William Humfrey
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William Humfrey (also Humphrey or Humphreys) (d 1579) was a goldsmith and Assay Master to Queen Elizabeth I of England.
He had a patent from the Queen for the mining of various ores and the extraction of metals from their ores. These rights were trasnferred to the Company of Mineral and Battery Works in which he was a leading shareholder. In 1569 he built one of the earliest lead smelting mills using white coal in England at Beauchief.