William Webbe (died 1599) was a 16th-century English merchant and

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

. He was the son of John Webbe, a clothier of

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Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. Webbe moved to London and joined the Salters' Company, one of the livery companies of the city. He was elected alderman in 1581, then as one of the

Sheriffs of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

later the same year. He was elected mayor in 1591, succeeding Rowland Heyward. While serving as mayor, he was the subject of a dedication of one of the works of the author Richard Johnson, his " Nine Worthies of London." After his term, he served as the president of the Bridewell and Bethlehem Hospitals, from 1594 until his death. He died in 1599. Webbe was related by blood or marriage to several other important figures of the time. He was the maternal uncle of

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

, the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. Webbe married Bennet (or Benedicta) Draper, daughter of an earlier Lord Mayor of London, Sir Christopher Draper. Two of his sisters-in-law married other Lord Mayors of London, respectively, Sir Wolstan Dixie and Sir

Henry Billingsley Sir Henry Billingsley ( – 22 November 1606) was an English scholar and translator, merchant, chief Customs officer for the Port of London in the high age of late Elizabethan piracy, and moneylender, several times Master of the Worshipful Compa ...

."Transactions of the London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, Vol. 2"
p. 29.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webbe, William 16th-century lord mayors of London 1599 deaths Year of birth unknown 16th-century English merchants