Abraham Laverton (3 October 1819 – 31 October 1886), of Westbury, Wiltshire, was an English cloth mill owner, Liberal Member of Parliament for the parliamentary borough of Westbury from 1874 to 1880, and philanthropist.
Early life Born in Trowbridge in 1819, and baptized into the Church of England on 9 October,Baptisms Solemnized in the Parish of Trowbridge in the County of Wilts, p. 152, No. 1209, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 13 March 2021 Laverton was one of the four sons of William Laverton, a master weaver, and his wife Penelope Davis,Abraham Laverton , thelaverton.co.uk, accessed 13 March 2021 who had married in Trowbridge in October 1803.Banns of Marriage between William Laverton of this Parish Batchelor and Penelope Davis of this Parish Spinster, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 13 March 2021 Laverton grew up there in Newtown. Apart from three brothers, he also had a sister, Charlotte. In March 1825 his mother died, aged 41.Burials in the Parish of Trowbridge in the County of Wilts,,No. 1653: "Penelope, Wife of William Laverton, [Abode] Trowbridge, 29 March, [Age] 41 Years, [By whom] John Crabbe]", ancestry.co.uk, accessed 13 March 2021
As well as being a weaver, Laverton's father was a contractor with clothiers, sharing his contracts with other weavers. The Laverton children had some education, but in their youth they also worked as weavers. Abraham gained a job in the counting house of Court Mill, Trowbridge, before moving to Sheppards Mill, Frome, where he worked in sales and made contacts useful in his later career.
William Laverton, of Newtown, Trowbridge, died in October 1842, leaving property valued at less than £200.Probate of Last Will and Testament of William Laverton, of Newtown, Trowbridge, granted to Frederick Laverton, Executor, 22 October 1842 (Wiltshire and Swindon Archives)
Mill owner In 1849, Laverton leased the Angel Mill, Westbury, from the trustees of William Matravers and converted it to produce cloth. In 1852 he bought the mill, while in the same year James Wilson, the Whig Member of Parliament for Westbury, and his brother William bought Bitham Mill in the same town. In 1856, the Wilson brothers sold their mill to Laverton. For a time in the middle of the century he also owned Boyer's Mill, Westbury. As well as being a manufacturer, Laverton was a speculative buyer of cloth and wool.
Politician In February 1860, Laverton became a Justice of the Peace for Wiltshire."WESTBURY", Wiltshire Times and Trowbridge Advertiser, Saturday 4 February 1860, p. 4 In 1864, a dispute arose between him and Charles Paul Phipps as to their seniority as magistrates.Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, ref. no. 540/297 at history.wiltshire.gov.uk
In 1866, he was named as an additional Commissioner "for executing the Acts for granting a Land Tax and other Rates and Taxes", when he was described as "Abraham Laverton Esquire, Westbury House, Westbury".An Act to appoint additional Commissioners for executing the Acts for granting a Land Tax and other Rates and Taxes at londonancestor.com In the same year, he was elected as Mayor of Westbury, heading the corporation of the borough."WESTBURY", Trowbridge Chronicle, Saturday 6 October 1866, p. 5
At the general election of November 1868, Laverton stood unsuccessfully for parliament in Westbury as a Liberal, against the Conservative John Lewis Phipps, of Leighton House, Westbury, losing by 27 votes. Although Phipps was elected, the result was declared void as a result of an election petition brought by Laverton. Mr Justice Willes found that although Phipps was personally innocent of any corrupt practice, his agent, Harrop, had carried out acts of intimidation on voters.Law Times Reports relating to Magistrates, Municipal, Parochial, Ecclesiastical and Election Law, vol. 5, 1870 The Judge found that Harrop, who was a manufacturer in Westbury, "had told his workmen that no man should remain in his employment who voted for the Petitioner, who was his rival in trade, and that these men or some of them were obliged to leave his employment in consequence of their refusing to abstain from so voting".Reports of the Decisions of the Judges for the Trial of Election Petitions, full text online at archive.org A by-election was thus held in 1869 to fill the vacancy, at which Laverton lost by eleven votes, defeated by his rival's brother, Charles Paul Phipps, standing for the Conservatives.
