William Arrol

The son of a spinner, Arrol was born in Houston, Renfrewshire, and started work in a cotton mill at only 9 years of age,[1] prior to commencing training as a blacksmith by age 13, and going on to learn mechanics and hydraulics at night school.

[2] In 1863 he joined a company of bridge manufacturers in Glasgow, but by 1872 he had established his own business, the Dalmarnock Iron Works, in the east end of the city.

[4] He served as President of The Institution of Engineers and Shipbuilders in Scotland from 1895–97.

He spent the latter years of his life on his estate at Seafield House, near Ayr,[5] where he died on 20 February 1913.

[1] He is buried in Woodside Cemetery, Paisley, on the north side of the main east-west path on the crest of the hill.