Michael Fenwick Briggs (7 July 1926 – 22 July 2017) was a British businessman who led preservation work in

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

. The son of Dennis B. Briggs, of Oxford, and Grace Mary Davey Luke, Briggs was educated at

Gresham's School Gresham's School is a private school (English fee-charging boarding and day school) in Holt, Norfolk, England, one of the top thirty International Baccalaureate schools in England. The school was founded in 1555 by Sir John Gresham as a f ...

, Holt, and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, as a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

cadet. In 1953, Briggs married the author and publisher

Isabel Colegate Isabel Diana Colegate (10 September 1931 – 12 March 2023) was a British author and literary agent. Early life and education Born in Paddington in London, England, Colegate was the youngest of her parents' four daughters. Her father was Arthu ...

, and they had two sons and a daughter. A company director in the oil business, in 1961 Briggs bought and began to restore Midford Castle, a

Strawberry Hill Gothic Strawberry Hill House—often called simply Strawberry Hill—is a Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival villa that was built in Twickenham, London, by Horace Walpole (1717–1797) from 1749 onward. It is a typical example of the "#Strawb ...

country house image:Blenheim - Blenheim Palace - 20210417125239.jpg, 300px, Blenheim Palace - Oxfordshire An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a Townhou ...

near Bath. He went on to serve for twenty years as Chairman of the Bath Preservation Trust."Michael Briggs, chairman of Bath Preservation Trust – obituary"
''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', 29 July 2017, accessed 11 August 2021 Briggs owned Midford Castle for more than 45 years, making repairs, treating a former chapel as a picturesque ruin in the grounds, buying back land and buildings which had previously been sold off, and thus bringing the size of the surrounding parkland and woodland up to 59 acres. The property was advertised for sale in 2007. In 1984, Briggs’s daughter Emily Susanna married Jonathan G. Ashley.''

Debrett's People of Today Debrett's () is a British professional coaching company and publisher and authority on etiquette and behaviour, founded in 1769 with the publication of the first edition of ''The New Peerage''. The company takes its name from its founder, John ...

'' (London: Debrett's, 2006), p. 62 Briggs died on 22 July 2017, aged 91.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Briggs, Michael Fenwick 1926 births 2017 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford People educated at Gresham's School Businesspeople in the oil industry