Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Norton, William
NORTON, WILLIAM (1527–1593), printer and publisher, born in 1527, was son of Andrew Norton of Bristol. He was one of the original freemen of the Stationers' Company named in the charter granted by Philip and Mary in 1555, and was also one of the first six admitted into the livery of the company in 1561. His name is of frequent occurrence in the early registers of the company, a license to print being issued to him in 1561, and fines being inflicted on him for various offences against the rules, such as keeping his shop open on a Sunday. Norton resided at the King's Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard, and was a renter of the company. He served the company as collector in 1563–4, under-warden in 1569–70, upper-warden in 1573 and 1577, and master in 1580, 1586, and 1593. He was also treasurer of Christ's Hospital. The earliest book known to have been published by him is Marten's translation of Bernardus's ‘The Tranquillitie of the Minde’ (1570). Other publications of his were Geoffrey Fenton's ‘Acte of Conference in Religion’ (1571) and translation of Guicciardini's ‘Historie’ (1579); Sir F. Bryan's translation of Guevara's ‘A Looking Glasse for the Court’ (1575), two editions of Horace (1574 and 1585), and an edition of the ‘Bishops' Bible’ (1575). Norton died in London in 1593, during his tenure of the office of master of his company, and was buried in the church of St. Faith under St. Paul's Cathedral. In his will (P. C. C. 8, Dixy) he left several benefactions to the Stationers' Company, and was possessed of considerable property in Kent and Shropshire. By his wife Joan, who was probably related to William and John Bonham, two of the original freemen of the Stationers' Company, he left an only son, Bonham Norton (1565–1635), born in 1565, who was also a freeman of the Stationers' Company, and served various offices in the company, being master in 1613, 1626, and 1629. He held a patent for printing common-law books with Thomas Wright, and became the king's printer. He published a great number of books, was an alderman of London, and subsequently retired to live on his property at Church Stretton in Shropshire. He served as sheriff of Shropshire in 1611 (in which year he received a grant of arms), and married Jane, daughter of Thomas Owen of Condover, Shropshire, one of the judges of the court of common pleas. He died on 5 April 1635 and was buried in St. Faith's, near his father. His widow erected a monument to their memory there, and another to her husband in Condover Church. He left a son, Roger Norton (d. 1661), also a printer and freeman of the Stationers' Company.
John Norton (d. 1612), William Norton's nephew, was son of Richard Norton, a yeoman of Billingsley, Shropshire, and served an apprenticeship as a printer to his uncle William. He published many books from 1590 to 1612, taking over in 1593 the shop known as the Queen's Arms in St. Paul's Churchyard, which had been in the occupation of his cousin Bonham; but, although his business as a bookseller and publisher was large, he often employed other printers to print for him. One of his chief undertakings was Gerard's ‘Herbal’ in 1597. He became printer in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew to the queen, and in 1607 Sir Henry Savile commissioned him to print Greek books at Eton. Savile's edition of the Greek text of Chrysostom's works he printed and published at Eton in eight volumes between 1610 and 1612. He was master of the Stationers' Company in 1607, 1610, and 1612, and an alderman of London. He died in 1612, being buried in St. Faith's Chapel. He left 1000l. to the Stationers' Company to be invested in land, the income to be lent to poor members of the company. Lands were accordingly purchased in Wood Street, and the heavy rental is now largely applied to the maintenance of the Stationers' School.
John Norton, junior, who carried on a publishing business from 1621 to 1640, seems to have been a son of Bonham Norton.
[Ames's Typogr. Antiq. (Herbert); Arber's Transcript of the Registers of the Stationers' Company, esp. vol. v. p. lxiii–lxiv; Timperley's Encyclopædia of Printing; Dugdale's Hist. of St. Paul's Cathedral, ed. Ellis, p. 83; Blakeway's Sheriffs of Shropshire; Brown's Somersetshire Wills.]