A brief history of self storage

Self storage facilities as we know them today, didn’t properly exist until the late 1950s, though there is historical evidence of publicly available storage in ancient China.

In the Neolithic period, mankind was slowly developing. People started to farm the land, keep animals and create pottery, jewellery and such and so naturally, with the creation of these objects and treasures, came the need to store them somewhere safe.

Apparently, a man called Xiang Lau had accumulated a large selection of pots, stones and enemies’ bones, and he became aware that his neighbours were coveting his collection. Keen to dissuade any potential thefts, he came up with the idea of crafting large clay pots to store his precious belongings, and then burying them underground. He paid guards in food and water to watch the sites and make sure that no-one tried to steal them. Other people soon cottoned onto this idea and started to use his service for their own items.

Although this is worlds away from today’s self storage, we think it’s a great story!

If you need somewhere to store your belongings safely, give us a call on 0800 58 57 56 or visit our website.