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William Taylor was an apothecary in the parish of St Mary-the-Virgin. He and his wife Elizabeth had at least four children:

• Elizabeth Taylor
• Mary Taylor
• Philip Taylor (baptised at St Mary-the-Virgin Church on 24 February 1662/3)
• Constance Taylor (baptised at St Mary-the-Virgin Church on 24 July 1666)

He appears to have been a friend of the diarist Anthony Wood, as Wood (i.428) describes how he spent time at the Crown Tavern in Oxford with “Mr Taylor the apothecary”, Richard Day, and John Barret.

In 1665 William Taylor paid tax on eight windows in St Mary-the-Virgin parish.

Anthony Wood (ii.474) tells how in December 1679 Taylor stood for the position of yeoman bedel of physic and arts of St Mary-the-Virgin Church, and came third with 45 votes.

On 26 February 1682 Wood (iii.7) records that Nathaniel Whateley the apothecary was married by Baptist Levinz in Magdalen College Chapel to “Mr Taylor’s daughter”, and the marriage register of St Mary-the-Virgin Church duly records a marriage on that date of Nathaniel Wheatley to Elizabeth Taylor.

On 27 March 1699 his son Philip died at the age of 36 and was buried inside St Mary-the-Virgin Church, where this diamond tile in his memory is set in the floor.

 

Six months later on 30 September 1699 William Taylor himself died at the age of 77, and was buried inside St Mary-the-Virgin Church, where there is a partially obscured white diamond floor tile inscribed as follows (repeating the information on the above tile about his son):

Here
lyeth y^e body
of William TAYLOUR
who dyed y^e 30^th of Sept^m. 1699
aged 77 years
[and of] Phillip TAYLOUR
---- who dyed y^e
--- of March 1698/9
aged 36

Taylor’s unmarried daughter Mary was buried at St Mary-the-Virgin Church on 15 April 1701. His married daughter, Mrs  Constance Almont, died on 23 May 1708, and has the following diamond floor tile there:

Taylor’s widow Elizabeth was buried inside St Mary-the-Virgin Church on 21 February 1711/12, and another diamond floor tile reads:

Here
lyeth ye Body
of Elizabeth the
[wife] [of] William TAYLOUR
Who dy[e]d [February [ye] 17
17[11]
Age[d] [---]]