Portrait of William Collier (1660-1723), seated half-length, in a red coat, writing at a desk

William Collier, a Hallkeeper of the Guild of Blanket-Weavers of Witney, Oxford, between 1716 and 1723, was a descendant of one of four families which dominated the local weaving industry from the Middle Ages. The name Collier, as a Witney blanket-maker, is first recorded in an inventory dated April 1584, referring to goods bought for Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, at Kenilworth Castle. In 1711 Queen Anne granted Witney a 'Charter of Incorporation of the Guild of Blanket-Weavers' in order to control the quality of works produced. It was William Collier's responsibility, as Hallkeeper of the Guild, to ensure the quality of all blankets made in Witney and within a twenty mile radius of the town.