Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet of Beauclerc (17 August 1826 – ) was an English building contractor and publisher. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Scott began his profession as a mason, before setting up his own building firm, completing many major architectural projects in the North East of England and notable railway stations in London. His publishing house, Walter Scott Publishing Co. brought classic literature to the masses for a low price.

Early life

Scott was born in Abbey Town,

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

in 1826. In his youth he was a notable wrestler and was seen as the best wrestler in his weight within his district, and won several wrestling prizes at local fairs. He moved to

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is als ...

, and began an apprenticeship as a

stonemason Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

. After completing his apprenticeship he worked as a builder and began working on several contracts in the local area. By the age of 23 he had set up his own building company.

Major building works

Scott later began winning building contracts in the North East and was the main contractor behind several landmark buildings within Newcastle, including the

Tyne Theatre Tyne may refer to: __NOTOC__ Geography *River Tyne, England *Port of Tyne, the commercial docks in and around the River Tyne in Tyne and Wear, England *River Tyne, Scotland *River Tyne, a tributary of the South Esk River, Tasmania, Australia People ...

, Byker Bridge and added the

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

to Newcastle railway station in 1863. Outside Newcastle he completed rebuilding work at

Haggerston Castle Haggerston Castle was a castle located in the county of Northumberland,England at Haggerston about south of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Only the tower, rotunda and stable block (Grade II listed buildings) remain. Today it is part of a caravan park ow ...

and several railway projects in London, including City and South London Railway and the marble arch at the Central London Station.

Publishing

In 1882 Scott acquired The Tyne Publishing Co., a printing and publishing business that was facing impending bankruptcy.Michael R. Turner
"Title-Pages Produced by the Walter Scott Publishing Co Ltd "
''

Studies in Bibliography Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia is a learned society founded in 1947 at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville to promote interest in books and manuscripts, maps, printing, the graphic arts, and bibliography and textual c ...

'', Vol. 44 (1991), pp. 323-331. Retrieved 19 January 2019. Within a few years Scott, trading as the Walter Scott Publishing Co. Ltd., published "several hundred volumes". His publications featured a number of book reprint series (including the Camelot Classics, the Canterbury Poets, the Emerald Library, the Evergreen Library, the Great Writers and the Oxford Library) and a series of original works in The Contemporary Science Series.The Contemporary Science Series (Walter Scott Publishing) - Book Series List
publishinghistory.com. Retrieved 25 January 2019.

Later life

Scott married Anne Brough, daughter of John Brough of Bromfield, Cumberland. They had a large family, including John Scott, the eldest son who became the second Baronet of Beauclerc on the death of his father and

Mason Mason may refer to: Occupations * Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces * Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...

and

William Martin Scott William Martin Scott (27 March 1870 – 26 February 1944) was an English international rugby union half back who played club rugby for Cambridge University and Northern. Scott played international rugby for England and was an original member ...

, England international rugby union players. He was created a Baronet on 27 July 1907. Scott died at

Cape Martin Cape Martin (french: Cap Martin) is a headland situated in the commune of Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, Alpes-Maritimes ''département'', in southern France. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea coast between Monaco and Menton. ''Cap-Martin'', an aff ...

in France on 8 April 1910 and was buried in Menton. File:Newcastle Station Exterior.jpg, Newcastle Station, showing the portico added in 1863 File:Newcastle the journal thyne theater.jpg, Tyne Theatre, completed 1867

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Walter 1826 births 1910 deaths English publishers (people) Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom English civil engineering contractors People from Allerdale 19th-century English businesspeople