Rattenbury, Francis Mawson, 1867-1935

Francis Mawson Rattenbury was born in Leeds, England in 1867. He began training as an architect in 1885 in his uncles' firm Mawson and Mawson. He immigrated to British Columbia in 1892, settling first in Vancouver, then moving to Victoria the next year when he won the competition for the design of the new Parliament Buildings. This coup launched a two-decades-long string of successes which included Government House, court houses, banks, hotels, and residences. He also pursued business careers in inland shipping and land speculation. His reign as British Columbia’s most exalted architect ended with a return to England in 1929, where his career collapsed in the shadow of marital scandal, financial ruin and, finally, death by murder.