Rider Wilson, mineral water Co.

Anyone remember this mineral water company who delivered door-to-door in the 1950's ? The only other time I've come across the forename 'Rider' ( or is it 'Ryder' ) is with Rider Haggard, the author.

I have in my possession a Ryder Wilsons table waters pop bottle.

I have in my possession a Ryder Wilsons table waters pop bottle.

The firm, under this name, was in business in Trent Street, Attercliffe from the early 1900s, but it had been established some 20 years earlier on the same premises as the "Sheffield Mineral Water Syndicate Ltd". It is listed in directories as Rider Wilson until c. 1969. The 1925 Kelly's Directory has this entry, and here is a scan of a Rider Wilson advertisement in a 1940s directory. The sheffieldhistory.co.uk forum has a Rider Wilson thread here with a photo of a stoneware bottle. Rider Wilson's would have been one of the main competitors of Wheatley's, Sheffield's largest mineral water manufacturer, though unlike Wheatley's they did not confine their production to non-alcoholic drinks, to judge from this advertisement.

Benjamin Chapman [1860-1928], shown as managing director of Rider Wilson's in the 1925 directory, had spearheaded the original Sheffield Mineral Water Syndicate in the 1880s. He was also a prominent Sheffield councillor until May 1900, when he moved to Leeds to start another business. He remained resident in Leeds while he was managing director of Rider Wilson's.

.

My grandfather, William Wright, used to be a driver for Rider, Wilson Co. in the early part of the 1900s.