William Walker, 1st Baron Wavertree
Encyclopedia
William Hall Walker, 1st Baron Wavertree (25 December 1856 – 2 February 1933) was a British
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
racehorse
breeding
.
, a wealthy brewer
born in Ayrshire
who expanded the family business to England
and moved to live in Gateacre
, Liverpool
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
, Fife
.
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
.
in County Kildare
where he established a highly successful stud
farm
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
and 1906 Epsom Derby
winner, Minoru
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
and The National Stud
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Member of Parliament
for Widnes
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
.
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
racehorse
breeding
.
, a wealthy brewer
born in Ayrshire
who expanded the family business to England
and moved to live in Gateacre
, Liverpool
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
, Fife
.
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
.
in County Kildare
where he established a highly successful stud
farm
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
and 1906 Epsom Derby
winner, Minoru
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
and The National Stud
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Member of Parliament
for Widnes
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
.
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
racehorse
breeding
.
, a wealthy brewer
born in Ayrshire
who expanded the family business to England
and moved to live in Gateacre
, Liverpool
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
, Fife
.
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
.
in County Kildare
where he established a highly successful stud
farm
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
and 1906 Epsom Derby
winner, Minoru
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
and The National Stud
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Member of Parliament
for Widnes
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
.
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
.
Background
Walker was a younger son of Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st BaronetAndrew Barclay Walker
Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st Baronet was a brewer and Liverpool Councillor.He was born at Auchinflower, Ayrshire, He was educated at Ayr Academy and at the Liverpool Institute...
, a wealthy brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
born in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
who expanded the family business to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and moved to live in Gateacre
Gateacre
Gateacre is a district of Liverpool, England, located approximately from the city centre. It is bordered by Childwall, Woolton and Belle Vale...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
Limekilns
Limekilns, a village in Fife, Scotland, lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth.Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an extremely old settlement dating back to the 14th century. The oldest building in the village is without doubt The King's Cellar, a large and somewhat...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
A lover of horses, Walker was a poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
1896 Grand National
The 1896 Grand National was the 58th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, in 1896....
.
Irish National Stud
In 1900, Walker purchased the lands around Tully, Kildare townKildare
-External links:*******...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
where he established a highly successful stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named for County Palatine of Lancaster near where his breeder William Hall Walker had been raised....
and 1906 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
winner, Minoru
Minoru (horse)
Minoru was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won two British Classic Races. He was bred by Lord Wavertree at his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare which today is the Irish National Stud....
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
Irish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
The National Stud
In 1916, Walker gifted his entire bloodstock to the British government with the idea of creating a National Stud. As part of the arrangement, the government acquired his stud farm in Ireland that became the basis for both the Irish National StudIrish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
and The National Stud
The National Stud
The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare, Ireland...
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
Art collection
Walker's father was not an art collector but donated the Walker Art Gallery to the city of Liverpool. He would acquire a substantial collection of his own, among them the painting View of Killarney with the Passage to the Upper Lake by William AshfordWilliam Ashford
William Ashford was an English landscape painter who worked exclusively in Ireland.Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746 and arrived in Dublin, Ireland in 1764 at the age of eighteen. Within three years of his arrival, Ashford was exhibiting with the Society of Artists on William Street...
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Politics and the Peerage
In 1900, Walker was elected as ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Widnes
Widnes (UK Parliament constituency)
Widnes was a county constituency in England, based on the town of Widnes, in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
.
External links
William Hall Walker, 1st Baron Wavertree (25 December 1856 – 2 February 1933) was a BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
.
Background
Walker was a younger son of Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st BaronetAndrew Barclay Walker
Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st Baronet was a brewer and Liverpool Councillor.He was born at Auchinflower, Ayrshire, He was educated at Ayr Academy and at the Liverpool Institute...
, a wealthy brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
born in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
who expanded the family business to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and moved to live in Gateacre
Gateacre
Gateacre is a district of Liverpool, England, located approximately from the city centre. It is bordered by Childwall, Woolton and Belle Vale...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
Limekilns
Limekilns, a village in Fife, Scotland, lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth.Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an extremely old settlement dating back to the 14th century. The oldest building in the village is without doubt The King's Cellar, a large and somewhat...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
A lover of horses, Walker was a poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
1896 Grand National
The 1896 Grand National was the 58th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, in 1896....
.
Irish National Stud
In 1900, Walker purchased the lands around Tully, Kildare townKildare
-External links:*******...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
where he established a highly successful stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named for County Palatine of Lancaster near where his breeder William Hall Walker had been raised....
and 1906 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
winner, Minoru
Minoru (horse)
Minoru was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won two British Classic Races. He was bred by Lord Wavertree at his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare which today is the Irish National Stud....
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
Irish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
The National Stud
In 1916, Walker gifted his entire bloodstock to the British government with the idea of creating a National Stud. As part of the arrangement, the government acquired his stud farm in Ireland that became the basis for both the Irish National StudIrish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
and The National Stud
The National Stud
The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare, Ireland...
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
Art collection
Walker's father was not an art collector but donated the Walker Art Gallery to the city of Liverpool. He would acquire a substantial collection of his own, among them the painting View of Killarney with the Passage to the Upper Lake by William AshfordWilliam Ashford
William Ashford was an English landscape painter who worked exclusively in Ireland.Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746 and arrived in Dublin, Ireland in 1764 at the age of eighteen. Within three years of his arrival, Ashford was exhibiting with the Society of Artists on William Street...
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Politics and the Peerage
In 1900, Walker was elected as ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Widnes
Widnes (UK Parliament constituency)
Widnes was a county constituency in England, based on the town of Widnes, in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
.
