Rolls Royce Centenary Celebrating 100 yeas of excellence Henry Royce, with his partner Ernest Claremont, established an electrical and mechanical engineering business on this site in 1884. From humble beginnings, it established world standards in engineering excellence and in 1904 Royce built his first motor car. On 4 May 1904 the Hon Charles Rolls was introduced to Henry Royce by Henry Edmunds. From that meeting at the Midland Hotel in Manchester sprang the first Rolls-Royce cars and, subsequently, the Rolls-Royce company. On 4 May 2004, to mark the centenary of the meeting, Rolls-Royce Group plc paid tribute to the significance of their ancestral home at Blake Street and Cooke Street, Hulme, by planting the first four of one hundred trees worldwide, each of which will mark a year of excellence and achievement. The trees were planted by: - The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Audrey Jones JP - Sir Ralph Robins, former chairman of Rolls-Royce plc - Dr Michael Pritchard, great grandson of Henry Edmunds, who introduced Rolls to Royce - Helen Welsh, Rolls-Royce Group plc This memorial was unveiled by the Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of Manchester Councillor Audrey Jones JP on 4 May 2004