Church of Ireland (Anglican)

William Scott

Founder of the Derry Shirt Making Industry

 

A committed Presbyterian and for 70 years an elder in the Fountain Street Seceding Congregation.

He was superintendent of the Sunday School and helped establish Fourth Derry Presbyterian congregation.

 

He was a pioneering shirt manufacturer from this city. In 1831, at the age of 66 years he began producing linen-breasted shirts, which he sold in Glasgow and other places.

 

Local women, working in their own homes in the City, Inishowen and Limavady made up the ready cut material supplied by William Scott & Son. In 1840 they employed 250 weavers, and over 500 women.

They paid out about £500 weekly in wages.

This venture laid the foundation for the city’s shirt-making industry, which became a significant economic driver in the 19th and early 20th centuries.