William Walls (2 August 1819 – 27 September 1893) was a Scottish lawyer, industrialist and

Dean of Guild A Dean of Guild, under Scots law, was one of a group of burgh magistrates who, in later years, had the care of buildings. The leader of the group was known as Lord Dean of Guild. Originally, the post was held by the head of the Guild brethren o ...

of Glasgow. The son of John Walls and Elizabeth (née Flett), he was born in Kirkwall, Orkney, and trained as a lawyer in Edinburgh before founding whale oil merchants and refiners William Walls & Co in 1847, in Glasgow. Walls served as a town councilor of Glasgow from 1868–1886, latterly acting as Treasurer. He is credited as helping to secure the post of Town Clerk for his fellow Orcadian Sir

James David Marwick Sir James David Marwick FRSE (15 July 1826 – 24 March 1908) was a Scottish lawyer, historian and town clerk. He served as Town Clerk of Glasgow for thirty-one years, during which time the entire city was transformed. Its powers and amenities w ...

who was to largely influence and direct the lines of Glasgow's development in the second half of the 19th century. Walls was instrumental in developing

Loch Katrine Loch Katrine (; or ) is a freshwater loch in the Trossachs area of the Scottish Highlands, east of Loch Lomond, within the historic county and registration county of Perthshire and the contemporary district of Stirling. The loch is about ...

as a reservoir to provide clean water for Glasgow's burgeoning population and, among other awards, was presented with a medal by the Corporation and citizens in recognition of his services in 1859. He was appointed

of Glasgow in 1887 and continued in this position until his retirement in 1889. His company, William Walls & Co, played an instrumental role in the substantial growth of Glasgow as one of Britain's leading industrial cities and by the 1860s was a major local employer. The

Maryhill Maryhill ( gd, Cnoc Màiri) is an area of the City of Glasgow in Scotland. Maryhill is a former burgh. Maryhill stretches over along Maryhill Road. The far north west of the area is served by Maryhill railway station. History Hew Hill, ...

works grew exponentially and this sometimes brought Walls into conflict with early anti-pollution legislation. In 1874 he was charged with contravening the smoke section of the Glasgow Police Act, 1862, but the case was later dismissed. A caricature in ''

The Bailie Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, i ...

'' portrays Walls comforting a policeman seemingly overcome by the effects of smoke-inhalation, an image which is also strongly redolent of his power and influence as a leading industrialist and burgh councilor. Walls married Sarah Cole, daughter of Thomas Cole, in 1847, and was succeeded as senior partner of William Walls & Co in 1889 by his eldest son

William Andrew Walls William Andrew Walls (29 December 1859 – 19 February 1936) was a Scotland international rugby union player. He became the 38th President of the Scottish Rugby Union. Rugby Union career Amateur career He played as a forward for Glasgow Acad ...

. Walls Street in Glasgow is named after him.

Sources

*''Memoir of Sir James David Marwick,'' John Gray McKendrick, 1909. *''The Lord Provosts of Glasgow from 1833 to 1902,'' John Tweed, 1902. * Walls family papers (unpublished material) * Glasgow City Archives, Dean of Guild Court

External links

The Glasgow Story.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walls, William 1819 births 1893 deaths People from Kirkwall Scottish industrialists Scottish company founders Scottish lawyers People associated with Glasgow 19th-century Scottish businesspeople