John Pullar
{{short description|19th-century Scottish businessman}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
John Pullar (22 April 1803 – 16 December 1878) was a 19th-century Scottish businessman, and founder of J. Pullar and Sons (later J & J Pullar Ltd and Pullars of Perth). He went into local politics in later life, becoming Provost of Perth. He was the patriarch of the Pullar dynasty which spawned a number of notable figures in Scottish history.
Life
Pullar was born on 22 April 1803 at Pomarium in Perth, the son of Robert Pullar (1782–1835), a cloth manufacturer, and his wife, Elizabeth Black (died 1857).
File:Shop sign for Pullars of Perth, Perth Museum.jpg
In 1824 he set up his own dyeworks at Burt's Close in Perth with six employees.{{cite web|url=http://www.scottish-places.info/people/famousfirst3475.html|website=scottish-places.info|title=John Pullar: Overview of John Pullar|access-date=2018-01-25}} His premises dyed cloth for his father and provided dyeing and laundry services for the public. In 1828 he relocated to 36 Mill Street to distance himself from neighbours and have an area of expansion with good water supply. The firm benefitted from the arrival of trains in 1847. In 1851 they exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London and received the patronage of Queen Victoria
in 1852, thereafter being by appointment to the Queen.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Sir Robert Pullar
By 1856 they employed over 100 persons and had over thirty premises gathering clothes for cleaning.
In 1865 the Mill Street premises was rebuilt and renamed the North British Dyeworks. The building remains and is now known as "Pullar House" and houses Perth and Kinross Council.{{cite web|url=http://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/15464/Pullar-House|title=Perth & Kinross Council - Pullar House|website=pkc.gov.uk|access-date=2018-01-25}}
In 1867/8 Pullars began dry cleaning (the first dry cleaning service in Scotland) due to his son James marriage to Adelgunde Spindler, daughter of Wilhelm Spindler who invented the benzene method of dry cleaning. John (already 63 years old) left this element of the business wholly in the hands of James. Robert Pringle handled the remainder of the business whilst John took a new role as Provost of Perth, serving (as a radical Liberal) 1867 to 1873.Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: John Pullar
During his time as Provost he brought improvements to the railway system and various city improvement schemes. He was concurrently a Director of the Bank of Scotland, Director of the Caledonian Railway Company and Trustee and Director of Perth Royal Infirmary. He was a Deacon of the [https://perthbaptistchurch.org.uk/ Perth Baptist Church] and an advocate of the temperance movement.
Family
In August 1826 Pullar married Mary Walker (1805–1891) of Brahan in Ross-shire.
Their nine children included four famous sons: Sir Robert Pullar, James Pullar, Edmund Pullar and Laurence Pullar. He was grandfather to Frederick Pullar
Artistic recognition
Pullar was painted by John MacLaren Barclay. The portrait was copied by his in-law Walter Spindler.{{cite web|url=https://www.artuk.org/discover/artworks/lord-provost-john-pullar-129946|title=Lord Provost John Pullar|website=Art UK|access-date=2018-01-25}}
Death
File:The grave of John Pullar, Wellshill Cemetery, Perth.jpg
Pullar died of a heart attack at his home at 3 St Leonards Bank on 16 December 1878 aged 75. He was one of the richest men in Scotland at the time of his death. He was buried in Wellshill Cemetery in Perth on 21 December. The grave lies on the lower half of the terraced section midway along the southmost path linking the old and new sections.
In his father's honour, sons Robert and James gifted a stained glass window, depicting Robert the Bruce's 1312 capture of Perth, in the city's Municipal Building at the very eastern end of the High Street.Official Guide to Perth and Its Neighbourhood by the Tramway Car Routes – Perth Town Council (1907), p. 4
References
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Category:People from Perth, Scotland