William Webster (May 1819 – 1 February 1888) was a British builder who worked with architects and engineers such as Gilbert Scott and Joseph Bazalgette and is especially associated with several embankments of the River Thames.[1]
Born in the small Lincolnshire village of Wyberton in 1819, Webster apprenticed to the Boston, Lincolnshire builder Mr. Jackson. Immediately following his apprenticeship, Webster became a builder in Wyberton and was initially involved in the refurbishment and renovation of a number of churches in Lincolnshire (working with Sir Gilbert Scott on Algakirk church) and the surrounding counties as well the building of Boston's Exchange Building.
Webster died at his residence, Wyberton House (built, probably to his own design, by his firm and completed in 1869),[8] in Lee, London on 1 February 1888, and was interred at St Margaret's, Lee.
Legacy
After Webster's death, his firm was continued for some years by his son, also called William,[9] a chemical engineer. Some sources suggest the company's work included construction of Blackheath Halls[10] though this may reflect his son's involvement in funding the project, as other sources attribute the construction to a J.O. Richardson of Peckham.[11]
