BINGLEY, William ‹ LBT 02835 ›
Male
Will
| Will (Ref., Piece, Image) | Will Dates | Intestate | Probate Dates | Administration Dates | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A William Bingley, Bookseller of Red Lion Passage Fleet Street, City of London = PROB 11/1331; 31 Oct 1799. |
Livery Companies
| Company | Source |
|---|---|
| Musicians' Company |
SOURCES & TRANSCRIPTIONS
Transcriptions
Bookseller; Publisher
Plomer, H.R. &c. (1932), pp.25-6
BINGLEY (WILLIAM), bookseller and publisher in London, (1) opposite Durham Yard, in the Strand; (2) 34 Newgate Street. 1767-99. Born in New Romney, co. Kent. In 1767 his name is found in the imprint of a Quaker tract by J. Phipps entitled, Observations on a Late Anonymous Publication .... In Vindication of Robert Barclay. Publisher of No. 47 of the North Briton, May 10th, 1768. Was committed to Newgate, where he remained for seventy-two days, for refusing to answer interrogations upon oath, which he declared he never would, without torture. Was afterwards transferred to the King's Bench Prison for debt. No. 117 of the North Briton bears the imprint "by W. Bingley a prisoner in the King's Bench and sold at his shop, No. 34, Newgate St."
In 1770 he reprinted A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston. Became bankrupt in 1771. Afterwards went to Ireland, where he set up as a bookseller. Returned to England in 1783, and was given employment by John Nichols { NICHOLS, John (1745 - 1826) ‹ LBT 16571 › }, the printer, who in his Literary Anecdotes [III. 631-4.] speaks of him as a man of "strong understanding, though not much assisted by literature; and was of the strictest integrity: but unfortunately possessed an habitual irritability of temper, which proved a perpetual discomfort".
He wrote a long account of his own sufferings under the title of A Sketch of English Liberty, to which was prefixed a portrait of the author. He died October 23rd, 1799, aged 61, and was buried in St. Bride's, Fleet Street, with the following inscription:
- Cold is that heart that beat in Freedom's cause,
- The steady advocate of all her laws.
- Unmoved by threats or bribes his race he ran,
- And lived and died the Patriot ! - the Man.
He was twice married, but left no sons.