Sir William Baker

Sir Wm. Baker (knighted November 3, 1760);

Married the eldest daughter of Jacob Tonson, who was the nephew of the celebrated Jacob Tonson, the Bookseller and friend of Dryden.

A country gentleman, and Alderman of Bassishaw Ward, (a London Ward), owned a considerable estate (park and house built between 1758 and 1762) in the county of Hertford at Beyford Bury, (or Bayfordbury).

Sir William Baker had a considerable patrimonial estate in the county of Hertford, built the house of Beyford surrounded by a park between 1758 and 1762.

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[Source : Archaeological Studies on the Two Manors of Ponsbourne & Newgate Street in ...

By James William Carlile]

BAYFORDBURY. The history of Bayfordbury is exactly 150 years old, and therefore, although not strictly archaeological, we may claim that it has in it a flavour of antiquity. In the year 1757 Mr. William Baker purchased the estate and manor of Bayford from the two co-heiresses of Mr. Charles Caesar, of Bennington, and two years afterwards he laid the foundation of the house, which was not completed till 1762.

Mr. William Baker was the eldest son of John Baker, a citizen of Basinghall Street, in the City of London, whose portrait in a long flowing wig, painted perhaps by Kneller, hangs in the library.

William Baker was for above thirty years an Alderman of the City, and for twenty years was Member of Parliament for the Borough of Plymton. He played a conspicuous part in the political events of the period.

Horace Walpole, in his "Memoirs of the Reign of George III," says that he was the only citizen of note and fortune who countenanced the pretensions of Wilkes.

A few years ago a paper was discovered folded up in the pocket of an old writing-case, but no other letters or papers with it. This paper contains a Commission from the Lieutenants of the City of London to William Baker, alderman, dated November 21st, 1745, to the command of a regiment of the trained bands of London.

London was at that, time in considerable alarm on account of the invasion of England by Prince Charles Edward. On the very same day when this Commission was issued, Charles Edward marched out of Carlisle with his little army of 4,000 Highlanders, but he never proceeded further south than Derby, and the citizens of London were happily spared the necessity of fighting in defence of their homes.

On the accession of George III in 1760 William Baker was chosen to present an address from the Commissioners of Lieutenancy for the City. On this occasion he showed his modesty and disregard for earthly honours and distinction, for when the Duke of Newcastle in his vulgar way pressed him to "accept a title and be a baronet," he steadily refused, but when it was shown to him that if might give offence to the young King, he reluctantly yielded thus far, saying "that he would not be a baronet, he would have merely a knighthood, for that confined the folly to himself, and entailed no ridicule on his descendants." Sir William Baker married Mary, the daughter and eventually the heiress of Mr. Jacob Tonson, nephew of the eminent bookseller and publisher of that name, through whom the Kit-Cat portraits, together with the landed estates of the Tonsons, came into the possession of the family. Bayfordbury in the eighteenth century must have been a very different looking house to what it is now. It consisted of a large centre of three stories and basement and two wings all built of red brick. The north wing contained the kitchen and offices, and the south wing the stables, with open intervening courts and areas. The approach to the front door was, as now, up a broad llight of steps to the pillared portico, and there was a broad gravel terrace at the back. The ten large cedars of Lebanon, Ave on one side of the house and five on the other, were produced from cones of the large tree at Enfield Palace, having been raised by the Rev. Mr. Uvedale, son of the Dr. Uvedale by whom they were planted. These ten cedars were planted on the spot they now occupy in 1765, being then about nine years old.

The house continued in its original state for about fifty years. Sir William Baker died at Bath in 1770, and was there buried.

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• Burke, Bernard, Sir. A genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry of Great Britain & Ireland 6th ed. London : Harrison 1879. Vol I. page 67