Personal papers, correspondence, cuttings and genealogy papers

A V Roe and Co Ltd, more commonly known as Avro, was an aircraft manufacturer based in Manchester. One of the first manufacturers of aircraft, the company operated from 1910 until 1963. Avro was founded by brothers Alliott and Humphrey Verdon Roe and was based originally in the basement of the Everards Elastic Webbing Company's factory at Brownsfield Mill in Ancoats, Manchester. Avro also rented a shed at Brooklands airfield, where the finished aircraft were sold.

Alliott Verson Roe was the aircraft designer, having already constructed a successful aircraft, the Roe I Triplane, in 1909. The Roe I was the first aircraft completely built from British components. Previous aircraft designs had used parts imported from overseas.

Humphrey Verdon Roe was the managing director of the company, bringing funding for the new enterprise from the family webbing company that he also ran.

In 1911 Roy Chadwick joined the company as Alliott’s personal assistant, working as a draughtsman. Chadwick became the firm's Chief Designer in 1918.

The Avro 500, or Avro E, was the company's first mass produced aircraft. It took its first flight in March 1912. Eighteen of these were built, with most of them entering service with the Royal Flying Corps. In the same year, Avro prototyped the Avro F and Avro G, which were the world's first aircraft with fully enclosed crew accommodation, but neither went into production.

September 1913 saw the first flight of the Avro 504. This was a development of the Avro 500 and was purchased by the War Office. As a result, it would see front line service during the early years of the First World War, but was later used primarily for training pilots. The Avro 504 was manufactured for a period of 20 years, with 8,340 being produced in total. The success of the Avro 504 led the company to move to a factory in Miles Platting, Manchester, followed in 1914 by an extension to the company's new works at Newton Heath, which was completed in 1919.

Following the end of the First World War the lack of new orders caused severe financial problems for Avro and in August 1920 68.5% of the company’s shares were acquired by Crossley Motors, who needed additional factory space to build automobile bodies. Avro continued to operate, building aircraft at the Newton Heath works, and testing them at Alexandra Park Aerodrome in South Manchester until 1924, when flight testing moved to Woodford Aerodrome in Cheshire.

In 1928, Crossley Motors sold their stake in Avro to Armstrong Siddeley in order to pay off losses they had incurred on other projects. Avro became part of the Armstrong Siddeley Development Company, prompting Alliott Verdon Roe's resignation from the company. Chief Designer Roy Chadwick remained at Avro, overseeing the production of training aircraft. Chadwick designed the Avro Tutor in 1930, followed by the twin engine Avro 652, which was later developed into the multirole Avro Anson. The Tutor was bought in large quantities by the RAF.

In 1935, Avro became a subsidiary of Hawker Siddeley.

As tensions in Europe increased, resulting in the outbreak of the Second World War, Avro returned to the production of military aircraft, producing the Avro Manchester, Lancaster and Lincoln bombers. The twin engine Manchester was unsuccessful, partly due to its Vulture engines. Replacing the Vultures with four Rolls-Royce Merlin engines resulted in the more successful Lancaster. 7,377 of these were produced and saw active service during the war. In 1944, the Lancaster was further developed into the Lincoln, the last piston engine bomber in Royal Air Force service.

In order to meet rising demand Avro opened a new factory at Greengate, Chadderton, in 1938, where almost half of all Avro Lancasters were produced, with final assembly at Woodford Aerodrome. The following year, Avro also established an experimental department at RAF Ringway, now known as Manchester Airport, and a shadow factory at Yeadon Aerodrome, now Leeds-Bradford Airport. The Yeadon factory produced 5,500 aircraft including Ansons, Lancasters, Yorks and Lincolns.

Towards the end of the Second World War, Avro put into production a number of civil airliners, in order to make up for a drop in military orders. One of these designs was the Lancastrian, which was a conversion of the Lancaster bomber. The second was the Avro York, which was also based on the Lancaster but used a different fuselage. Production of this would be limited until 1944 due to the focus on military aircraft. The final design that the company produced was the Tudor. This used many components from the Lincoln but suffered from the fact that it wasn’t sufficiently advanced when compared to existing designs and as a result it did not achieve many orders. Despite this both the York and Tudor were used in the Berlin Airlift.

