Thomas Wyllie Howie,
JP (8 April 1856 – 18 July 1927) was a Scottish
captain of industry
In the 19th century, a captain of industry was a business leader whose means of amassing a personal fortune contributed positively to the country in some way. This may have been through increased productivity, expansion of markets, providing more ...
.
Background
Howie was born in
Riccarton Riccarton may refer to:
New Zealand
* Riccarton, New Zealand, a suburb of Christchurch
** Riccarton (New Zealand electorate), the electorate named after it
** The location of Riccarton Race Course
* a locality on the Taieri Plains in Otago
Scotlan ...
,
Ayrshire, on 8 April 1856, to Robert and Bethia (Wyllie) Howie, into a wealthy industrial family who had been active in the
Covenanting movement. He was born at the family home, Newhouse, an
estate house
An estate is a large parcel of land under single ownership, which would historically generate income for its owner.
British context
In the UK, historically an estate comprises the houses, outbuildings, supporting farmland, and woods that s ...
nearby the
fireclay
Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumin ...
mine which the family owned. There he was brought up alongside his cousin, who would become the mining magnate
John Howie. The house is now a residential care home. Howie's father, Robert, died at the
Crichton Institution in Dumfries, a private lunatic hospital, when Thomas was 27.
Career
He and his wife settled in
Falkirk where he became a partner in
Campbell & Co Fireclay Works and coal mine, Roughcastle. He later became owner of the business. Previous to settling in Falkirk the Howie family lived in
Hurlford
Hurlford (Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile Àtha Cliath'') is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing ...
, where they owned the renowned
Hurlford Fireclay Works (until it was bought by
Armitage Shanks
Armitage Shanks is a British manufacturer of bathroom fixtures and plumbing supplies, now part of the group Ideal Standard.
In 2004, Armitage Shanks had eight factories in the United Kingdom, the largest in Armitage, Staffordshire. Armitage Sh ...
), which produced pottery, bricks, chimneys, garden ornaments and enamelled sanitary ware (lavatories, baths, urinals etc.) The family owned much of the town, including Marchmont Place, Salisbury Place, Collier Row, Office Row, Chapel Cottages, Skerrington Row and Howie's Square. They also owned small mining villages, including
Hemphill.
A supporter of the
Unionist Party, Thomas Howie was a
Justice of the Peace and elected a Stirling County councillor for Falkirk, vice-chairman of the Parish Council, as well as chairman of the Landward Committee.
Family
Howie married Barbara Picken, sister of the
Town Clerk
A clerk is a senior official of many municipal governments in the English-speaking world. In some communities, including most in the United States, the position is elected, but in many others, the clerk is appointed to their post. In the UK, a Tow ...
of Glasgow, and had six children: Margaret, Robert Wyllie, Bethia, Martha, Barbara and Jean. His sons attended the
High School of Glasgow
The High School of Glasgow is an independent, co-educational day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the choir school of Glasgow Cathedral in around 1124, and is the oldest school in Scotland, and the ...
and his daughters
St. George's School for Girls, Edinburgh. Howie was a cousin of industrialist
John Howie, a distant cousin of writer
John Howie, first cousin twice removed of the current
Lord Glenarthur.
His great-grandson is the actor
Robbie Coltrane
Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor and comedian. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. H ...
.
Death and legacy
At a
Water Board
A water board is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), w ...
outing he was taken ill and never recovered, dying in 1927. The local newspaper at the time remembered him as a "bright and cheery man", and notes that he "took a deep interest in parochial affairs and was particularly sympathetic towards the deserving poor". Howie is buried in Falkirk cemetery. On his death, his share of the brickworks business was valued at £12,000, which is equivalent to over £2,300,000 in today's terms (relative GDP per capita).
Howie Place in Falkirk is named after him. It is near the site of the brickworks he once owned.
External links
FutureMuseum page on Hurlford Fireclay Works
{{DEFAULTSORT:Howie, Thomas W.
1856 births
1927 deaths
19th-century Scottish businesspeople
People from East Ayrshire
Councillors in Scotland
Unionist Party (Scotland) councillors
British mining businesspeople