William Bradley was born on 10th February 1787 in Market Weighton, one of thirteen children. John Bradley, his father, was a respectable master tailor. At birth William weighed 14lbs and at the age of 11 he weighed 11 stones. At 19 he weighed 27 stones and was 7ft 9ins in height. His stockings measured 3ft 9ins, his walking stick 5ft 10in and his shoes were 15ins long and 5.5ins wide.
William occasionally worked assisting a local butcher, Robert Foster, and on such occasions could get plenty of food to satisfy his large appetite. It was said that he could eat with ease a full sized leg of mutton with vegetables at one sitting. In his teens he went into farm service but he broke the forks, rake shovels and other tools so his employers had to get larger and stronger tools made for him.
William accepted a challenge for a wager that he could load a wagon with manure in less time than it took two men. He filled his wagon long before his two competitors. In another wager he was to carry a huge stone a quarter of a mile into the town centre. The stone now rests against the side of newsagents on the corner of Londesborough Road, opposite the church.
Whilst at Market Weighton on year, Barnum’s travelling show were exhibiting a huge pig bred in Sancton known as ‘The Great Yorkshire Pig’. They struck a deal with John Bradley to take William around the country along with Edward Calvet, a dwarf from Shiptonthorpe. The show attracted vast crowds wherever it went. As time went on the showman negated to pay William a share of the profits so he began travelling and exhibited himself. He would hire a hotel room and charge a shilling per person to call and see him. On one occasion he was presented to His Majesty King George III who gifted him with a massive gold chain.
The confinement of his lifestyle and constant travelling took its toll on William and he eventually retired to his home town due to ill health. On the site of the house where he was born he had a home especially built with high ceilings and doorways. This building still exists in Market Weighton and is located behind the statue of William Bradley.
William died of tuberculosis on the 30th May 1820 at the age of 33. He was buried in the churchyard very early in the morning to avoid a large crowd but people still turned out in their droves. His coffin was 9ft long and 3ft wide. It was necessary to keep watch over his remains as it was feared that an attempt may be made to steal his body for a museum or travelling show. His body was later interred inside the church to overcome this problem. In 1872 the church was partially rebuilt and during those renovations it was rumoured that his body had been stolen, so a party of gentlemen opened the grave to check for his remains. The remains of William were present, his thigh bone measuring 24ins long and his lower leg bone 21ins long. One of William Bradley’s boots is on show at York Castle Museum.