William Thomas

William Thomas (1670–1738) was an English clergyman and antiquary. He was educated at Westminster School and Trinity College, Cambridge, from which he received two degrees. Through the influence of distant relation John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, he was granted the living of Exhall in Warwickshire and later became rector of St Nicholas in Worcester. Thomas received two further degrees in divinity in the 1720s, including a doctorate. As part of his work as an antiquary Thomas visited every church in Worcestershire and transcribed many documents, including the now lost Red Book of Worcester.

Life Thomas was born in 1670, the only son of John Thomas and his wife Mary (née Bagnal). He was the grandson of the Welsh bishop of Worcester William Thomas (1613–1689). From 1685 Thomas attended Westminster School. He was elected to a scholarship at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 25 June 1688. Whilst at the college Thomas contributed verses to the collection of poetry published by the university on the birth of James Francis Edward Stuart, who briefly became Prince of Wales. Thomas graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in 1691 and received a master of arts degree in 1695. He was a Fellow of Trinity College from 1694.

In 1700 Thomas travelled to France and Italy where he became a close friend of Sir John Pakington, 4th Baronet. After his return he was granted the living of Exhall in Warwickshire through the influence of John Somers, 1st Baron Somers, a distant relation. Thomas maintained a considerable estate at Atherstone and another near Toddington, Gloucestershire. He was married to Elizabeth Carter of Brill, Buckinghamshire. In 1721 he moved to Worcester, where he also sent his children for education. Thomas aspired to writing a history of Worcestershire and in furtherance of this goal transcribed many old documents and visited every church in the county. The original manuscript of the Red Book has since been lost.

Legacy Thomas's collection of documents was used by Treadway Russell Nash in writing his history of Worcestershire. A copy of Thomas's A Survey of the Cathedral Church of Worcester is held in the Royal Collection, possibly having been acquired by William IV.