Wall's is a brand of meat products in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, best known for its

sausage A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. ...

s. Founded in

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 ...

in 1786 by

butcher A butcher is a person who may Animal slaughter, slaughter animals, dress their flesh, sell their meat, or participate within any combination of these three tasks. They may prepare standard cuts of meat and poultry for sale in retail or wholesal ...

Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by

Lever Brothers Lever Brothers was a British manufacturing company founded in 1885 by two brothers: William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme (1851–1925), and James Darcy Lever (1854–1916). They invested in and successfully promoted a new soap-making p ...

, which became a part of

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy drink, t ...

in 1930. Unilever sold off the meat products business and a licence to use the Wall's brand on such within the United Kingdom in 1994 to

Kerry Group Kerry Group plc is a public food company headquartered in Ireland. It is quoted on the Dublin ISEQ and London stock exchanges. Given the company's origins in the co-operative movement, farmer-suppliers of the company retain a significant int ...

History

In 1786, Richard Wall opened a butcher's stall in

St James's St James's is a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. In the 17th century the area developed as a residential location for the British aristocracy, and around the 19th century was the focus of the de ...

Market Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

, London. Selling meat and meat products, he gained a reputation for being a fine

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

butcher. In 1812, Wall received the first Royal Appointment to George,

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

as "Purveyor of Pork," continuing to serve him through his later reign as

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

. His son, Thomas Wall, was born in 1817, followed by a daughter, Eleanor, in 1824. Wall's business prospered, and in 1834 he moved to new premises at 113 Jermyn Street. However, he died the same year, leaving his widow, Ann, and the 17-year-old Thomas to run the business, now trading as Ann Wall and Son. Two years later, in 1836, Ann also died, and Thomas Wall took sole charge of the business, as well as the care of his 14-year-old sister. However, the business continued to thrive. In 1846 his first son, Thomas Wall II, was born, followed shortly afterwards by a second son, Frederick. They joined the company board in 1870 and 1878 respectively, after which the business became known as Thomas Wall and Sons Ltd. Throughout this period, the business maintained its high-level standards and resultant recognition, receiving a series of Royal Appointments from

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

King Edward VII Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910. The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...

and

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

. The business had always faced problems in the summer, when sales of meat,

meat pies A meat pie is a pie with a filling of meat and often with other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, fried, or deep fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the Maillard reaction. M ...

and

sausages A sausage is a type of meat product usually made from ground meat—often pork, beef, or poultry—along with salt, spices and other flavourings. Other ingredients, such as grains or breadcrumbs may be included as fillers or extenders. W ...

declined, and staff had to be laid off as a consequence. Thus, in 1913, Thomas Wall II suggested developing a line of ice cream to avoid these problems. This proposal, however, was put on hold due to shortages arising as a result of the outbreak of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and was not implemented until 1922. Before that, Thomas Wall II decided to retire, and in 1920 sold the business to

Mac Fisheries Mac Fisheries was a branded United Kingdom retail chain of fishmongers, founded by William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme, the co-founder with his brother of Lever Brothers, which later merged to become Unilever. Background Isle of Lewis In hi ...

, which itself was acquired by Lever Brothers in 1922. In 1920, Thomas Wall II created his Trust for the "encouragement and assistance of educational work and social service". Today the Trust continues to assist in these areas by providing grants to individuals and organisations. After the purchase of sausage and pate producer

Mattessons Mattessons is a United Kingdom-based manufacturer of processed-meat products, particularly sausages and pâté. The company became famous in the 1970s for its ''"Mmmm"'' television adverts, with the strap line "Just try saying Mattessons withou ...

in 1965, Unilever ran both companies as part of Unilever Meat Group UK under the chairmanship of Werner Mattes, eventually merging the two companies to form Mattessons Wall's following his retirement in 1986. Following a review, in 1994 Unilever sold off Mattessons Wall's, the ownership to the Mattessons brand, and a licence to sell meat products within the UK under the Wall's brand to Kerry Foods. This was later merged with Millers of Poole (which had previously been owned by

Fitch Lovell Fitch Lovell was a British food manufacturing, transportation, distribution and retail company with origins dating to 1784, and was finally merged into Booker Group in 1991 after they had purchased it in 1990 for £279.7 million. Early history Fi ...

) and after subsequent mergers is now part of the Addo Food Group, owned by LDC (Lloyds Development Capital), the venture capital arm of

Lloyds Bank Lloyds Bank plc is a British retail banking, retail and commercial bank with branches across England and Wales. It has traditionally been considered one of the "Big Four (banking), Big Four" clearing house (finance), clearing banks. Lloyds B ...

Products

Wall's remains a prominent manufacturer of sausages and

meat pie A meat pie is a pie with a filling of meat and often with other savory ingredients. They are found in cuisines worldwide. Meat pies are usually baked, fried, or deep fried to brown them and develop the flavour through the Maillard reaction. Ma ...

References

External links

*{{official website, http://wallsproperfood.co.uk
Thomas Wall TrustWall's Pastry, home of Kerry Foods Wall's branded meat productsWall's sausages
British sausages British pie brands Brand name meats Sausage companies Meat companies of the United Kingdom