809 Abraham Laverton

Constituency  : Westbury  1874-80

Abraham  took  the  seat  from  the  Tory  and  fellow  magistrate  Charles  Phipps   with  whom  he  had  a  long-running  feud.

Abraham  was  a  weaver's  son  who  became  a  cloth  manufacturer  and  merchant   operating  in  Westbury  from  1849. He  built  houses  for  his  workforce  and  almshouses. He  built  new  schools  and  started the  public  baths. He  designed  a  window  in  the  parish  church  that  is  said  to  contain  much  social  comment  and  mockery  of  eminent  men  such  as  Watt  and  Landseer. He  stood  in  1868  against  John  Phipps  and  lost  by  27  votes. He  petitioned  the  result  and  Phipps  was  unseated  because  his  agent  , a  fellow  manufacturer  had  threatened  to  dismiss  workers  who  voted  for  Abraham.  At  the  by-election  Phipps's  brother  Charles  won  by  11  votes.

Abraham  was  defeated  by  another  member  of  the  Phipps  family  in  1880  and  failed  in  his  bid  to  have  the  result  overturned.

He  died  in  1886  aged  67.

That  concludes  our  look  at  the  MPs first  elected  in  1874. We  now  look  at  the  by-election  victors  of  1874 to  1880.