William Atherton (c.1705-5 August 1745), of Greenbank and Pendleton Hall, was a Preston Guild merchant and landowner. He was twice elected as Mayor of Preston; once in 1732, and again in 1738. A silk mercer by trade, he became a successful Lancashire guild merchant, woollen draper, and was an influential figure in Preston's business community, which was focused on textile manufacturing and commerce.
Life
His wealth was derived from the profits of trade including slavery, initially from operations from the port of Preston, and then from the port of Liverpool, where his elder brother John relocated to in 1716, in order to open up new investment opportunities. Whilst only in his early twenties, Atherton had already executed a quadripartite agreement between commercial parties by the sum of £1,918 to one party, with Atherton and his two partners granting £635 to another. This trade agreement signed on 2 February 1726 involved parties located in Wigan, London, Liverpool and Charleston, South Carolina. Two years later he was leasing property from Sir Henry Hoghton, 5th Baronet. It is possible that Atherton shared similar dissenting religious views against the Jacobite rebellions as Houghton, as well as his peers, the borough-reeve.
His father, John Atherton of Preston, was a successful and wealthy woollen draper Both his paternal and maternal ancestors originated from Chipping, Lancashire. His father had served as Guild Mayor of Preston in 1696 and 1704. His father married Catherine White in 1704 whilst Mayor of Preston.
In 1724 he was seeking political debate in Parliament on the purchase large tracks of land in the Lancashire. He acquired additional land seeking to enlarge his estate by entering an agreement to purchase land from Edward Stanley, 11th Earl of Derby
Atherton held various public roles in Preston and served as town bailiff in 1724, becoming a councilman in 1728. In 1731 he was elected as the Alderman of the Borough, a position he held up right until his death. Gaining position in society, as well as the trust of the other influential local merchantmen, he was elected to serve as Mayor of Preston from 1732 to 1733, and 1738 to 1739, which involved hosting charitable events as well as considerable entertaining of visiting dignitaries. Guild spectacles were well attended, however the larger ceremonies took place on a 20-year cycle, which involved leading more ostentatious pageants and marches, over a 30-day period. Atherton's period in office coincided with the final surge of Jacobism leading up to the rise of 1745. Outside of ceremonial events as mayor in 1738, he is recorded to have administered the "Henry and Eleanor Rishton Charity" with the sole aim of the education and betterment of the poor people of Preston. He was also a trustee of that same charity in a private capacity. Records show that he was an active Steward of the Guild during the ceremonies of 1742. He appears in an illustrated copy of The Guild Merchant of Preston in 1743.
The portrait of William Atherton and his wife Lucy
Preston at this time was a fine town with handsome buildings, far better presented than most provincial towns, with an abundance of merchants and gentry. Atherton was a close friend and political associate of Anthony Devis, a Jacobite sympathiser, and the father of Arthur Devis. With the purpose of enhancing his social standing even further, Atherton commissioned the artist to paint him and his wife Lucy in 1744, who he married in 1730. The painting itself provides an indication Atherton's wealth and taste. Whilst his wife is seated in a white satin dress, he is standing at a safe distance from her, wearing a brown coat and a white silk waistcoat and watched over by the family dog. Preston historians such as Aidan Turner-Bishop have questioned the display of affluence of a provincial merchant, who became involved in the Triangular trade at a young age, citing it as the likely source of his wealth.
This portrait of Atherton and his wife Lucy was painted a year before his death. His patronage would have certainly helped Arthur Devis career. His wife was painted by the same artist as an older lady. This union blessed them with 5 children.
His sibling, the Reverend Richard Atherton sat for the artist, Edward Haytley, with historians citing reference to his brother, who at the time of the sitting was Mayor of Preston.