John Walter was the founder of The Times newspaper, one of the world’s most influential broadsheets. He is commemorated with a blue plaque at 113 Clapham Common North Side, where he lived between 1773 and 1783.

Early Career and Clapham Common

Born in the City of London, Walter took over his father’s business as a coal merchant. He played an influential role in establishing the Coal Exchange of London. The exchange opened in 1770 and was a private body regulating the trade of coal in the capital. 

These rewarding pursuits enabled Walter to acquire 113 North Side with his wife, Frances, née Landen, in 1773. Clapham Common North Side was much developed in the 18th century, when the area became a desirable suburban retreat. Walter’s home dates largely from about 1763 and is now known as Gilmore House after the sister of William Morris, Deaconess Isabella Gilmore (1842–1923), who lived there from 1891.

In 1781, Walter gave up his coal business and turned to marine underwriting, becoming a member of Lloyd’s of London. However, heavy losses forced him into bankruptcy. In about 1783, he was obliged to give up his town house in Queen Square, Bloomsbury, as well as 113 North Side.

The Times

By the time he left 113 North Side, Walter had become interested in typography. In 1782, he bought the patent to, and developed, the logographic system, which was said to speed up the printing process. Two years later, he founded the Logographic Press in Blackfriars, where he began to print books. On 1 January 1785, publication started on a small newspaper called the Daily Universal Register. Three years later, the newspaper was renamed The Times. 

The early years of the newspaper proved troublesome for Walter. In 1789 he was sentenced to a year’s imprisonment at Newgate Prison for publishing libels on the Duke of York. A further year’s imprisonment followed shortly after, for libels on the Prince of Wales and Duke of Clarence. Despite this, The Times still experienced success and by 1793, 4,000 copies were sold per day. Walter retired to Teddington in 1795 and left the management of the newspaper to his sons. 

The Times came into its own under the ownership and editorship of Walter’s son John, born at number 113 North Side. He assumed sole control of the paper in 1803. By the time of John’s death in 1847, he had established The Times as one of the world’s most influential broadsheets. 

For the design of Walter’s blue plaque, the Greater London Council decided to use an appropriate typeface for the words The Times, based on that used by the newspaper in the late 18th century.