The business started in 1848 . James Laing ( born in 1816 ) , along with his wife Ann Graham , and some employees whom they had hired , built a house on a plot of land that they had bought for Â # 30 in Cumberland . The business can trace its roots back to 1848 when James Laing ( born in 1816 ) , along with his wife Ann Graham , and some employees whom they had hired , built a house on a plot of land that they had bought for Â # 30 in Cumberland .