British surgeon and naturalist in Cambridgeshire. William Skrimshire amassed a large herbarium with the help of his brother, Fenwick Skrimshire, although much of it has subsequently been lost. From Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, William was as a surgeon in this town and worked alongside his father at a practice in Ship Lane. After the death of his father, Skrimshire moved to the outskirts of the town and here he grew many native and exotic plants in his garden as well as maintaining a peppermint plantation.

A keen naturalist he explored the surrounding area and collected data on the plants and insects that he came across, as well as documenting the weather. Over the course of his life he published many of his findings (including how to rear insects, comments on British vegetables and on excessively cold weather) as well as several papers on surgical topics.

The plants which he collected for his hortus siccus came from Wisbech and the surrounding countryside, extending from Cambridgeshire into Northamptonshire. A manuscript catalogue of this collection is all that remains, although it contains some important first records for these two counties. In 1818 Skrimshire sold the herbarium to Viscount Milton, but continued to gather specimens after this date, which is perhaps the reason for the 200 or so phanerogamic specimens of his which are still found in the Wisbech and Fenland Museum (WBCH). In addition, he also amassed a considerable bryophyte collection which is housed at the same museum. Skrimshire never married.

Sources:
G. Crompton and E.C. Nelson, 2000, "The herbarium of William Skrimshire (1766-1829) of Wisbech", Watsonia, 23: 23-38.