[1] Darbishire was a lay student for four years and worked for his father's law office.
[2] Darbishire was instrumental in setting up the Whitworth Art Gallery[3][4] and was a founding member of the Manchester High School for Girls.
[5] Darbishire left money in his will to found the Darbishire House Health Centre, which paved the way for a number of organisations, including the Robert Darbishire Practice, the University of Manchester Department of General Practice and the Centre for Primary Care Research (later the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre).
Darbishire was one of the first major donors to the Manchester Museum, giving over 700 items to their collection from 1904 onwards.
He was part of a Manchester network of acquirers who would buy many artifacts and then donate them to the city's institutions.