William Lawrence originally lived at East Keswick, near Wetherby, where the family had a Methodist boarding school; but the fees were too high for the villagers. One of its pupils from the age of 17 was the Rev. John Thackray (1846-1940; e.m. 1870), prior to his training for the ministry at Didsbury College.

In the 1840s William purchased a farm at Scalebor Park, Burley–in-Wharfedale, where he opened a boarding school, which seems to have closed in the 1860s. His sister Helen (d. 1890) acted as housekeeper to her bachelor brother. He became a member of the Burley-in-Wharfedale Local Board on its establishment in 1856 and opposed charging a rate for sanitary improvements, including a sewerage farm. as advocated by local mill owners. In 1867 he led a campaign for the replacement of a Wesleyan church in the village, of which he was a trustee. He retired back to East Keswick. Scalebor Park became what was then called a mental hospital, but has since been demolished and replaced by housing.

Entry written by: DCD
Category: Person
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