Rare photos offer a glimpse into a famous Liverpool music empire that started life in a little shop 195 years ago.

Generations who grew up in Liverpool will remember the name Rushworth and Dreaper in the city. Founded in Liverpool in 1828, the Rushworth family had originally been furniture and coffin makers in Yorkshire and then in the carpentry trade in Manchester before making their name on Merseyside as organ makers.

Starting life in a little shop in Pudsey Street, Rushworths was founded by William Rushworth and the business later moved to Islington, before settling in Whitechapel. Many will remember the company also had headquarters in St Anne Street.

READ MORE: 128 faces from Liverpool’s nightclubs in the 70s, 80s and 90s

READ MORE: 27 fascinating photos show the way we worked in years gone by

Later branching out into selling musical instruments, Rushworth and Dreaper became a household name in the city and beyond. At one point, Rushworth and Dreaper was the second largest organ maker in the world and turned over around £1m annually.

The business, which saw five generations of the Rushworth family work for the company, expanded to make cathedral and concert instruments for a worldwide market and also had satellite shops in the likes of Llandudno, Bangor and Chester.

In 1997, the ECHO reported how the self-service record department – housing 25,000 discs – was revolutionary in its day. The studios housing the keyboard instruments were a magnet for many and the sheet music department was also “legendary.” Through the decades, the company’s products graced the cathedrals of Guildford, Derby, and Chester, Westminster Central Hall, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Liverpool’s Philharmonic Hall.

Rushworth instruments were also exported to many countries. They even supplied the pianos for the great Cunard passenger liners which once sailed from Liverpool.

Do you remember Rushworth and Dreaper? Let us know in the comments section below.

At its 1960s height, Rushworths was known as the “largest music house in Europe,” with five sales floors of musical instruments, televisions, record players and household appliances, as well as sheet music and records. Many local musicians will remember buying instruments and equipment from there and getting advice from staff.

But it also had a strong association with the Merseybeat scene and The Beatles at the time. The ECHO previously reported how in 1962, Rushworths was a near neighbour of NEMS and that boss Brian Epstein, asked Rushworths to arrange new guitars needed for the band from Chicago.

It was Mr James Rushworth who presented John Lennon and George Harrison with their Gibson J-160E guitars. Paul McCartney’s first guitar was also bought from Rushworths and cost £15 in 1956. Fast-forward to 2000, it was also reported that organ playing the traditional Here Come The Bride at the wedding of Madonna and Guy Ritchie, at Skibo Castle, in the Scottish Highlands, was lovingly restored by a team of craftsmen from the Liverpool.

But, as the years went on, there was a lot of change for Rushworth and Dreaper. The business split from Rushworths music store and by 1997, the music store in Whitechapel closed. In December 2002, it was reported how the 174-year-old world- famous Liverpool organ works had ceased trading.

The year prior, the organ company had won a £500,000 commission to restore a 111-year-old church organ from the Church of San Anastasia in Rome. Rare photos unseen for years, courtesy of our archives, Mirrorpix, offer a glimpse into the past, from what sites looked like to the people who worked there.

But that wasn’t the end for its legacy in the city. In 2011, the ECHO reported how the famous Liverpool family music business have joined forces with the University of Liverpool for a three-year research project with the aim of capturing the memories of those who worked for, visited, dealt with or supported Rushworths.

At the time, Mr Jonathan Rushworth said: “Rushworths played an important role in the city’s social and cultural history. I am sure there are many people who have memories and experiences of the music premises in Whitechapel and Islington or the organ building side of the business.

“Many people may also have experience of the initiatives which Rushworths organised to support and encourage music in the city.” Nicholas Wong, who was picked to lead the research project, also said: “This is an honour for me. Rushworths was a unique family-run business which touched and influenced many people.”

The following year, an office conversion revealed a treasure trove of documents relating to the historic Liverpool city centre music store Rushworths. The artefacts, which included old ledgers and business records from the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, were discovered in a huge safe on the top floor of the Whitechapel building when E Rex Makin & Co solicitors firm relocated.

The safe was hidden behind a wall which was being knocked down in preparation for the law firm moving in and an expert safe cracker was called to open it. The whole archive was donated to Liverpool University’s research into Rushworths.

It’s now been over 20 years since the famous family business ceased trading. But its legacy lives in Liverpool and beyond.

Win £1000 worth of energy-efficient Hotpoint appliances to power up your winter savings

Receive newsletters with the latest news, sport and what’s on updates from the Liverpool ECHO by signing up here

Liverpool Echo – What’s On