Manchester Engels while living and working in Manchester. Manchester was the meeting place of Engels and Karl Marx. The two began writing "The Communist Manifesto" in Chetham's Library. The library was founded in 1653 and lays claim to being the oldest public library in the English-speaking world. Elsewhere in the city, the John Rylands Library holds an extensive collection of early printing. The Rylands Library Papyrus P52, believed to be the earliest extant New Testament text, is on permanent display in the library. Charles Dickens is reputed to have set his novel "Hard Times" in the city, and while it is
Rylands v Fletcher leading to the development of negligence and nuisance and the further development of trespass. At the time of "Rylands", the previous case relied upon was "Vaughan v Menlove", decided in the Court of Common Pleas in 1837. The case had almost identical facts to "Rylands", but strict liability was never even considered. The case is instead thought of as one of the best attempts of early 19th century English judges to build up the law of negligence. The outcome of "Rylands" meant that judges would again impose strict liability on defendants who accumulated dangerous things on their land without any