On 23rd August 1947 Roy Chadwick was killed in a crash involving a prototype Tudor 2 that was undergoing testing. Despite this his impact on the company continued, as he had already begun design work on a number of aircraft that Avro went on to produce.

In 1948 Avro produced the Tudor 8 which was powered by four Nene jet engines. This design retained the tail wheel undercarriage, which placed the engine exhausts close to the ground. As a result, the company replaced this with a tricycle undercarriage for the Tudor 9. The design became known as the Avro Ashton, which first flew in 1950. Although this was one of the first jet transport aircraft it was primarily used for research and it was not intended to enter service.

On 30th August 1952 the Avro 698 made its first flight. This was a four engine jet bomber that had been developed to replace existing piston engine designs. Further development of the design resulted in the Avro 707 and the Avro 710. The 710 was not put into full production as it was considered too time consuming to develop. The 698 entered service in 1956 under the name Vulcan, with an improved B.2 version introduced in 1960. The Avro Vulcan was retired in 1984 after having only being using in combat once, during the 1982 Falklands War.

During the late 1950s the company developed the 748 turbo-prop airliner. This successful design was sold around the world and was later developed into the Ashton transport by Hawker Siddeley. The same period also saw the company’s weapons research division begin development of the Blue Steel nuclear missile.

During 1963, parent company Hawker Siddeley restructured its aviation subsidiaries. Each subsidiary had operated under its own brand name, but from July 1963 all subsidiaries were merged into Hawker Siddeley's Aviation Division, which was operated as a single brand. The missile division of the company would become part of the Dynamics Division. Avro as a company ceased to exist, but the Avro was later reused by British Aerospace for their 146 regional airliner, known as the Avro RJ.

Humphrey Verdon-Roe was an English businessman and philanthropist who served as a lieutenant during both world wars. He was born in 1878 in Manchester. Along with his brother, Sir Alliott Verdon-Roe, he founded the A. V. Roe & Co Ltd company in 1910 (also known as Avro), which capitalised on A.V. Roe’s aeronautical inventions and experiments and went on to be of paramount importance to the training of air force officers. In 1918, Humphrey Verdon-Roe married Dr. Marie C. Stopes and together, they opened the first birth control clinic in Britain in London in 1921, the Mothers’ Clinic. Humphrey Verdon-Roe died in 1949.

Botanist and birth control pioneer

Philosopher and Chair of the British Humanist Association

Aircraft designer and manufacturer, born in 1877 in Patricroft, Manchester, known as Alliott Verdon-Roe.

Roe left school at fifteen and in 1893 he became an apprentice at the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway locomotive works, afterwards studying marine engineering at King's College, London. In 1899 he joined the British and South African Royal Mail Company.

During his last voyage in 1902, he became fascinated with flight and began making flying models in his spare time. In 1907 Roe won £75 in a model aeroplane competition. He used the money to build a full-sized copy of his model. After fitting a more powerful engine in 1908, he managed a number of short flights at Brooklands; this was the first time a British designed and built aeroplane had flown.

In January 1910 his brother, Humphrey Verdon Roe helped to found A. V. Roe & Co. in Manchester. In 1911 he designed the first enclosed cabin aeroplane, which flew in 1912 and was entered in the British military trials that year. In October 1912 it established a British flying record of seven and a half hours.

In the following year Roe designed and built the famous Avro 504 which became the best-known military aeroplane of the First World War. An Avro 504 carried out a raid on the Zeppelin sheds at Friedrichshafen on 21 November 1914, which was the first air raid in the history of warfare. The plane was revolutionary in its design and in 1917 it became the standard trainer and for a quarter of a century.

Business declined after the war and Roe sold the controlling interest in A. V. Roe & Co. to the Armstrong Siddeley Motor Company in 1928. Roe and two other investors bought an interest in the boat builder Saunders Ltd, of Cowes. The name was changed to Saunders-Roe and Roe remained president of the company for the rest of his life.

Alliott Roe was knighted in 1929n 8 June 1928. He restyled his name to Verdon-Roe in 1933. He died at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, on 4 January 1958.

