Peter Rylands

---

title: "Peter Rylands" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1820-births", "1887-deaths", "liberal-party-(uk)-mps-for-english-constituencies", "uk-mps-1868–1874", "uk-mps-1874–1880", "uk-mps-1880–1885", "uk-mps-1885–1886", "uk-mps-1886–1892", "people-educated-at-boteler-grammar-school", "politicians-from-warrington", "liberal-unionist-party-mps-for-english-constituencies", "politics-of-burnley", "mayors-of-warrington"] description: "English politician and wire manufacturer" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Rylands" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary English politician and wire manufacturer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox officeholder"]

Field	Value
name	Peter Rylands
image	Peter Rylands, Vanity Fair, 1879-01-25.jpg
caption	Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1879.
office1	Member of Parliament for Burnley
term1	1876-1887
office2	Member of Parliament for Warrington
term2	1868-1874
office3	Mayor of Warrington
term3	1853-1854
party	Liberal
birth_date
birth_place	Warrington, England
death_date
children	3, including L. Gordon and Peter
relatives	Dadie Rylands (grandson)
James Glazebrook (grandfather)
::

| name = Peter Rylands | image = Peter Rylands, Vanity Fair, 1879-01-25.jpg | alt = | caption = Caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1879. | office1 = Member of Parliament for Burnley | term1 = 1876-1887 | office2 = Member of Parliament for Warrington | term2 = 1868-1874 | office3 = Mayor of Warrington | term3 = 1853-1854 | party = Liberal | birth_date = | birth_place = Warrington, England | death_date = | death_place = | education = | spouse = | children = 3, including L. Gordon and Peter | relatives = Dadie Rylands (grandson) James Glazebrook (grandfather) Peter Rylands (18 January 1820 – 8 February 1887) was an English wire manufacturer in Lancashire and a Liberal politician who was active in local government and sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1868 and 1887.

Life

Rylands was born at Warrington, the son of John Rylands and his wife Martha Glazebrook, daughter of the Rev. James Glazebrook, vicar of Belton. He was educated at Boteler's Grammar School, Warrington. He was a wire manufacturer and active in local government. As early as 1843 he was corresponding with Richard Cobden on political matters. He was Mayor of Warrington from 1853 to 1854. He had directorships of the Manchester and Liverpool Banking Co., of the Bridgewater Navigation Co., of Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Co., Limited, and of Rylands Brothers, Limited, iron masters and wire manufacturers. He was a J.P. for Cheshire and Lancashire.

At the 1868 general election Rylands was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for Warrington. He was a member of the Royal Commission on Contagious Diseases in 1872. when he also stood unsuccessfully in the South-Eastern Division of Lancashire. In 1876 he won a parliamentary by-election in Burnley, where he was re-elected in 1880 and 1885. When the Liberals split over the First Home Rule Bill, Rylands joined the breakaway Liberal Unionists, and was returned to the House of Commons at the 1886 general election as a Liberal Unionist. He held the seat until his death on 8 February 1887 at the age of 67.

Rylands lived at Massey Hall, Thelwall which he left to the local authority for educational purposes.

Rylands married twice. He had three sons by his second wife Caroline Reynolds, whom he married in 1861. A grandson was the academic Dadie Rylands.

References

References

1. [https://archive.org/stream/debrettshouseo1886londuoft#page/134/mode/2up Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1886]
2. Howe, Anthony (ed) ''The Letters of Richard Cobden; Vol. 1: 1815–1847''. Oxford: Oxford University Press (1 Jun 1843)
3. [http://www.warrington.gov.uk/Councilanddemocracy/Councillorsdemocracyandelections/mayor/Past_Mayors_of_Warrington.aspx Warrington – Warrington Borough Council – Past Mayors] {{webarchive. link. (11 November 2007)
4. Craig, F. W. S.. (1989). "British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885". Parliamentary Research Services.
5. Craig 1832–1885; p. 413
6. Craig 1832–1885; p. 71
7. Craig, F. W. S.. (1989). "British Parliamentary Election Results 1885–1918". Parliamentary Research Services.
8. Matthew, Lee. "Rylands, Peter (1820–1887)".
9. His eldest son, the author [[L. Gordon Rylands]], published an edition of his letters.[http://www.warringtonmuseum.co.uk/blog/the-man-of-philanthropy-politics-and-clogs-circa-1868/ "The Man of Philanthropy, Politics and Clogs"]. Warrington Museum & Art Gallery.
10. "Descendants of John Rylands".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::