(1899) in the Rylands Library Reading Room Rylands was the third son of Joseph Rylands, a manufacturer of cotton goods, of
St Helens, Lancashire, and his wife Elizabeth (née Pilkington). He was educated at St Helens
Grammar School. His aptitude for trade quickly became obvious and manifested itself early and, before the age of eighteen, he entered into partnership with his elder brothers Joseph and Richard. Their father joined them in 1819, when the firm of Rylands & Sons was established, the seat of operations being established in
Wigan. Their manufactures for some years consisted of
ginghams, checks, ticks,
dowlases,
calicoes and
linens. John, the youngest partner, occupied himself with travelling over several counties for orders until 1823, when he opened a warehouse for the firm in
Manchester. Business increased rapidly, and in the course of a few years extensive properties at Wigan, along with
dye works and
bleach works, were purchased. Valuable seams of coal were afterwards discovered under these properties, and proved a great source of wealth to the purchasers. In 1873, Rylands converted his business into a
limited company but he retained sole management of it. The extra capital from this move led to the purchase of more mills and the company entered into fresh business in many quarters of the
globe. The firm, which had a capital of £2 million, became the largest textile manufacturing concern in the UK. His business made him Manchester's first multi-millionaire. He employed 15,000 people in his 17 mills and factories, which produced 35 long tons (39 short tons) of cloth a day. From 1857, John Rylands lived at
Longford Hall, in Stretford, an
Italianate mansion he built on the site of an earlier house. In 2009 the local council placed a "blue plaque" at the site of Longford Hall to commemorate John and Enriqueta Rylands. He was a liveryman of the
Worshipful Company of Curriers.
Public works Rylands was retired and reserved except in the company of his friends, a number of Union Chapels (including one in Stretford and two in Manchester) were supported by him. His charities were numerous but unobtrusive. Among other benefactions he established and maintained
orphanages, homes for aged gentlewomen, a home of rest for
ministers of slender means, and he provided a
town hall,
public baths, library and a coffeehouse in the town of
Stretford, where he lived. He also built an institute for the benefit of the villagers of
Havenstreet on the
Isle of Wight, where Rylands passed some of his later years from 1882, having built a house named Longford there after his mainland estate. His donations to the poor of Rome were so generous as to induce the
king to decorate him in 1880 with the
Order of the Crown of Italy. Rylands died at his home, Longford Hall, on 11 December 1888, at the age of 87. He was buried in the
Southern Cemetery, Manchester: a fine tomb was erected over the vault and his widow was buried there in 1908. The tomb has several Bible texts inscribed upon it which reflect his deep Christian faith: 1. "Redeemed with the precious blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19) 2. "They shall be mine saith the Lord of Hosts In that day when I make up my jewels." (Malachi 3:17) 3. "Looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life." (Jude 1:21) 4. "Kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation." (1 Peter 1:5) 5. "The Lord stood with me and strengthened me." (2 Timothy 4:17). 6. "Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit serving the Lord." (Romans 12:11). His estate, the bulk of which was left to his wife Enriqueta, was valued at £2,574,922 (£ as of ), greater than that left by any other cotton manufacturer to that time. ==See also==