JOHN RYLANDS
Cheapside London
[Fig. 38]
John Rylands premises in London, Wood St.
Designed by J. & J. Belcher.
In 1848[1] John Rylands purchased a warehouse in No. 55 Cheapside, London across Wood Street, Philip Lane and London Wall[2] for home - trade production. Though, according to D. A. Farnie, he transferred his warehouse from Cheapside to Wood Street in 1856[3]. It appears, that Rylands & Sons expanded their London premises in the period between 1864 – 1865 and 1874 – 1875[4]. As stated in John Rylands Special Collections archives, the warehouses traded manufactured goods “from the best materials, ensuring strength and durability”[5] but also warehouses were divided into 45 different departments.
In 1882, the London premises suffered a disastrous fire[6]. A few care – takers were sleeping in the warehouse, yet they were safely removed from the building and no one was seriously injured. Roughly calculated, between two to three millions pounds worth of damage had been done but the warehouses were restored and enlarged in 1884[7].
[Map 13]
Cheapside. London map in 1859.
Courtesy of Ralph R. Frericks London Maps
[Map 14]
Wood Street of Cheapside, London. 1859 map.
Courtesy of Ralph R. Frericks London Maps
[Fig. 39]
Document taken from promotional brochure of Rylands & Sons London warehouses in 1932.
Copyright of the University of Manchester
[Fig. 40]
Rylands & Sons premises in London, 1908.
Copyright of the University of Manchester
[1]John Rylands Library, Special Collections, RYL/1/3/1, Printed paperback catalogue with various warehouses of Rylands & Sons
[2]John Rylands Library, Special Collections, RYL/1/3/1, Printed paperback catalogue with various warehouses of Rylands & Sons.
[3]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 87.
[4]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 39.
[5]John Rylands Library, Special Collections, RYL/1/3/1, Printed paperback catalogue with various warehouses of Rylands & Sons.
[6]‘Great fire in London: Damage, a million and a quarter Rylands & Son’s warehouses destroyed’, The Manchester Gurdian, 9 December 1882, p. 5.
[7]John Rylands Library, Special Collections, RYL/1/3/1, Printed paperback catalogue with various warehouses of Rylands & Sons.