Wire-working was already established in Warrington in the 1770s. The well-known firms that came to dominate the trade appeared towards the end of the 18th century. William Houghton had a wireworks in Tanners Lane by 1775 and in 1799 Nathaniel Greening came to the town and set up a small factory. In 1805 Greening was joined by a new partner, John Rylands, and in 1817 the partners moved to a new site at the end of Church Street. By the late 1830s the Church Street works was one of the largest industrial concerns in Warrington.