William Wilson

Sir William Wilson (1641 – 3 June 1710) was an English architect, builder and sculptor.

Biography Early life Born in 1641 in Leicester, he was the son of a baker. In his early life, it is believed that he served an apprenticeship with a statuary mason. It is also claimed that he studied under Sir Christopher Wren at the University of Oxford where he learned to become an architect. He moved to work in Sutton Coldfield in the historic county of Warwickshire after studying.

His first work was Peddimore Hall in Sutton Coldfield. William Wood commissioned Wilson to design the house which was completed in 1659. Wilson was then appointed to carve a statue of King Charles II for the west front of Lichfield Cathedral in 1669. In 1689, Wilson worked at Nottingham Castle to carve an equestrian statue of William, Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Here the couple lived after its completion in 1680. As a result of her influence in the courts, she secured a knighthood for him in 1681, and shortly after, married him.

In 1693, Wilson was commissioned to design and build Sir John Moore's Grammar School in Appleby Parva, Leicestershire.

He died on 3 June 1710, after his wife had died. He requested that he be buried in the Pudsey vault, alongside his wife, however, this caused controversy and, as a result, he bought a plot of land adjacent to the vault for his burial place. After his death, the church built a vestry over his grave so that his grave was inside the church.