Description:William Michael Hilliard was the son of Francis Hilliard, a bookseller, printer and stationer in the town. Francis Hilliard moved from Bristol to Leek in about 1760, and became the earliest known printer in Leek. William joined his father's business in about 1820, and had taken it over by 1834, with premises in Church Street. By 1841 he had moved to Market Place and by 1850 he had moved again, to Sheepmarket. He added another strand to the business around 1854: auctioneering. In 1866 he gave up his original trades and moved to Stockwell Street to pursue auctioneering full-time. Records show that he was still in business there in 1872.