William Clarke (c. April 1609 – 1671) was an apothecary who provided lodgings for a young Isaac Newton whilst he attended the King's School in Grantham.
Biography
William was baptised on 23 April 1609. According to his will, he had a brother Joseph, but little else is known about his early life. William Clarke was married twice, first to Martha (last name is unknown) who bore him three children - Joseph, William and Anne. His second marriage was to Katherine Babington, widow, who was from the same line as Anthony Babington. Katherine had three children from a previous marriage to Edward Storer, including daughter Katherine as well as sons Edward and Arthur Storer. Together, Katherine and William had two more children named John and Martha. All of his sons except John followed him into the trade of apothecary. Clarke eventually retired to Loughborough in Leicestershire, leaving his business to his son, William.
During the English Civil War, William sided with the parliamentarians. The town of Grantham was captured by Royalists on 23 March 1643 and on 11 April he was indicted for high treason. On 11 May 1643, however the town was recaptured by Oliver Cromwell