Diderich Beckman - Our Incomparable Engineer

Our Incomparable Engineer is the biography of Diderich Beckman, the Swedish military engineer who played a significant role in the defence of Royalist strongholds during the English Civil War.

Drawing on extensive research in Swedish and English archives, it examines the disputed origins of Oxford’s defences, traditionally attributed to Bernard de Gomme and others, and Beckman’s work at Hillesden House and Malmesbury.

Oxford, the Royalist capital and its most important stronghold, twice resisted Parliamentarian threats before finally being closely besieged in 1646. The defence and fall of Hillesden House to Oliver Cromwell has long been debated, while strategically important Malmesbury was besieged and captured four times. Before its final siege, Beckman was sent to strengthen the town’s defences, but Colonel Edward Massey captured it before the work could be completed.

Our Incomparable Engineer offers a fresh perspective on a little-known military engineer and the fortifications of the English Civil War.