William Billers

Thorley Hall, Thorley, Hertfordshire

Sir William Billers, FRS (1689 – 15 October 1745) was an Alderman, Sheriff and Lord Mayor of London.[1]

He was born in Thorley, Hertfordshire, where the Billers family, who originated from Kirby Bellars in Leicestershire, owned Thorley Hall and manor.

He became a London haberdasher and a member of the Haberdashers' Company, to whom he donated a painting entitled "The Wise Men's Offering" which hung in Haberdashers' Hall.[2]

In 1720-21 he was elected joint Sheriff of the City of London and in 1733-34 elected Lord Mayor of London. In 1722 he became an Alderman for Cordwainer Ward.[3] In 1726 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1727.[1]

He died in 1745 and was buried in Thorley church.[4] He had married Ann, the daughter of Sir Rowland Aynsworth, by whom he had 2 sons and 4 daughters. His two sons and a daughter predeceased him. His eldest daughter Ann, who married John Olmius (later Baron Waltham) was his eventual heiress.

After his death his extensive library was sold by auction.

References

  1. 1 2 "Fellow details". Royal Society. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  2. ↑ Pugh, Edward. London, by David Hughson. p. 413.
  3. ↑ "Aldermen of the City of London: Cordwainer ward". British History Online. Retrieved 1 March 2017.
  4. ↑ The Gentleman's Magazine, Volume 110. p. 111.
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