External links
William Hall Walker, 1st Baron Wavertree (25 December 1856 – 2 February 1933) was a BritishBritish people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
businessman, politician, art collector, and an important figure in Thoroughbred
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
breeding
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
.
Background
Walker was a younger son of Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st BaronetAndrew Barclay Walker
Sir Andrew Barclay Walker, 1st Baronet was a brewer and Liverpool Councillor.He was born at Auchinflower, Ayrshire, He was educated at Ayr Academy and at the Liverpool Institute...
, a wealthy brewer
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
born in Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
who expanded the family business to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and moved to live in Gateacre
Gateacre
Gateacre is a district of Liverpool, England, located approximately from the city centre. It is bordered by Childwall, Woolton and Belle Vale...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, by his wife Eliza Reid of Limekilns
Limekilns
Limekilns, a village in Fife, Scotland, lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth.Unlike the neighbouring village of Charlestown, Limekilns is an extremely old settlement dating back to the 14th century. The oldest building in the village is without doubt The King's Cellar, a large and somewhat...
, Fife
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
.
Thoroughbred horse racing
A lover of horses, Walker was a poloPolo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
player and in 1895 built stables near Liverpool for his polo ponies at what is now known as Grange Mews. Although he began racing horses, he is best remembered as a breeder and the person who introduced English racing to the Aga Khan III
Aga Khan III
Sir Sultan Muhammed Shah, Aga Khan III, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, GCVO, PC was the 48th Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. He was one of the founders and the first president of the All-India Muslim League, and served as President of the League of Nations from 1937-38. He was nominated to represent India to...
. As an owner his most meorable victory was that of The Soarer in the 1896 Grand National
1896 Grand National
The 1896 Grand National was the 58th renewal of the world-famous Grand National horse race that took place at Aintree near Liverpool, England, in 1896....
.
Irish National Stud
In 1900, Walker purchased the lands around Tully, Kildare townKildare
-External links:*******...
in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
where he established a highly successful stud
Horse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
farm
Farm
A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food , fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production. Farms may be owned and operated by a single...
. He acquired a number of foundation mares that led to the breeding of such horses as Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine
Prince Palatine was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. He was named for County Palatine of Lancaster near where his breeder William Hall Walker had been raised....
and 1906 Epsom Derby
Epsom Derby
The Derby Stakes, popularly known as The Derby, internationally as the Epsom Derby, and under its present sponsor as the Investec Derby, is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies...
winner, Minoru
Minoru (horse)
Minoru was a Thoroughbred racehorse who won two British Classic Races. He was bred by Lord Wavertree at his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare which today is the Irish National Stud....
. Between the years 1906 and 1910, he created a Japanese garden
Japanese garden
, that is, gardens in traditional Japanese style, can be found at private homes, in neighborhood or city parks, and at historical landmarks such as Buddhist temples, Shinto shrines and old castles....
that is acclaimed as the finest of its kind in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and today is a major tourist attraction.
In 1916, Walker gifted his stud to the British Government for the purpose of founding a British National Stud. In 1943, the newly formed Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
Government acquired the property and the Irish National Stud Company Ltd. was formed. Currently, the Irish National Stud
Irish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
property consists of 958 acres (3.9 km²) and is home to some of Ireland's leading stallions.
The National Stud
In 1916, Walker gifted his entire bloodstock to the British government with the idea of creating a National Stud. As part of the arrangement, the government acquired his stud farm in Ireland that became the basis for both the Irish National StudIrish National Stud
The Irish National Stud is a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility based at Tully, Kildare, County Kildare, Ireland...
and The National Stud
The National Stud
The National Stud is a United Kingdom Thoroughbred horse breeding farm located two miles from Newmarket. The Stud originated in 1916 as a result of a gift by William Hall Walker of the entire bloodstock of his stud farm in Tully, Kildare town in County Kildare, Ireland...
of the United Kingdom now located in Newmarket. Wavertree House at the National Stud and its Wavertree Charitable Trust is named in Walker's memory.
Art collection
Walker's father was not an art collector but donated the Walker Art Gallery to the city of Liverpool. He would acquire a substantial collection of his own, among them the painting View of Killarney with the Passage to the Upper Lake by William AshfordWilliam Ashford
William Ashford was an English landscape painter who worked exclusively in Ireland.Ashford was born in Birmingham, England in 1746 and arrived in Dublin, Ireland in 1764 at the age of eighteen. Within three years of his arrival, Ashford was exhibiting with the Society of Artists on William Street...
, one of Ireland's leading landscape artists. In 1933, he bequeathed the Walker Art Gallery a sizeable part of his paintings collection plus £20,000 to help the museum with its renovations. In addition, he donated a number of paintings from his collection of sporting art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
to The National Stud which are on display at Wavertree House.
Politics and the Peerage
In 1900, Walker was elected as ConservativeConservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Widnes
Widnes (UK Parliament constituency)
Widnes was a county constituency in England, based on the town of Widnes, in Lancashire. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.-History:...
. He served until resigning on 18 August 1919. On 27 October 1919 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Wavertree, of Delamere in the County of Chester. On his death in 1933, the barony became extinct.
In his honor, the Lord Wavertree Cup is offered in English FA
The Football Association
The Football Association, also known as simply The FA, is the governing body of football in England, and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. It was formed in 1863, and is the oldest national football association...
football. His widow, a direct descendent of the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Irish-born playwright and poet and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. For thirty-two years he was also a Whig Member of the British House of Commons for Stafford , Westminster and Ilchester...
, was also an avid sports person who sponsored lawn tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
tournaments and offered the International Tennis Federation a trophy that was declined but later was initiated as the Davis Cup
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...
.