St. Mary's Road premises, 1973. Picture Sheffield (s44150), © SCC
In 1774, Joshua Ryals was a table knife cutler and publican at the White Lion at Brentsworth (Brinsworth’s) Orchard. By 1787, the firm was ‘& Son’, with a diamond trade mark and letters ‘I S’. Joshua died (apparently in 1792) and in 1797 Widow Ryals & Son was listed in Orchard Street. The Ryals’ family (with a diamond/heart mark) resurfaced in Hollis Croft / Solly Street.
In the Census (1841), John Ryals (c.1791-1856) was living at 244 Solly Street with his wife, Mary (c.1784-1866), and son, James (c.1822-1881). John was a cutler, who may have been listed making table knives in Solly Street in 1833. He died on 3 May 1856, aged 65, and was buried in the General Cemetery. In 1849, his son, James, had been listed as a table knife manufacturer in Solly Street. Apparently, John and Mary had another son, Joseph Ryals (c.1813-1852?), who was also a cutler. Joseph’s wife was Harriet: their son was John Ryals (c.1842-1887), who by 1871 was living with his uncle James at 237 Solly Street. James died on 29 January 1881, aged 58, and was buried in the General Cemetery. In 1881, John was enumerated in the Census as a ‘cutlery warehouseman’ employing fourteen men, living with his wife Hannah and sons, James (1864-1927?) and John H. (1873-1952?). John Ryals died at 237 Solly Street on 14 December 1887, aged 45, leaving £1,699. His burial was in the family grave in the General Cemetery.
After her husband’s death, Hannah (c.1842-1919) and sons James and John operated the business. James Ryals (known as Ryals Bros by 1889) was based at 237 Solly Street until the end of the 1890s. It specialised in table, butchers’, and cooks’ knives, though later it was listed as ‘general cutlery manufacturers’. In 1902, the address was Wheeldon Street, with the name becoming James Ryals Bros (under John and James) and then within a decade simply ‘James Ryals’. Hannah died in Sarah Street on 16 May 1919, aged 77, leaving £192.
In 1920, Ryals’ became a private limited company (capital £5,000) at Garrick Works, Wheeldon Street, producing stainless table cutlery and canteens. The director was Arthur Kirk. By the 1930s, it was at Harwood Street under Montague Leonard Jackson (1875-1943), who was a jewellery and silverware retailer and former bankrupt. He was also a director of Hammond, Creake and electro-plater E. Cheetham Ltd (registered in 1934 with £2,000 capital). After the War, Ryals’ moved to St Mary’s Road. By 1968, it was part of the Ingersoll Watchmaking Group, alongside Geo. Butler and Leppington.