Medal, Christ's Hospital: The Richards Prize struck in gold by Benj Wyon, with head of George Richards to obverse and arms of Christ's hospital to reverse, inscribed to rim Russell Meiggs 1921, 4cm in diameter, in a fitted box, approximately 48.6g

Russell Meiggs was awarded this medal, known as the Richards Gold Medal, in 1921 for Latin Hexameter verse. Thence by descent to the current owner

Russell Meiggs (1902-1989) was a British historian. He did extensive research on the Roman port city of Ostia. Meiggs was Fellow and Tutor in Ancient History at Balliol College, Oxford, from 1939 to 1970. Meiggs was additionally a friend of both C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien and was instrumental in encouraging the publication of The Hobbit.