William Isaac Palmer was a member of the Palmer family, proprietors of the Huntley & Palmers

Huntley & Palmers

Huntley & Palmers was a British firm of biscuit makers originally based in Reading, Berkshire. The company created one of the world's first global brands and ran what was once the world’s largest biscuit factory. Over the years, the company was also known as J...

 biscuit manufacturers of Reading

Reading, Berkshire

Reading is a large town and unitary authority area in England. It is located in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line railway and the M4 motorway, some west of London....

 in England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

. He was the brother of George Palmer, the first of the Palmer family to be involved in the firm, and became a partner in the firm on Thomas Huntley

Thomas Huntley

Thomas E. "Tom" Huntley is a Minnesota politician and a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives representing District 7A, which includes portions of the city of Duluth in St. Louis County in the northeastern part of the state...

's death in 1857.

In 1875 William Isaac Palmer personally funded the setting up and running of a Free Library in Reading's West Street, an establishment that was to become the forerunner of the Reading Public Library

Reading Borough Libraries

Reading Borough Libraries are responsible for public library provision in the English town of Reading, Berkshire.-History:Despite the Public Libraries Act 1850 it was not until the 1870s that serious thought was given to the creation of a free public library in Reading...

.

In 1876, he purchased Hoxton Hall

Hoxton Hall

Hoxton Hall is a community centre and performance space in Hoxton, at 130 Hoxton Street, in the London Borough of Hackney.A grade II* listed building, the theatre was first built as a Music hall in 1863, as MacDonald's Music hall. It is an unrestored example of the saloon-style...

, in Hoxton

Hoxton

Hoxton is an area in the London Borough of Hackney, immediately north of the financial district of the City of London. The area of Hoxton is bordered by Regent's Canal on the north side, Wharf Road and City Road on the west, Old Street on the south, and Kingsland Road on the east.Hoxton is also a...

, Hackney

Hackney Central

Hackney Central is the central district of the London Borough of Hackney in London, England. It comprises the area roughly surrounding, and extending north from Mare Street. It is situated north east of Charing Cross...

 (a former Music hall

Music hall

Music Hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...

) on behalf of the Blue Ribbon Gospel Temperance Mission. Palmer spent much of his fortune on charity, and on his death, his brothers were forced to make good his many promises of donations.