Samuel Ryder

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Samuel Ryder (March 24, 1858 – January 2, 1936) was an English entrepreneur and golf enthusiast. He originated the idea of selling garden seeds in "penny packets" and built a very successful business on the concept. He later became an enthusiastic golfer (he was a member of the Verulam Golf Club in St Albans in 1910) and eventually, in 1926, he sponsored the Ryder Cup, a competition first held in 1927 – a solid gold trophy for the biennial golf championship between the best of professional golfers in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Ryder was born in Preston, Lancashire where his father was a nurseryman and seed merchant. He went to Owen's College in Manchester (now Manchester University) but did not graduate.

Ryder was a keen golfer by accident. He only came to the game, reluctantly, in order to recover his health at age 50. He took to it enthusiastically, however. When a spectator to a golf match between Britain and Ireland, and the US, he suggested changes to the format and offered the trophy, which was donated in 1926.

The packeted seeds made his fortune. He started selling from his home in St Albans, assisted by his wife and daughter. The packets would be posted on Fridays so that the customers, working men, would receive them for their time off on Saturday afternoons. The business grew rapidly and by 1920, Ryder had a large packaging workshop staffed by 90 girls.

At this stage, he was joined by his brother, James. The two of them set up "Heath & Heather Ltd" to package and market seeds. Eventually, in 1924, the company moved to a former hat factory in Holywell Hill, which had a floor area of some 24,000 square feet.

He is also known locally as a former Mayor of St Albans and a leading Non-conformist churchman: he was a Deacon (an elected official) of what is now Trinity United Reformed Church. It is said that his true loves were golf and Trinity.

When elected Mayor in 1905, he surprised his fellow councillors by a tough and uncomplimentary assessment of the lack of achievement of the Council.

In 1895 he joined the Independent Chapel in Spicer Street, the only Congregational Church in the city at that time, and was influential in the establishment of a new and larger Congregational church building - Trinity. When the new church opened in October 1903, there was a Civic procession and service at the church. Despite this, there was a significant divide between the Anglicans (Church of England) and the Non-conformists, which was accentuated in St Albans - adherents of each denomination would not trade with the other.

Ryder made generous donations to Trinity, assisting with clearing its debts, donating to the construction of a Church Hall, and gifting land. He finally resigned as a Deacon in 1922.

He died after a haemorrhage during the annual family Christmas outing to a hotel in London.

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