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Abraham Laverton (1819–1886), of Westbury, Wiltshire, was a cloth mill owner, philanthropist, and Liberal member of parliament for the parliamentary borough of Westbury from 1874 to 1880. ==Mill owner and philanthropist== 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 part of the middle of the 19th century he also owned Boyer's Mill, Westbury. As well as being a manufacturer, Laverton was also a speculative buyer of cloth and wool.〔'Westbury: Mills', in ''A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8: Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds'' (1965), pp. 172-175, (online text ) at british-history.ac.uk〕 In 1869, he built Prospect Square, Westbury, a development of thirty-nine houses, of which thirty-two were homes for his mill workers and seven were almshouses, around three sides of a large open space which was originally used as allotments.〔(Prospect Square, Westbury ) at geograph.org.uk〕〔 In 1873, he founded and built the Laverton Institute in Bratton Road, Westbury, as a recreational centre.〔(Timeline ) at wiltshire.gov.uk〕〔(£350k revamp plan to bring Laverton to life ), 8 September 2006, online at salisburyjournal.co.uk〕 This included a room for a school which already existed and which soon moved into other premises. In 1884, Laverton also built a new school in Bratton Road, near the Laverton Institute, and presented it to the town. This was associated with the British Society and opened its doors in 1885 with 73 children. In 1907, the Westbury British Boys School changed its name to the Westbury Laverton Institute School and later to the Laverton County Infants' School.〔(Westbury - Laverton County Infants School, Westbury ), at wiltshire.gov.uk〕〔'Westbury: Schools', in ''A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 8: Warminster, Westbury and Whorwellsdown Hundreds'' (1965), pp. 188-191, (online text ) at british-history.ac.uk〕 The great west window of Westbury's All Saints parish church was donated by Abraham Laverton.〔(Westbury, Wiltshire ) at web.ukonline.co.uk〕 He 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 Laverton's death, by his nephew William Henry Laverton.〔 The firm Laverton founded, called A. Laverton & Co. Ltd., was still making cloth in Westbury in his Angel and Bitham Mills in the 1960s.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Abraham Laverton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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