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William and his Brother Henry devoted a
significant part of their leisure time to their religious
interests. They added much to the success and development
of the non-conformist movement in Bristol - " as
successful manufacturers, they perceived that the spread
of the gospel, like the sale of tobacco and snuff,
depended on an adequate level of capital investment"
1. They made regular donations to charities run by
the Congregationalists. They were founder trustees of the Hanham chapel in 1841 and of the Barton Hill chapel in
1843. Also, in 1843 at Highbury on the boundary between
Redland and Cotham (a newly developing middle class
suburb) they initiated the building of a main chapel -
the architect was William's nephew by marriage, William
Butterfield. W.D & H,O Wills
and the Development of the UK Tobacco Industry 1786 -
1965 by B.W.E. Alford (1)
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| William Day Wills was born in June 1797 and
joined his fathers business in 1818 as a trainee
travelling salesman. In 1820 he was given his own
'Journey'. |
In 1838 William unsuccessfully contested
the Redcliff ward in the local council elections but in
1846 he was successful as a Liberal candidate for St
Pauls.
When he died in 1865, he was buried in Arnos Vale
cemetery, Bristol.
Memorial |