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Many thanks, Ashtone! I hadn't seen these. IF (big IF) this is our William White it goes some way to filling in the gaps. Then after his bankruptcy in 1796, his youngest daughter Ann Maria, born 1785, went into service as a housemaid on the Duke of Bedford's estate at Woburn Abbey.

One of the coincidences (which I didn't mention before) was that there was also a William White in Woburn, who had a large family, with his last child born in 1770, named Ann. The William White in St Clement Danes was married in 1772, first child Lettice born 1773. I think it very likely that these are the same William White, and the same person who died in Woburn in 1810 and whose house at 14 Leighton Street passed to Andrew Henley, William Henley's father. I haven't found any record of the death of William White's first wife in 1770-1772 if they are the same person, but it all fits - however, still no evidence to back up a plausible story. His youngest daughter born 1785 was christened Ann Maria - odd for a family that didn't use second Christian names, but maybe necessary to identify her! The Ann(e) White born 1770 married in Woburn in 1789, so unlikely to have been William Henley's wife. Much more likely Ann Maria, even if she dropped her second name.

The more you dig, the more you find it's a rabbit-hole - and one with lots of branching possibilities, a veritable rabbit warren.

1851: 3 Mighell Street: Lettice White, Head, unmarried, age 77, seamstress, born London St Clements.
And yes, in 1841 she was a servant in the household of Miss Charlotte Wheeler at 24 Sussex Square in the (then) smart new Kemp Town development - not far from John Henley's shop at 77 St James Street.
Lettice was born 1773?, christened at St Clement Danes 29/8/1773

I am looking for any sources of information on silk mercers in Holywell Street, St Clement Danes. No certainty that there is any family connection, but ...

My 3g-grandfather was William Henley, born Woburn, Bedfordshire 1782. He married Ann White (youngest daughter of William White and Lettice Street of St Clement Danes) in Woburn in 1805. In 1803 she and Catherine Henley, William's cousin, were both housemaids at Woburn Abbey (from primary evidence of employment records in the Russell collection held by Bedfordshire archives).  William and Ann had a son John in 1810 but he vanished from the records until he is recorded again in Brighton in 1836, marrying there in 1838 by which time he was a fully qualified tailor with a shop on St James's Street, Brighton. A letter written by John mentions his aunt Lettice White (his mother's eldest sister), who census records indicate came from St Clement Danes and was living in Brighton in 1841 and 1851. The link with St Clement Danes is clearly established. What is unclear is where the family - William, Ann, and their son John were living between 1810 and 1836, and what happened to John's parents - who did not attend his wedding.
In April 1810, William White died in Woburn (this may or may not be the same William White) and in 1810-11 Andrew Henley, William Henley's father, replaced William White as ratepayer at the Henley family's home 14 Leighton Street, Woburn.

What follows is largely supposition, pieced together from newspaper reports and gazetted bankuptcy notices.
In 1796 William White of Holywell Street, St Clement Danes, "mercer, dealer, and chapman" was bankrupt. This could have been Ann's father but we have no proof.
In 1818 Johnstone’s London Commercial Guide lists silk mercers in Holywell Street as including Brewman B.H. at No.14. On 31 July 1819 a partnership was dissolved, Barnet Hart Brewman and William Henley, silk-mercers of Holywell Street, and in February 1820 William Henley, late of Holywell Street, Strand, silk-mercer, dealer and chapman, was bankrupt.
There are a number of 'loose ends' and coincidences that I'm not going to mention here, as they are likely to be irrelevant and only confuse the issue.

What I would like to know is whether there are any sources of information on silk mercers of London and of Holywell Street in particular, that might help to confirm my speculation or rule it out. William's son John became a tailor, so any apprenticeship records in the 1820s could also be helpful!
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There is solid evidence for John being the son of William Henley and Ann White. Ann came from St Clement Danes, Westminster. In 1803 (information from the Russelll archives) she was a housemaid in Woburn Abbey alongside Catherine Henley, William's cousin, and her elder sister Lettice was a witness at John Henley's own marriage in Brighton in 1838. The mystery was William Ralph. Looking at the dates of birth he cannot have had the same mother as John. William Ralph was the illegitimate son of Anne Ralph, who never married. His father was a William Henley: most likely the same one, though could have been his uncle. Too many Williams! The big question is who were the parents of Joseph born 1799. My best guess is William Henley and Mary Raklph, both then aged 17. Mary Ralph was Ann's sister. There was another child, in 1802, christened 23 May: Rebecca Ralph (father unnamed, mother Ann Ralph). Rebecca died 5 Aug 1802. Complicated story. And that's before we try to unravel the White family in Woburn and in St Clement Danes. That one is not for rootschat because I doubt if there's any documentary evidence that would help - but it seems that William White (Ann's and Lettice's father) had a family in Woburn 1750s to 1770, and another family in St Clement Danes 1772-1785. He was the tenant and ratepayer of 14 Leighton Street, Woburn until his death in 1810, when the tenancy was taken over by Andrew Henley (William's father). 

I have the typewritten copy but need confirmation from original parish registers or bishop's transcripts because there are three baptism entries that don't make a lot of sense.

Joseph born 23/12/1799 bapt 23/2/1800 William and Mary Henley. There were no William and Mary Henley marriages in Woburn. Could it have been William Henley and Mary X or William X and Mary Henley, or could the 'Mary' be incorrect, as William Henley and Sarah would make sense? This Joseph doesn't seem to appear anywhere in subsequent records so possibly the William and Mary are from elsewhere, not otherwise appearing in Woburn parish records.

John born 16/11/1810 bapt 9/12/1810 William and Ann Henley
William Ralph born 16/4/1811 bapt 30/6/1811 William and Ann Henley
This is of course impossible if it's the same Ann. I think John is definitely the son of William Henley and his wife Ann (nee White). I think Ralph is the surname of the other Ann - who was unmarried and 5 years older than William (if it was the same William Henley). So that the child was given the surname Ralph, not a middle name Ralph.

Are there any clues in the original handwritten registers?