Rylands Building Rylands Building Rylands Building is a Grade II listed building in Market Street, Manchester, England. Situated close to the Piccadilly area of Manchester city centre, the building was originally built as a warehouse by the Rylands textile company which was founded by John Rylands. The building was designed by the eminent Manchester architects, Fairhursts, in an Art Deco style. It is clad in Portland stone and features a decorative corner tower and eclectic 'zig zag' window lintels. The building is situated in the Smithfield conservation area of Manchester, an area which was known for its markets and textile warehouses. Following
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