Agricultural innovator and farmer, nephew of Alliott Verdon-Roe and Humphrey Verdon Roe.

Son of Alliott Verdon-Roe and founder of Vero Electronics.

English caricaturist who was a major influence on the style of cartoon drawing in the 20th century.

The Manchester Guardian Limited was established in 1907 when C.P. Scott bought The Manchester Guardian from the estate of his cousin, Edward Taylor. In 1924, it bought The Manchester Evening News and became The Manchester Guardian and Evening News Limited. The Manchester Guardian newspaper became known as The Guardian in 1959 and the company name subsequently changed to Guardian and Manchester Evening News Limited.

It became the Guardian Media Group in 1993. The Group is owned by Scott Trust Limited.

Manchester University was the popular name used for the Victoria University of Manchester, constituted in 1904.

Manchester University emerged from the federal Victoria University, which included colleges in Liverpool and Leeds alongside Owens College in Manchester. In 1900 the colleges of the Victoria University separated and in 1904 Owens College was reconstituted as the Victoria University of Manchester, though it was often known simply known as Manchester University, or Owens.

In 2004 Manchester University, under its formal name the Victoria University of Manchester, combined with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST) to become known as The University of Manchester.

District council in Leatherhead, Surrey. It was incorporated into Mole Valley district council in 1972.

The Industrial League and Council was formed through the merger of the Industrial Reconstruction Council and the Industrial League in 1919.

Strangeways Brewery is believed to have been founded in 1778. It was set up by grain merchants called Thomas Caister and Thomas Fray. They built the brewery just outside the boundaries of Manchester in order to avoid paying a tax to the Manchester Grammar School, which had a monopoly on the grinding of grain within the town. The brewery was established on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, when the growth in population and industry created a ready market for locally brewed beer.

Henry Boddington arrived at the brewery in 1832 to work as a traveller for the company. In 1848, when Henry was only 34 years old, he was made a partner in the business. Within five years he had become sole proprietor of the company. Boddingtons became a family business, as three of Henry’s sons joined their father in the management of the brewery.

The 1870s and 1880s was a time of expansion for Boddingtons. The company acquired several other breweries and extended the works at Strangeways. By 1877, Boddingtons had become the biggest brewery in Manchester. It was one of only 30 companies in the country to brew more than 100,000 barrels a year and already owned 71 public houses. Henry Boddington delighted in innovation and progress. In 1877, the local and national press reported that his company had become the first business in Manchester to install a telephone link between two of its sites. In 1887, Boddingtons Breweries Ltd became a publicly registered company. In the following years, despite trade fluctuations caused by the First World War and the Great Depression, the company consolidated its position as one of the leading breweries in North West England. On the 22 December 1940, the brewery was struck when Manchester was hit by a massive air raid. The site was very badly damaged and brewing was forced to stop for seven months whilst repairs were made. After the war, the Boddingtons took the opportunity to modernise the brewery, embarking on a major construction programme. The Strangeways Brewery was once again expanded and state-of-the-art brewing equipment was installed. In the post-war period, Boddingtons fought off several attempts to take over the brewery. Members of the family continued to run the business until 1989. In October of that year, the brewing section of the business was purchased by the Whitbread Beer Company.

Under Whitbread, large-scale investment in the Strangeways site allowed Boddingtons to increase production from 200,000 to 600,000 barrels in 1994. The connection with Whitbread gave Boddingtons access to a national distribution network that included 7,000 pubs. This was also supported by the famous ‘Cream of Manchester’ advertising campaign, which helped to catapult Boddingtons into the national arena as an instantly recognisable and well-loved brand.

The brewing section of Whitbread’s business was bought out by InterBrew UK (now InBev) in 2000. Two years later, the company was forced to put off plans to close the Strangeways Brewery following a concerted campaign by local people. However, in 2005, the decision was finally taken to close the Strangeways site after 227 years. Production of keg beer was switched to InBev’s other sites in Salmesbury, near Preston, and Magor, South Wales. Boddingtons beer was brewed under licence at Hyde’s brewery, Moss Side, but this brewery closed in 2012 meaning that Boddington’s beer is no longer brewed in Manchester.

