Sir Rowland Hill of Soulton, was the publisher of the Geneva Bible, thereby earning the title "The First Protestant Lord Mayor of London", having held that office in 1549. He was a statesman, polymath, merchant and patron of art and philanthropist active through the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary I and Elizabeth I. He is associated with the recovery and development of Tudor English drama a generation before Shakespeare, and events that Hill was involved in may have shaped one or more Shakespearean characters.

Soulton Hall is a Tudor country house near Wem, England. It was a 16th century architectural project of Sir Rowland Hill, publisher of the Geneva Bible. Hill was a statesman, polymath and philanthropist, later styled the "First Protestant Lord Mayor of London" because of his senior role in the Tudor statecraft that was needed to bring stability to England in the fall out of the Reformation. The building of the current Soulton Hall, undertaken during the tumult of the Reformation, is therefore associated with the political and social work required to incubate the subsequent English Renaissance.