Sir John William Laing (24 September 1879 – 11 January 1978) was a British entrepreneur in the construction industry. He inherited his father's building business – which is now known as

John Laing Group John Laing Group plc is a British investor, developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Finance Initiative ...

– in the early 1900s.

Background

Laing was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

to John Laing and Sarah Wood. His great-grandfather David Laing had come from Scotland to England in 1812 and lived in the Cumberland village of

Sebergham Sebergham is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria. It is located on the B5305, south of Carlisle and south-east of Wigton. The civil parish population at the 2011 Census was 365. St Mary's Church is medieval in ori ...

.Ritchie, p. 9 David Laing developed a family building business which prospered due to the boom in the country caused by the Franco-Prussian War of 1870.Harrison, p. 14 The war necessitated the construction of many new woollen mills in the local areas close to the Laings' business creating much work and a considerable growth in the value of their business. However the war time boom soon turned down and the Laings' construction business had no contracts. It was around this time that John’s mother and father converted to the

Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...

.Harrison, p. 15

Career

Laing followed his father, John, into the construction business, expanding it from a local building firm to open a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

office in 1926. Under his leadership, the firm became a national enterprise that culminated in the rebuilding of

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands, England. The curren ...

, whose consecration Laing attended in May 1962. Laing gave the company its evangelical direction, which included pioneering ideas that nurtured staff, such as paid holidays, in the early part of the 20th century. In 1922 he gave almost 40% of his shareholding in the business to a charitable foundation. He retired from the business in 1957, was knighted in 1959 and died in 1978, aged 98.

Marriage and children

Laing married Beatrice Harland in September 1910. His sons

William Kirby Laing Sir William "Kirby" Laing (21 July 1916 – 12 April 2009) was a British civil engineer. Career Laing was born in Carlisle in 1916.. He was a member of the Laing Family, famous in the British construction industry for running John Laing plc. ...

and John Maurice Laing and his grandson

Martin Laing Sir John Martin Kirby Laing (born 18 January 1942) is a British entrepreneur in the construction industry. Martin Laing was executive chairman of John Laing plc, the firm founded by his great-great-grandfather James Laing (1816–1882), but res ...

continued the family business. The John Laing Lectureship in the History and Theology of the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

was established in

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Student ...

, endowed by the Kirby Laing Foundation.Cheyne, p. 109

References

Sources

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External links

* 1879 births 1978 deaths People from Carlisle, Cumbria British businesspeople Businesspeople awarded knighthoods Knights Bachelor People educated at Carlisle Grammar School Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-business-bio-stub