William Blackall Simonds (1761–1834) was a brewer and banker in the English town of Reading.
The riverside site permitted transport of raw materials and finished product by barge, and was to continue to serve as a brewery until 1980.
However this proved difficult, largely because local magistrates refused to issue licences for new public houses to sell his beer.
He retired to London and then to Pangbourne, where he died on 13 January 1834[1] and was buried in the family plot in Hurst churchyard.
It was finally sold in 1913 to Barclays Bank, who continued to operate from its original King Street premises until 2008.