[1] Dunk lived at Tongs in Hawkhurst, Kent, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, and was from a family of 'great clothiers'.
His family's wealth derived from centuries of textile production and diversification into ironmaking.
[2] The forests of Hawkshurst provided wood for smelting iron from local sandstone.
William's daughter Anne née Richards (1726–1753) - by his wife Ann née Davis (1704–1727), eldest daughter of John and Elizabeth Davis of Hawkhurst, Kent - married, in 1741, George Montagu, 2nd Earl of Halifax who took the name Dunk and became George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax.
[2] Dunk's former manor, known as Tongswood, was eventually purchased in 1945 and placed in trust in 1958 for use by Saint Ronan's School.