In England, the Rathbone familyofLiverpool were nonconformist merchants and ship-owners who were known to engage in philanthropy and public service. The family origins trace back to Gawsworth, Cheshire, where the first William Rathbone was born in 1669; it was his son, William Rathbone II, who left Gawsworth for the growing port of Liverpool, where he worked as a sawyer and most likely established a timber business.[1] Having arrived in Liverpool prior to 1730, the family subsequently became involved in the building and ownership of ships, as well as general commerce.[2] 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.
