William McEwan () (16 July 1827 – 12 May 1913) was a Scottish politician and brewer. He founded the Fountain Brewery in 1856, served as a member of parliament (MP) from 1886 to 1900, and funded the construction of the

McEwan Hall The McEwan Hall ( gd, Talla MhicEòghainn) is the graduation hall of the University of Edinburgh, in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It was presented to the university in 1897 by William McEwan, brewer and politician, at a cost of £115,0 ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Early life and brewing

McEwan was born in

Alloa Alloa (Received Pronunciation ; educated Scottish pronunciation /ˈaloʊa/; gd, Alamhagh, possibly meaning "rock plain") is a town in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It is on the north bank of the Forth at the spot where ...

, Scotland in 1827, the third child of ship-owner John McEwan and his wife Anne Jeffrey. His older sister Janet married James Younger head of his local family brewing business in 1850, and their children included George, 1st Viscount Younger of Leckie, William Younger, and Robert, Baron Blanesburgh. He was educated at Alloa Academy.

Career

McEwan worked for the

Alloa Coal Company The Alloa Coal Company was founded as a partnership in 1835 between William Mitchell, John Moubray, John Craich and David Ramsay. The partners obtained a lease to mine coal and ironstone on the lands of the Earl of Mar in Clackmannanshire. In the ...

and merchants Patersons. He worked in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

for a commission agent and then as a bookkeeper for a spinning firm in Yorkshire. From 1851 he received technical and management training from his uncles, John and David Jeffrey, proprietors of the Heriot brewery in Edinburgh. In 1856, he established the Fountain Brewery at

Fountainbridge Fountainbridge ( gd, Drochaid an Fhuarain) is an area of Edinburgh, Scotland, a short distance west of the city centre, adjoining Tollcross with East Fountainbridge and West Port to the east, Polwarth to the west and south, Dalry and Haymar ...

in Edinburgh with money from his mother and his uncle, Tom Jeffrey. After growing sales in Scotland, his nephew William Younger of Alloa began an apprenticeship with him and eventually became managing director. Exports were made to Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and India, with

McEwan's McEwan's is a brand of beer owned by Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company. It was originally brewed by William McEwan's Fountain Brewery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The McEwan's brand passed to Heineken in 2008 after their purchase of Scottish & New ...

having 90% of sales in north-eastern England by the turn of the century. The brewery became part of

Scottish & Newcastle Scottish & Newcastle plc was a brewing company headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, which expanded from its home base to become an international business with beer volumes growing almost tenfold. The company was listed on the London Stock Exc ...

Political career

McEwan became a member of parliament for Edinburgh Central after the 1886 general election, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was returned unopposed in 1895 and continued to serve until

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

. He became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in 1907, but declined a title.

Personal life

He married Helen Anderson in 1885 and they had one daughter born out of wedlock. His wife died in 1906 and was buried on the west side of

Highgate Cemetery Highgate Cemetery is a place of burial in north London, England. There are approximately 170,000 people buried in around 53,000 graves across the West and East Cemeteries. Highgate Cemetery is notable both for some of the people buried there as ...

. Their daughter Margaret Helen (1863–1942) married the Hon.

Ronald Greville Hon. Ronald Henry Fulke Greville MVO (14 October 1864 – 5 April 1908) was an English Conservative Party politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford East from 1896 to 1906. Early life Greville was born 14 October 1864 the elde ...

, heir apparent to the Greville barony as the eldest son of Algernon Greville, 2nd Baron Greville. He funded the

at the

, to a cost of £115,000. It was opened in 1897, when McEwan was presented with an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

and the freedom of the city of Edinburgh. He also presented paintings to the

National Gallery of Scotland The Scottish National Gallery (formerly the National Gallery of Scotland) is the national art gallery of Scotland. It is located on The Mound in central Edinburgh, close to Princes Street. The building was designed in a neoclassical style by W ...

. McEwan's final home was at

Polesden Lacey Polesden Lacey is an Edwardian house and estate, located on the North Downs at Great Bookham, near Dorking, Surrey, England. It is owned and run by the National Trust and is one of the Trust's most popular properties. This Regency house was exp ...

in Surrey, which was purchased in 1906 for his daughter Margaret and her husband

. She bequeathed the house and estate to the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

in 1942 in memory of her father. He died in 1913 in

Mayfair Mayfair is an affluent area in the West End of London towards the eastern edge of Hyde Park, in the City of Westminster, between Oxford Street, Regent Street, Piccadilly and Park Lane. It is one of the most expensive districts in the world. ...

and was buried in the village of

Great Bookham Great Bookham is a village in Surrey, England, one of six semi-urban spring line settlements between the towns of Leatherhead and Guildford. With the narrow strip parish of Little Bookham, it forms part of the Saxon settlement of ''Bocham'' ("the ...

in Surrey. His estate was valued at £1.5 million.

Gallery

William McEwan, Vanity Fair, 1902-12-11.jpg, Vanity Fair, 1902 Polesden lacey.jpg,

in Surrey was McEwan's final home and was bequeathed to the

in his name. McEwan, Helen 1906.jpg, left, Grave of Helen Anderson McEwan in

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McEwan, William 1827 births 1913 deaths Burials at Highgate Cemetery Scottish brewers Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Edinburgh constituencies UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 People from Alloa People educated at Alloa Academy Scottish Liberal Party MPs 19th-century Scottish businesspeople