About

William ‘Billy’ Waters: busker, sailor, immigrant, father, lover, extraordinary talent, and a forgotten Black celebrity from Regency London. Waters became London’s most famous street performer. His extravagantly costumed image blazed across the stage and in print to an unprecedented degree.

Despite his contemporary renown, Waters died destitute in 1823. Join historian Mary Shannon to find out how small traces in The National Archives’ collection can lead to exciting new discoveries about Black British history and the history of disability.