William Henry Wills, 1st Baron Winterstoke (1 September 1830 – 29 January 1911), known as Sir William Wills, Bt., between 1893 and 1906, was a British businessman, philanthropist and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

politician.

Background

Wills was the son of

William Day Wills William Day Wills (6 June 1797 – 13 May 1865) of 2 Portland Square, Bristol, England, was a tobacco merchant who in 1830 together with his younger brother Henry Overton Wills II took over W.D. & H.O. Wills, a company which (building on the s ...

and a cousin of Sir Edward Payson Wills Bt,

Sir Frederick Wills Sir Frederick Wills, 1st Baronet (22 November 1838 – 18 February 1909) was a businessman, philanthropist and politician in the United Kingdom. He was a director of W. D. & H. O. Wills, a famous tobacco company headquartered in Bristol which ...

Bt,

Sir Frank William Wills Sir Frank William Wills (17 August 1852 – 26 March 1932) of Berkeley Square, Bristol, England, was a member of the Wills tobacco family, who became a noted British architect and went on to serve as Lord Mayor of Bristol. Early life and ...

Kt, and

Henry Overton Wills III Henry Overton Wills III (22 December 1828 – 4 September 1911) of Kelston Knoll, near Bath in Somerset, was a prominent and wealthy member of the Bristol tobacco manufacturing family of Wills which founded the firm of W. D. & H. O. Wills. A ...

, first chancellor of the

University of Bristol The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...

Business career

A member of the wealthy

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

-importing Wills family, Wills joined the family firm at an early age. In 1858 he went into partnership with two of his cousins to take over W. D. & H. O. Wills, which later became part of the

Imperial Tobacco Company Imperial Brands plc (originally the Imperial Tobacco Company of Great Britain & Ireland, and subsequently Imperial Tobacco Group plc) is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-larges ...

, of which he was the first chairman. Recognised as the head of the tobacco industry in Britain, he was also Chairman of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce. In 1904 he presented the

Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery Bristol Museum & Art Gallery is a large museum and art gallery in Bristol, England. The museum is situated in Clifton, about from the city centre. As part of Bristol Culture and Creative Industries it is run by the Bristol City Council with no ...

to the people of

Political career

Wills was a member of the

Bristol Corporation Bristol City Council, formerly known as the Bristol Corporation (and colloquially as "The Corporation"), is the local government authority governing the city of Bristol, England. Following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, successive royal ...

from 1862 to 1880 and

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

of the city from 1877 to 1878. He also sat as

Member of Parliament (MP) for two separate five-year periods: for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

from 1880 to 1885, and for

Bristol East Bristol East is a constituency recreated in 1983 covering the eastern part of the City of Bristol, represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2005 by Kerry McCarthy of the Labour Party. Constituency profile Bristol East cove ...

from 1895 to 1900. He served as

High Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government ...

in 1905. He was made a Baronet, of Coombe Lodge in the Parish of

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural ...

in the County of Somerset, in 1893 and raised to the peerage as Baron Winterstoke, of Blagdon in the County of Somerset, in 1906. He took his title from the ancient

hundred 100 or one hundred (Roman numerals, Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 (number), 99 and preceding 101 (number), 101. In mathematics 100 is the square of 10 (number), 10 (in scientific notation it is written as 102). The standar ...

Winterstoke The Hundred of Winterstoke is one of the 40 historical Hundreds in the ceremonial county of Somerset, England, dating from before the Norman conquest during the Anglo-Saxon era although exact dates are unknown. By far the most important and auth ...

, in which his home at Blagdon lay.

Personal life

Wills was educated at

Mill Hill School Mill Hill School is a 13–18 co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, Day school, day and boarding school in Mill Hill, London, England that was established in 1807. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' ...

, before joining the family tobacco business. Lord Winterstoke was a keen supporter of the arts, serving as President of what is now the

Royal West of England Academy The Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is Bristol's oldest art gallery, located in Clifton, Bristol, near the junction of Queens Road and Whiteladies Road. Situated in a Grade II* listed building, it hosts five galleries and an exhibition prog ...

(RWA) from 1898 until his death in 1911 and donating the money to create Bristol City Art Gallery, whose facade bears the inscription "The Gift of Sir William Henry Wills to his Fellow Citizens 1904". He was also the president of the charitable

Anchor Society The Anchor Society CIO is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation based in Bristol, England which supports older people in need in the Bristol and Bath, Somerset, Bath region (BS, BA and GL Postcodes). Its work primarily centres around grants to ...

in 1866, and vice-president of

Waverley Football Club The Waverley Football Club, nicknamed the Panthers, was an Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Glen Waverley. The club competed in the Victorian Football Association (VFA) from 1961 until 1987. They became the Wave ...

from 1890. A zealous nonconformist by personal conviction as well as by family tradition, he actively engaged in the affairs of the free churches. He joined the board of the

Dissenting Deputies The Protestant dissenting deputies (also known as the Deputies of the Three Denominations of Dissenters) were a group in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, consisting of two representatives from each congregation of the dissenting denominatio ...

, was a trustee of the Memorial Hall in London, and took a practical interest in the refoundation of Mansfield College, Oxford in 1886. To the new chapel of Mill Hill School, opened in June 1898, he gave an organ and other substantial help; his portrait, subscribed for by the governors, is at the school. He married Elizabeth Perkins Stancomb on 11 January 1853, in Melksham, Wiltshire. Elizabeth was born 6 November 1831 in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and died at their seaside home of East Court, Ramsgate, Kent on 10 February 1896, and was buried in Ramsgate Cemetery, Plot D.C.189. They adopted Elizabeth's two nieces. He died without heirs in January 1911, aged 80, when the baronetcy and barony became extinct. His estate was worth £2,548,209 (roughly equivalent to £ in ). A portrait of Lord Winterstoke hangs in the Middle Common Room of

Mansfield College, Oxford Mansfield College, Oxford is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. The college was founded in Birmingham in 1838 as a college for Nonconformist students. It moved to Oxford in 1886 and was renamed Mansfield Coll ...

.Mansfield College, University of Oxford
BBC

Background

Business career

Political career

Personal life

See also

References

Further reading