In 1786, Richard Wall opened a butcher's stall in St James'sMarket, London. Selling meat and meat products, he gained a reputation for being a fine pork butcher. In 1812, Wall received the first Royal Appointment to George, Prince of Wales as "Purveyor of Pork," continuing to serve him through his later reign as King George IV. In 1817 his son, Thomas Wall, was born, followed in 1824 by a daughter, Eleanor. Wall's business boomed, 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 prosper. 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, King Edward VII and King George V. The business had always faced problems in the summer, when sales of meat, meat pies and sausages fell, and staff had to be laid off as a consequence. Thus, in 1913, Thomas Wall II proposed 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, and was not implemented until 1922. Before that, Thomas Wall II decided to retire, and so sold the business in 1920 to Mac Fisheries, which itself was acquired in 1922 by Lever Brothers. Thomas Wall II created his Trust in 1920 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.
Products
After the purchase of sausage and pate producer Mattessons 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. Still a prominent manufacturer of sausages and meat pies, their advert for "Wall's Balls" mimic a scene from the film There's Something About Mary. Wall's Balls was introduced February 2003 with a series of humorous TV adverts.
