The Very Revd. Dr William Smith (1711–1787) was Dean of Chester and a Greek and Latin scholar. Smith was born in Worcester in 1711, the son of the rector of St Nicholas' Church. He was sent to RGS Worcester after which he proceeded to New College, Oxford in 1728. He was made Rector of Holy Trinity, Chester in 1735. He became headmaster of Brentwood School, Essex, in 1748, before leaving in 1753 to become vicar of St George's, Liverpool. He is buried in Chester Cathedral with a monument by Thomas Banks.