Rathbone family

The Rathbone family of Liverpool, England, were a family of non-conformist merchants and shipowners, whose sense of high social consciousness led to a fine tradition of philanthropy and public service.

The family origins are traced to Gawsworth, near Macclesfield, where the first William Rathbone was born in 1669, as the son of Phillip Rathbone. It was his son, William Rathbone II, born on 22 May 1696, who left Gawsworth for the growing port of Liverpool, where he worked as a sawyer and, it appears, established a timber business.

Notable Rathbones

* William Rathbone II
* William Rathbone III
* William Rathbone IV
* William Rathbone V
* William Rathbone VI
* Eleanor Rathbone
* Richard Rathbone
* Hugh Reynolds Rathbone
* Basil Rathbone, the actor famous for portraying Sherlock Holmes
* John Rathbone (Bodmin), Conservative MP, fighter pilot with the RAF killed in the Battle of Britain.
* Tim Rathbone Conservative MP (son of above)

Family properties

In 1788, William Rathbone IV leased the family house and estate of Greenbank, then part of the Toxteth Park estate, to serve as a country retreat for his young family, and purchased the freehold of Greenbank House in 1809, the year of his death.