X-Nico

2 unusual facts about William Rathbone


Maria Rye

Encouraged by the earl of Shaftesbury and The Times newspaper and with the financial support of William Rathbone, M.P., she purchased in 1869 Avenue House, High Street, Peckham, and with her two younger sisters, in spite of public opposition and prejudice, took there from the streets or the workhouses waifs and strays from the ages of three to sixteen.

Rathbone family

The family origins trace back to Gawsworth, near Macclesfield, where the first William Rathbone was born in 1669, as the son of Phillip Rathbone.


District nurse

In 1858 Liverpool philanthropist William Rathbone employed a nurse, Mary Robinson, to take care of his wife at home during her final illness.

Kitty Wilkinson

Once these activities came to their attention, Wilkinson was supported by the District Provident Society and William Rathbone.

Queen's Nursing Institute

In 1859, Liverpool merchant and philanthropist William Rathbone employed a nurse named Mary Robinson to care for his wife at home during her final illness.


see also

William Rathbone II

Brought up in Gawsworth, William Rathbone II set off for Liverpool where in 1742 he established the timber business that became Rathbone Brothers.

William Rathbone II (22 May 1696 – 9 March 1746) was the founder of Rathbone Brothers, one of the United Kingdom's largest firms of wealth managers.

William Rathbone III

William Rathbone III (1726–1789) was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool.

William Rathbone IV

William Rathbone IV (10 June 1757 – 11 February 1809) was a member of the noted Rathbone family of Liverpool, England.