Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet of Beauclerc (17 August 1826 – ) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

building contractor and publisher. Based in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, Scott began his profession as a mason, before setting up his own building firm, completing many major architectural projects in the North East of England and notable railway stations in London. His publishing house, Walter Scott Publishing Co. brought classic literature to the masses for a low price.

Early life

Scott was born in Abbey Town, Cumberland in 1826. In his youth he was a notable wrestler and was seen as the best wrestler in his weight within his district, and won several wrestling prizes at local fairs. He moved to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and began an apprenticeship as a stonemason. After completing his apprenticeship he worked as a builder and began working on several contracts in the local area. By the age of 23 he had set up his own building company.

Major building works

Scott later began winning building contracts in the North East and was the main contractor behind several landmark buildings within Newcastle, including the Tyne Theatre, Byker Bridge and added the portico to

Newcastle railway station Newcastle Central Station (also known simply as Newcastle and locally as Central Station) is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around north of . It is the primary national rail station ...

in 1863. Outside Newcastle he completed rebuilding work at

Haggerston Castle Haggerston Castle was a castle located in the county of Northumberland,England at Haggerston about south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Only the tower, rotunda and stable block (Grade II listed buildings) remain. Today it is part of a caravan park ow ...

and several railway projects in London, including City and South London Railway and the marble arch at the Central London Station.

Publishing

In 1882 Scott acquired The Tyne Publishing Co., a printing and publishing business that was facing impending bankruptcy.Michael R. Turner
"Title-Pages Produced by the Walter Scott Publishing Co Ltd "
'' Studies in Bibliography'', Vol. 44 (1991), pp. 323-331. Retrieved 19 January 2019. Within a few years Scott, trading as the Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd., published "several hundred volumes". His publications featured a number of book reprint series (including the Camelot Classics, the Canterbury Poets, the Emerald Library, the Evergreen Library, the Great Writers and the Oxford Library) and a series of original works in The Contemporary Science Series.The Contemporary Science Series (Walter Scott Publishing) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

Later life

Scott married Anne Brough, daughter of John Brough of Bromfield, Cumberland. They had a large family, including John Scott, the eldest son who became the second Baronet of Beauclerc on the death of his father and Mason and William Martin Scott,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

players. He was created a Baronet on 27 July 1907. Scott died at

Cape Martin Cape Martin (french: Cap Martin) is a headland situated in the commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes ''département'', in southern France. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea coast between Monaco and Menton Menton (; , writt ...

in France on 8 April 1910 and was buried in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

. File:Newcastle Station Exterior.jpg, Newcastle Station, showing the portico added in 1863 File:Newcastle the journal thyne theater.jpg, Tyne Theatre, completed 1867

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Walter 1826 births 1910 deaths English publishers (people) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom English civil engineering contractors People from Allerdale 19th-century English businesspeople