Person    | Male  Born 10/8/1856  Died 4/3/1915

William Willett

Categories: Property, Social Welfare

Property developer. Born Farnham. Died at home in Chislehurst. Conceived the idea of Daylight Saving in 1905 and lobbied for it until his death. It was taken up by Parliament but failed to become law, until the need to save coal during WW1 made it necessary.

Royal Museums Greenwich produced the document ‘Walking the Willett Way’ to accompany their exhibition on British Summer Time: “William Willett, together with his father (also William, 1837–1913) were house-builders by trade, and were responsible for developing several streets of high-class houses near Sloane Square for the landowner, the Earl of Cadogan. The Willetts carried out a wholesale redevelopment of the area in the 1880s and 1890s. . . . Above number 7 Lower Sloane Street, now the Head Office of Hamptons, you can see the original ‘Willett’ sign on the stone fascia, and inside Hamptons, if you ask nicely, you may be able to see an original 1920s bronze portrait bust of William Willett, lent by Colchester Museums.“

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
William Willett

Commemorated ati

William Willett - W3

Hamptons International, the estate agents, occupy William Willett’s former es...

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Other Subjects

Clissold Park and House

Clissold Park and House

Built as Paradise House, or Newington Park House, in the late 1700s for Jonathan Hoare. William Crawshay (1764 – 1834) bought it in 1811. He objected to his daughter's choice of a husband so it was...

Place, Gardens / Agriculture, Property

2 memorials
Craft Court

Craft Court

Small apartment block in Cambridge Grove, Hammersmith, named for William and Ellen Craft. The ground floor being occupied by the Shepherds Bush Housing Group.

Group, Property

1 memorial
James Edmondson

James Edmondson

Builder. Born in Clerkenwell, the son of a carpenter, Isaac, from Cumberland. His first major development was the streets around Sotheby Road in Highbury and he went on to develop areas of Crouch E...

Person, Property

1 memorial
York Watergate

York Watergate

See Norwich Place/York House for more about the history of this site.  In 1874 the construction of Embankment Gardens left this watergate high and dry. In 1893, the watergate having fallen into de...

Building, Property

3 memorials