Reynolds Park was given to the city of Liverpool in 1930 by Sir James Reynolds. It was, he said, "a thank-offering to my city for a successful business life of forty-seven years". The Reynolds family had bought 'Dove Park' (the original name of the estate) in 1907. James Philip Reynolds, born in 1865 at Hillside, Acrefield Road, Woolton, was a cotton broker in the family firm, Reynolds & Gibson, which had been founded in Liverpool in 1810 by his great-grandfather. He and his wife had spent their early married years at Elm House in Halewood Road, Gateacre, before moving to Fern Lea in Quarry Street and then to Dove Park.

The Reynolds family had long been known for their philanthropic work. James Reynolds was knighted in 1920 and created a baronet in 1923. In 1929, having retired from active cotton broking, he became M.P. for the Liverpool Exchange division, with houses in London and Abercromby Square, Liverpool. (Dove Park had remained empty since a serious fire in 1921). He died in 1932, and - as a Roman Catholic - was buried in the churchyard of St Mary's Woolton.