Eleanora Atherton

Born in Manchester and baptised in the Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George (now Manchester Cathedral), Eleanora Atherton inherited the cumulative wealth of her father, Henry Atherton, her grandfather, Edward Byrom, her aunt, Eleanora Byrom, and her uncle, William Atherton. From her uncles Edward and William Atherton, she inherited plantations in Jamaica. After emancipation, she was awarded a share of compensation worth £2543 for the ownership of 544 enslaved people on the Green Park estate, Trelawney, Jamaica, and £866 for the ownership of 182 enslaved people on the Spring Vale Pen estate, Jamaica. She was a prolific philanthropist during her lifetime, giving an estimate of several thousand pounds annually to charities in Manchester and Salford. She supported a number of churches through their building, restoration, and beyond, including Holy Trinity Church, Hulme; St Paul’s Church, Kersall; Jesus Chapel in the cathedral in Manchester; and St John’s Church, Manchester. As well as providing support to religious institutions, she also donated money to the Manchester ragged and industrial schools, King’s College London, Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway, and a number of medical charities, and erected almshouses in Prescot. Upon her death in 1870, she left a large fortune.