Wall's is a brand of meat products in the United Kingdom, 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 city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 wholesale ...

Richard Wall, it was acquired in 1922 by

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

, which became a part of

Unilever Unilever PLC () is a British multinational consumer packaged goods company headquartered in London, England. It was founded on 2 September 1929 following the merger of Dutch margarine producer Margarine Unie with British soap maker Lever B ...

in 1930.

History

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

St James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End of London, West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of ...

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 *Marketing, the act of sat ...

, 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 pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

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

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

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 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

. 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 January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

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

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. George was born during the reign of his pa ...

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

meat pies A meat pie is a pie baked with pastry with a filling of meat and often 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 Mail ...

and

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

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 or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, 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 h ...

, 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 without ...

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.

References

External links

Thomas Wall Trust
{{Pies British sausages British pie brands Brand name meats Sausage companies Meat companies of the United Kingdom