William Billers

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

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.

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. In 1726 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society and was knighted in 1727.

He died in 1745 and was buried in Thorley church. 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.

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