Voting in England was by a show of hands at a hustings, until the Ballot Act 1872 introduced secret ballots.Jon Lawrence, Electing Our Masters: The Hustings in British Politics from Hogarth to Blair (Oxford University Press, 2009), pp. 45–48 At the 1874 election, Laverton was finally elected as the borough's Member of Parliament, but there is no record that he ever spoke in the House of Commons.Mr Abraham Laverton at api.parliament.uk
In 1874, a poem called Warblings from Westbury was published, poking fun at Laverton in his new role as Member of Parliament.Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, ref no. 540/302 at history.wiltshire.gov.uk In the same year, he printed a circular to the shareholders of the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway offering himself to them as a director.Wiltshire and Swindon Archives, ref no. 540/323 at history.wiltshire.gov.uk
In 1875, A. B. Thom's The Upper Ten Thousand noted that Laverton was living in Westbury at Westfield House,Adam Bissett Thom, The Upper Ten Thousand (London: George Routledge, 1875), p. 268 now on Bratton Road. He is described as –
Laverton was defeated at the 1880 election by Charles Phipps's son, Charles N. P. Phipps. Following this defeat, he filed a petition in the High Court to have the result of the election annulled on the grounds of bribery, treating, and undue influence on the part of his Conservative opponent. This failed, rejected by Sir Robert Lush and Sir Henry Manisty, two Justices.Westbury Election (House of Commons Debate 22 June 1880, vol. 253, cc. 534-5) at api.parliament.uk
Public works In 1869, shortly after his second election defeat, Laverton built Prospect Square, Westbury, a development of 39 houses, of which 32 were for his mill workers and seven were almshouses, around three sides of a large open space which before that had been used as allotments. Some of these houses are now listed buildings.Prospect Square, Westbury at geograph.org.uk
In 1873, the year before his election success, Laverton founded and built the Laverton Institute in Bratton Road, Westbury, as a recreational centre; the building continues in use as a community facility, managed by the Town Council. The Institute included a room for a school which already existed, the Westbury Boys' British School, which moved into the new building in 1874 and in 1907 changed its name to the Westbury Laverton Institute School. It remained in the building until 1925, when it was merged into what is now Matravers School."Westbury: Schools", in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8, Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds (Victoria County History, London, 1965), pp 188-191
In 1884, Laverton also built a new school in Bratton Road, near his Institute, and presented it to the town. This opened its doors in 1885 and was known as the Laverton Infants' School, then the Laverton County Infants' School, after being adopted by Wiltshire County Council. In 1958, it moved into premises in the churchyard, the former Church of England Junior School, and in 1968 moved again to Eden Vale, becoming the Westbury Infants' School. The original building in Bratton Road is now a private house.
The great west window of Westbury's All Saints' parish church was donated by Abraham Laverton.Westbury, Wiltshire at web.ukonline.co.uk
Laverton is sometimes stated as the founder of the public baths in Church Street, Westbury. While these were his conception, they were completed and given to the town in 1887, shortly after his death, by his nephew William Henry Laverton.
Death and legacy Laverton died on 31 October 1886 at Farleigh Castle, Farleigh Hungerford, leaving a personal estate valued for probate at £647,416,"LAVERTON Abraham Esq. Personal Estate £647,416 16s 6d." in Probate Index for England and Wales 1886, p. 200, at probatesearch.service.gov.uk, accessed 3 August 2016 .
A lifelong bachelor who lived his whole adult life with his sister Charlotte, Laverton was succeeded by a nephew, William Henry Laverton, who continued the firm he had founded, A. Laverton & Co. Ltd. This was still making cloth in Westbury in the Angel and Bitham Mills in the 1960s.
Laverton's sister Charlotte outlived him, settling at Bradford on Avon and dying there on 21 July 1890."LAVERTON Charlotte. Personal Estate £3,669 1s 11d... formerly of Farleigh Castle in the parish of Farleigh Hungerford" in Probate Index for England and Wales 1890, p. 206, at probatesearch.service.gov.uk, accessed 13 March 2021
References
B. Little, A history of the firm of A. Laverton & Co. Ltd. (unpublished)
External links
Mr Abraham Laverton at theyworkforyou.com The Laverton, Westbury Prospect Square, Westbury, at geograph.org.uk, built by Laverton