Francis Rattenbury was born in Leeds, England in 1867. He was born from a northern branch of an ancient Devon family, which, during the Victorian period, produced a distinguished line of Methodist ministers and scholars. He may have inherited his creative talents from his father, an artist, but it was through his mother's influence that he entered the profession of architecture.

Mr. Rattenbury began his architecture apprenticeship with the Lockwood and Mawson Company in 1884, where he remained until 1891. He left for Canada in 1891, where he arrived in Vancouver at an opportune time. Vancouver was starting to become a larger city, and was enjoying economic success due to the recent addition of the Canadian Pacific Railway. At the time, British Columbia had been in Confederation only twenty-one years, when its government had decided to replace the existing Legislative Buildings in Victoria. The flimsy collection of brick and timber structures, which were locally known as the "birdcages", was in need of a replacement by a new legislative building that would reflect the new status of the province. Architects from all over the world were invited to submit plans, among them Mr. Rattenbury. He was awarded the commission after living in British Columbia only one month. Mr. Rattenbury received $44,304.00 in exchange for designing the Legislative buildings. That was quite a hefty sum of money back in those days! He then moved to Victoria, where his success in the competition ensured a steady flow of architecture commissions.

Before the official opening of the Legislative Building on February 10th, 1898, he had embarked upon a series of profitable ventures. These ventures included designs for portable housing that was to be marketed in the Canary Islands, and the provision of supplies and transport to the Klondike gold fields. That same year he also secured loans in London, England to build transport steam trains. He ordered the steamers in pre-made sections and reassembled three steamers on Bennett Lake, which served the Yukon Territory. His investment soon proved profitable and led to him to pursue many other business interests. While his practice was still thriving, he became involved with land speculation, which proved to be a risky business.

After the First World War, Francis Rattenbury's fortune, which had been so bright during his first years in Victoria, began to wane. Some of his financial ventures failed and his nature, which was blunt, vain and overly ambitious, led to many quarrels with his business partners. Eventually, this resulted in the loss of several architectural commissions. His family life was also becoming less secure.

In 1898, he had married Florence Nunn, the daughter of a British army officer, in Victoria, and had two children, Frank and Mary. In 1923, the 57-year-old architect met twice-married Alma Pakenham, from Kamloops, and was swept off his feet by the 27-year-old beauty. Florence Rattenbury was soon the forgotten woman. In a short time, her husband became a social embarrassment because of his behavior. He publicly flaunted his love affair with Alma, and in addition, he also treated his current wife quite badly. His wife refused his plea for a divorce for which he then retaliated by laying siege to their house after he moved out. He did many horrible things. He had the heat and lights turned off at the house when Florence Rattenbury still lived there. He would send moving vans to have the better pieces of furniture removed and, on several occasions, even brought Alma to the house and entertaining her in the parlour while his wife was forced to remain in one of the upstairs rooms.

He was divorced in 1925, after considerable unpleasantness and gossip in the city, and left Victoria with Alma. He reappeared in 1927, presumably having married her in the meantime. He continued to be cold-shouldered in the streets and shunned by former clients and business associates because of his radical behavior. Mr. Rattenbury and Alma, his new wife, had a son the next year. In 1929, Florence Rattenbury, his first wife, died. Disillusioned, Mr. Rattenbury returned to England that same year with his new wife and their son. In the end it proved to be a fatal move for both him and Alma.

Settling in the seaside resort of Bournemouth, the architect continued to be obsessed with his financial hardships. His current wife accused him of stinginess, one of the many ill feelings Alma was starting to have for him. They both tolerated each other, however, and ended up leading almost separate lives under the same roof. Soon after, Mrs. Alma Rattenbury began a close liaison with the family chauffeur, a young man named George Percy Stoner. Tragically, one evening in 1935, while in an armchair in his sitting room, Francis Rattenbury was struck a number of blows from behind with a heavy mallet.

George Stoner and Alma Rattenbury found themselves jointly charged of Francis Rattenbury's murder. Taking all the blame, George Stoner was convicted and sentenced to death, although later, this punishment was changed to life imprisonment as a result of public pressure. Alma Rattenbury was freed when the Crown failed to prove its case against her, however, the notoriety was soon to take its toll. Sadly, days after the trial was over, Alma Rattenbury stabbed herself to death in a lonely spot on the banks of the Avon River.