William Isaac Palmer (1824–1893) was a member of the Palmer family, proprietors of the

Huntley & Palmers Huntley & Palmers is a British company of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. Formed by Joseph Huntley in 1822, the company became one of the world's first global brands (chiefly led by George Palmer (businessman), George Palme ...

biscuit manufacturers of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He was the brother of George Palmer, the first of the Palmer family to be involved in the firm, and became a partner in the firm on Thomas Huntley's death in 1857. In 1875 William Isaac Palmer personally funded the setting up and running of a Free Library in Reading's West Street, an establishment that was to become the forerunner of the Reading Public Library. In 1876, he purchased

Hoxton Hall Hoxton Hall is a performance arts theatre and community centre in the Hoxton area of Shoreditch, at 130 Hoxton Street, in the London Borough of Hackney. A grade II* listed building, the theatre was first built as a music hall in 1863, as MacDon ...

, in

Hoxton Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, England. It was Historic counties of England, historically in the county of Middlesex until 1889. Hoxton lies north-east of the City of London, is considered to be a part of London's East End ...

, Hackney (a former

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Varie ...

), on behalf of the "Blue Ribbon Gospel Temperance Mission". Palmer spent much of his fortune on charity, and on his death, his brothers were forced to make good his many promises of donations.

References

*. Reading History Trail.
Huntley and Palmers
'. Retrieved January 30, 2006. w 1824 births 1893 deaths People from Reading, Berkshire People from Somerset William Isaac 19th-century British businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1820s-stub