Richard Costain (1839–1902) was the founder of

Costain Group Costain Group plc is a British construction and engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead, England. Founded in 1865, its history includes extensive housebuilding and mining activities, but it later focused on civil engineering and commerci ...

, one of the United Kingdom's largest, oldest and best-known

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form Physical object, objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Pr ...

businesses.

Career

Born and raised in the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

, Richard Costain moved to Crosby, Merseyside where, in 1865, he founded a small but well-equipped construction business. In the early days of the business, he worked in partnership with his brother-in-law William Kneen and together they expanded the business until it was operating both in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and on the

. Kneen and Costain purchased tracts of land, then built many houses on them.Isle of Man Genealogy (1)
/ref> Masons and

joiner A joiner is an artisan and tradesperson who builds things by joining pieces of wood, particularly lighter and more ornamental work than that done by a carpenter, including furniture and the "fittings" of a house, ship, etc. Joiners may work in ...

s were recruited from

Arbory Arbory ( gv, Cairbre) is one of the seventeen historic parishes of the Isle of Man. It is located in the south of the island (part of the traditional ''South Side'' division) in the sheading of Rushen. Settlements in the parish include Ballabeg, ...

on the Isle of Man. Richard Costain later lived at

Blundellsands Blundellsands is an area of Crosby in the ceremonial county of Merseyside, England and in the historic county of Lancashire. It is part of the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, and a Sefton council electoral ward. At the 2001 Census the popula ...

, located near Crosby.Isle of Man Genealogy (2)
/ref> He died in

West Derby West Derby ( ) is an affluent suburb of Liverpool, England. It is located East of the city and is also a Liverpool City Council ward. At the 2011 Census, the population was 14,382. History West Derby Mentioned in the ''Domesday Book'', Wes ...

in 1902 leaving the business, by then known as Richard Costain Limited, to his son William Percy Costain.

Family

In 1866, Costain married Margaret Kneen.

References

1839 births 1902 deaths 19th-century English businesspeople People from Crosby, Merseyside 20th-century English businesspeople British construction businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-1830s-stub