Portrait of William Shakespeare (1752-1799), seated three-quarter-length, in a black coat, holding the architectural drawings of a charity school

William Shakespeare Esq., Merchant of London, was a collateral descendant of the poet. He was born in 1726 and married Jane Barber of Barston Hall, Warwickshire. He built and endowed the Charity School of St. Giles and St. George, Bloomsbury. 'No man more adorned the sphere of life in which he placed than he. It was his supreme happiness to distribute a large part of his income to the poor and friendless' Obituary notice in the Gentleman's Magazine, January 1799.