Abraham Laverton, 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.
11 Facts About Abraham Laverton
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The Abraham Laverton children had some education, but in their youth they worked as weavers.
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Abraham Laverton 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.
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In 1849, Abraham Laverton leased the Angel Mill, Westbury, from the trustees of William Matravers and converted it to produce cloth.
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Abraham Laverton became a Westbury Justice of the Peace, and in 1864 a dispute arose between him and Charles Paul Phipps as to their seniority as magistrates.
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From 1868, Abraham Laverton stood unsuccessfully for parliament in Westbury as a Liberal, first against the Conservative John Lewis Phipps, when he lost by only twenty-seven votes.
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In 1869, a by-election was thus held to fill the vacancy, at which Abraham Laverton lost by only eleven votes, defeated by his rival's brother, Charles Paul Phipps, standing for the Conservatives.
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In 1869, shortly after his second election defeat, Abraham Laverton built Prospect Square, Westbury, a development of thirty-nine houses, of which thirty-two 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.
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In 1873, the year before his one election success, Abraham Laverton founded and built the Abraham Laverton Institute in Bratton Road, Westbury, as a recreational centre; the building continues in use as a community facility, managed by the Town Council.
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In 1884, Abraham Laverton built a new school in Bratton Road, near his Institute, and presented it to the town.
11.
Abraham Laverton is sometimes stated as the founder of the public baths in Church Street, Westbury.