supported the Whigs so was reluctant to give any credit to a Tory. At the battle of Malplaquet, Webb was severely wounded, putting an end to his days of active service.
He returned to England and was appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight. His position allowed him to select himself as Parliamentary candidate for Newport. In 1712 he was promoted to General and put in command of land forces in Great Britain. However, when George I acceded to the throne, Webb, along with other Tories, lost his position as Governor, which makes it all the more remarkable that he was a staunch Hanoverian. He retired to the family seat at Biddesden House, Ludgershall in Wiltshire. He had been rebuilding the manor house in 1711-12.
General Webb was married to Henrietta Borlase in February 1690, a marriage that brought him wealth enough to carry out his purchase and rebuilding of Biddesden House. They had at least two sons but the estates were left to the second son, Borlase Richmond Webb. Henrietta died in June 1711 and Webb remarried, having at least one more son, John Richmond Webb, a lawyer. General Webb died on 5 September 1724.

Regimental Details | Colonels