JOHN RYLANDS
New High Street warehouses
[Fig. 25]
Rylands & Sons office blocks on New High Street in 1900, May 17. H. Entwistle photograph.
Copyright of the Manchester Library
[Fig. 26]
Picture with the view of timbering, taken by A. Mallas in 1900, May 31 of a New High Street, Mancheester.
Copyright of the Manchester Library
Rylands & Sons established the first warehouse on 11 New High Street, Manchester in 1823[1]. He therefore purchased another sixteen separate buildings along the New High Street and Tib Street, as a result all the premises were put together and made one large warehouse. It was 300 feet (approximately 92 meters) long and 42 feet (about 12 meters) wide[2]. Since 1847, the fustian department came into existence, hence increasing the company's production and capital.
The unfortunate fire in 1854 on New High Street, resulted in destruction of £12,000 worth of goods left in the warehouse alone and overall damage caused by a fire was at an approximate cost of £200,000[3]. Despite the fact that the insurance covered £73,000 of overall loss, Rylands premises were entirely destroyed. Furthermore, the blaze had also reached a great number of neighbouring warehouses causing even more damage. Fortunately, the company was restored in short period of time, due to Rylands financial status because by that time he obtained the status of "the largest merchant in Manchester"[4] and also was Manchester's first millionaire[5].
In 1862, the warehouses drew out to "seven storeys"[6] and stretched out from the beginning of the New High to the end of the street. It appears that the company was back into the business and doing better than ever before. D. A. Farnie explains:
"They had become the summit of the firm's hierarchical organisation, the seat of its central power and the goal of all ambitious employees. Their stocks extended over the whole range of dry goods, including small wares, haberdashery, clothing, millinery, furs and mantles, as well as types of textiles."[7]
Such vast expansion of the warehouses led to the New High Street disappearance from Manchester maps in 1860's, due to “engrossed neighbouring properties and even whole thoroughfares”[8].
[Fig. 27]
Courtesy of The Manchester Guardian article about fire on New High Street in 1854, resulted in £200,000 worth of damage.
[Map 7]
Insurance plan of the city of Manchester, New High Street, 1886.
[Fig. 28]
John Rylands warehouses along New High St. The picture taken by A. Bradburn in 1900.
Copyright of the Manchester Library
[Fig. 29]
The New High Street warehouses of John Rylands. A. Bradburn photograph in 1900.
Copyright of the Manchester Library
[Fig. 30]
The New High Street, Manchester. Photograph taken by A. Bradburn, 1900.
Copyright of the Manchester Library
[1]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 10.
[2]‘Destruction of warehouses in Manchester. Loss one hundred and forty thousand pounds’, The Manchester Guardian, 5 March 1854, p. 3.
[3]‘Destruction of warehouses in Manchester. Loss one hundred and forty thousand pounds’, The Manchester Guardian, 5 March 1854, p. 3.
[4]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 13.
[5]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 14.
[6]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 15.
[7]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 15.
[8]Farnie, D. A., John Rylands of Manchester (Manchester: John Rylands University Library, 1993), p. 83.