John Rylands "they had become the summit of the firm's hierarchical organization, the seat of its central power and the goal of all ambitious employees" (D. A. Farnie, in "John Rylands of Manchester", 1973). 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.
Rylands v Fletcher tort, but instead a sub-tort of nuisance. In 1860, Rylands paid contractors to build a reservoir on his land, intending that it should supply the Ainsworth Mill with water. Rylands played no active role in the construction, instead contracting out to a competent engineer. While building it, the contractors discovered a series of old coal shafts and passages under the land filled loosely with soil and debris, which joined up with Thomas Fletcher's adjoining mine. Rather than blocking these shafts up, the contractors left them. On 11 December 1860, shortly after being filled for the first time, Rylands' reservoir burst