Sir William Staines (1731 - 11 September 1807) was a builder and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

for the year 1800 to 1801. Staines began life as a bricklayer's labourer and in time accumulated a vast fortune. He became a Freeman of the Carpenter's Company. In 1783, he became a Common Councillor of Cripplegate ward of which he was Deputy from 1791 to 1793. He was elected Alderman of Cripplegate on 10 April 1793, and also became Master of the Carpenters Company from 1793 to 1794. In spite of being illiterate and a sort of butt amongst his fellow Aldermen, he was chosen as

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

for the year 1796 to 1797 and was knighted on 26 October 1796. He was Master of the Carpenters Company again for the year 1798 to 1799 and was Lord Mayor of London for the year 1800 to 1801. In 1786, Staines built nine houses Jacob's Well Passage for his aged and indigent friends. He also built Barbican Chapel, and rebuilt the "Jacob's Well" public-house, noted for dramatic representations. An account of his early life was printed in the European Magazine for November, 1807. A painting of Staines by

William Beechey Sir William Beechey (12 December 175328 January 1839) was an English portraitist during the golden age of British painting. Early life Beechey was born at Burford, Oxfordshire, on 12 December 1753, the son of William Beechey, a solicitor, an ...

hangs in the

Guildhall Art Gallery The Guildhall Art Gallery houses the art collection of the City of London, England. The museum is located in the Moorgate area of the City of London. It is a stone building in a semi-Gothic style intended to be sympathetic to the historic Guild ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staines, William 1731 births 1807 deaths 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians 18th-century lord mayors of London 18th-century English politicians