William Englebert
William Englebert, was an inventor and engineer in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. According to Thomas Fuller, he was "an incomparable engineer", and John Norden praised him as "an excellent engineer". Elizabeth I awarded him an annual pension of one hundred marks.
Background
William Englebert was the son of N Englebert of Sherborne, Dorset and educated at Sherborne School.Professional career
While information on Englebert's work is scarce, he was an innovator in fen draining and worked in Deeping Fen with Captain Thomas Lovell for which he was greatly praised by John Norden in 1618. He was a patron and mentor to fellow inventor and engineer Gabriel Plattes who dedicated two of his works to Englebert.Frustrated by a lack of opportunity in England in his later life, he requested King James I's Privy Council for leave to serve Foreign Princes and States, being prepared to waive his pension on that condition, but he was denied license to depart.