Born in Shildon, County Durham in 1820, Daniel Adamson was educated at Edward Walton Quaker school. He left school aged 13 to take up an apprenticeship with Timothy Hackworth, engineer to the Stockton and Darlington Railway. After his apprenticeship, he continued to work under Hackworth as a draughtsman and engineer. By 1850, Adamson was the general manager of the Stockton and Darlington engine works. He left the Stockton works in 1850 to become the manager of the Heaton foundry, Stockport.

A year later, Adamson established his own ironworks at Newton Moor, Dukinfield. He expanded the works by building a foundry in 1852, known as the Newton Moor Iron Works. The company manufactured engines and boilers, initially to designs by Hackworth. Adamson's improvements to the boiler designs led to the development of the Manchester Boiler. Expansion of the company through the international success of the Manchester Boiler enabled Adamson to build a new factory in Dukinfield in 1872, under the company name Daniel Adamson & Co. The success of the company also allowed Adamson to experiment with foundry processes and boiler manufacturing, improving boiler design and manufacturing processes. Between 1852 and 1888, Adamson took out nineteen patents relating to engineering and metallurgy.

Adamson's other business interests included the Newton Moor Spinning Company, which he established in 1862, and the Yorkshire Steel and Iron Works set up by Adamson at Penistone, West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1863. The Penistone works were the first in the country to carry out the large-scale manufacture of steel the Bessemer process. Adamson also contributed to the development of the Lincolnshire iron field through the North Lincolnshire Iron Company, which he established at Frodingham in 1864–5. He also held shares in iron works in Cumbria and South Wales.

Adamson is also known for championing the development of the Manchester Ship Canal. In 1882, he arranged a meeting of all interested parties at his home in Didsbury, Manchester, at which the engineering and commercial aspects of creating a shipping waterway between Manchester and Liverpool were discussed. Adamson was elected chairman of the provisional committee to promote the Manchester Ship Canal. The scheme faced opposition from railway companies and the Liverpool port authority, but Adamson successfully pushed it through Parliament. The resulting Act of Parliament in 1885 ensured the canal would be built and allowed the establishment of the Manchester Ship Canal Company. Adamson was appointed first chairman of the board of directors. Lack of funding for the completion of the project led to a reconstitution of the board in 1887, with Adamson resigning as chairman in favour of Lord Egerton of Tatton.

Adamson was active in industry and public life. He was vice-president of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and president of the Iron and Steel Institute. He was also a member of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Geological Society, and the British Iron Trades Association. In the public realm, Adamson was a director of the Manchester chamber of commerce, Justice of the Peace for Cheshire and Manchester, and chairman of Dukinfield local board.

Adamson died at home in Didsbury in 1890 and is buried in the Southern Cemetery, Manchester.

The Royal Society of Arts (RSA), was founded during the Enlightenment by William Shipley in 1754 with the first meeting being held at Rawthmell’s Coffee House, Covent Garden, London. Shipley’s belief that the creativity of ideas could enrich social progress was reflected in the diversity of awards offered by the Premium Award Scheme. For the first 100 years the Society encouraged innovation and excellence through this scheme in six areas - Agriculture, Manufacture, Chemistry, Mechanics, Polite Arts, Colonies and Trade. The Society was granted a Royal Charter in 1847 and the right to use the term Royal in its name by King Edward VII in 1908

Their long lasting commitment to education from being one of the first to promote improvement in girl’s education leading to the establishment of Girls’ Public Day Schools and the first public examination system continues today with their growing family of RSA Academy schools.

They also demonstrate a strong commitment to the environment by offering awards for the reduction of smoke emissions as early as 1770, the first recorded use in an environmental context of the word ‘sustainability’ in 1980 and our continued commitment to environmental sustainability reflected in our Great Recovery Programme.

Manufacturers of cycle repair patches, known to have been active 1918-1927.

Photographic company, founded in Dublin in 1880 by James Stack Lauder. The company now specialises in graduation and event photography.

Aunt of Alliott Verdon-Roe and Humphrey Verdon Roe.