William Salt

Who was William Salt?

William Salt was a British banker in London, England, and a genealogist and antiquary in whose memory the William Salt Library in Stafford was founded.

His father, John Stevenson Salt, married Sarah Stevenson, the granddaughter of John Stevenson, founder in 1737 of a banking company in Stafford. The firm, Stevenson Salt & Co, had opened in Cheapside, London, in 1788 and in 1867 merged with Bosanquet & Co and later with Lloyds Banking Company.

William was an avid collector of topographical and genealogical books and records, particularly those relating to Staffordshire. After his death his extensive collection was catalogued and donated to the County of Stafford, which financed the opening in 1872 of the William Salt Library in Market Square, Stafford.

His nephew was Sir Thomas Salt Bt. of Sandon, near Eccleshall, Staffordshire.