William Thomas Braithwaite (14 April 1844 – 22 January 1918) was aNorthern Irish businessman,freemason, and marksman. He was the co-founder of the public house chain of Braithwaite & McCann which eventually owned 15 bars and pubs in Belfast. In 1906 he made a large donation of paintings to the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery, now known as theUlster Museum.
William Braithwaite was born inBelfast on 14 April 1844.[1] He never married.[2]
Braithwaite was the co-founder of the public house chain and spirit merchantsBraithwaite & McCann. Their first pub was theHatfield House on theOrmeau Road in the 1880s. By 1899 they also owned the Red Lion, also on the Ormeau Road, and the Garrick in Chichester Street. They expanded to acquire the Store Bar in Church Lane and the Ulster Tavern in Chichester Street, and eventually owned 15 bars and pubs in Belfast.[3] The Hatfield House is a listed building with the Northern Ireland Department of Communities and is described as a "rare example of a traditional public house" and an "important local landmark of considerable social and local interest".[4]
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Described by theBelfast Evening Telegraph as a "world-famed rifle shot", Braithwaite acquired the nickname "Bullseye Braithwaite". He represented Ireland in theElcho Shield competition atBisley for 20 years and won the Albert Jewel, the Wimbledon Cup, the Duke of Cambridge's and the Secretary of State trophies.[1]
He was a freemason,[7] and orangeman and founded the Orange Widows' Fund.[1]
He was a member of theBelfast Natural History and Philosophical Society, which became the Belfast Municipal Museum and Art Gallery, now known as theUlster Museum, and in 1906 he made a large donation of paintings to the institution. He also encouraged the Philosophical Society to donate their own collection to the museum.[2]
Among the paintings Braithwaite donated to the museum wereWinter andSpring (both 1633) byPieter Breughel the Younger. They would originally have been part of a set of the Four Seasons. After poorly carried out repairs in the 1960s the original attribution to Breughel the Younger fell into doubt and was not restored until after the paintings were cleaned for the BBC Four television seriesBritain's Lost Masterpieces.[5][8]
Described as "retiring", the only public office that Braithwaite held was on the board of theBelfast City and District Water Commissioners.[1]
Braithwaite died at his home ofBotanic Avenue, Belfast, on 22 January 1918.[1]
Media related toWilliam Thomas Braithwaite at Wikimedia Commons