William Fuller (1705–1800) was an English

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

, at his death reputed to be one of the richest people in the country.

Early life

Born in

Abingdon-on-Thames Abingdon-on-Thames ( ), commonly known as Abingdon, is a historic market town and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England, on the River Thames. Historic counties of England, Historically the ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

), Fuller went to London at age 14, as apprentice to a writing master. He went into business on his own, in that trade, in

Fenchurch Street Fenchurch Street is a street in London linking Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street in the west. It is a well-known thoroughfare in the City of London financial district and is the site of many corporate office ...

; and then set up a writing school in

Lothbury Lothbury is a short street in the City of London. It runs east–west with traffic flow in both directions, from Gresham Street's junction with Moorgate to the west, and Bartholomew Lane's junction with Throgmorton Street to the east. History ...

. He had his son trained in accounts, and placed in a bank; he then joined his son in banking.

Banker

The London bank William Fuller & Son was founded "at the sign of the Artichoke", later 24 Lombard Street, around 1769. At the end of the century the firm's style was Fuller & Chatteris. It eventually failed in 1841, when it was known as Whitmore, Wells and Whitmore.

Religious views and charitable activities

Fuller was in the congregation of Samuel Pike, who became a

Sandemanian The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 1725 ...

. Fuller, however, opposed the influence of Robert Sandeman, and campaigned against it, in a 1759 pamphlet ''Reflections on an Epistolary Correspondence between S.P. and R.S.''. Controversy ensued, but Pike was expelled by his congregation. By the end of his life, Fuller was considered a rigid

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

. Fuller donated an estimated £60,000 to numerous causes, over the course of his life, in particular giving support to

nonconformism Nonconformity or nonconformism may refer to: Culture and society * Insubordination, the act of willfully disobeying an order of one's superior *Dissent, a sentiment or philosophy of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or entity ** ...

.''Wales and the Congregational Fund Board: "A beauty-spot of ecclesiastical history"'', Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion (1978), p. 164
/ref> He was involved in the

King's Head Society The King's Head Society was an 18th-century organisation funding dissenting academies in England. The King's Head Society was a group of laymen named after the pub behind the Royal Exchange at which they met. From 1730 they worked to promote Calv ...

, and by eight annual major donations sustained the Congregational Fund Board. One beneficiary was a

dissenting academy The dissenting academies were schools, colleges and seminaries (often institutions with aspects of all three) run by English Dissenters, that is, those who did not conform to the Church of England. They formed a significant part of England's edu ...

Heckmondwike Heckmondwike is a town in the metropolitan borough of Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England, south west of Leeds. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is close to Cleckheaton and Liversedge. It is mostly in the Batley and Spen pa ...

. Fuller founded six almshouses in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. As a part of Shoreditch, it is often considered to be part of the East End – the historic core of wider East London. It was historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. I ...

in 1794, and six more just before his death.

Family and legacy

Fuller married Bethia Wellingham from

St Paul's Walden St Paul's Walden is a village about south of Hitchin in Hertfordshire, England. The civil parish of St Paul's Walden also includes the village of Whitwell and the hamlet of Bendish. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish was 1,29 ...

in 1734, before his move to Lothbury. At his death in March 1800, he left £600,000. His son Thomas had died a bachelor in 1796 and his youngest daughter Esther, wife of Joshua Ellis, in January 1800. In 1803 his second daughter Mary died, followed by the eldest Sarah in 1810, neither having married. His whole fortune then passed to his only grandchild Bethia Ellis (1781–1865), who in December 1800 had married

Ebenezer Maitland Ebenezer Fuller Maitland FRS (23 April 1780 – 1 November 1858) was an English landowner and politician. Origins Maitland was the only son of Ebenezer Maitland (1752-1834), a London businessman and Bank of England director, and his wife Mary, d ...

. Fuller's brother Richard Fuller was also a banker, at 84 Cornhill, London. His sister Martha (1718–1805) married the stationer George Flower, and was mother of Richard Flower and

Benjamin Flower Benjamin Flower (1755 – 17 February 1829) was an English radical journalist and political writer, and a vocal opponent of his country's involvement in the early stages of the Napoleonic Wars. Early life He was born in London, the son of a pro ...

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuller, William 1705 births 1800 deaths English bankers English Calvinist and Reformed Christians People from Abingdon-on-Thames