Quick Facts
Biography
William Minet (1851–1933) was a British landowner and philanthropist, of Hugenot descent.
Early life
He was the son of James Lewis Minet (1807–1885) and Elizabeth Iggulden, and a descendant of Isaac Minet (1660–1745), a Huguenot, who left France after Revocation of the Edict of Nantes to settle in London, and his grandson Hughes Minet (1731–1813).
Career
Minet donated the 14 acres that became London's Myatt's Fields Park in 1890.
In 1889 Minet became a founding member of the Huguenot Society and served as President from 1905–1908. His collection of archive records relating to the Huguenot community part of the Huguenot Society Library at University College London.
Minet paid for the construction of the Minet Library, which was built in 1890, and now houses the archives of the Lambeth Archives.
In 1900, he bought Hadham Hall in Essex (later sold, in 1948).
Personal life
His first wife was Alice Evans (1856–1887), the eldest daughter of Sir John Evans, the archaeologist and geologist.
They had a daughter Susan (1884–1976), who inherited the family properties in Hayes and Camberwell, and the estate was administered from the Minet Estate Office in Brixton. On her death, the properties were inherited by a distant cousin, Peter Briffault Minet, and since his death died in 1992, the remaining properties have been run by a charitable trust, the Minet Trust.
His second wife was Mary Rayner.