Lawrence Weaver

Sir Lawrence Walter William Weaver (1876–1930) was an English architectural writer and civil servant.

Early years Lawrence Weaver was the son of Walter and Frances Weaver of Clifton, Bristol. He was educated at Clifton College and was trained as an architect. He began his career as a sales representative at an architectural practice, selling fixtures and fittings. He then moved to London, becoming the representative of Lockerbie and Wilkinson, a firm of ironfounders who made cast-iron ware for the building trade, where he developed an interest in leadwork.

Journalistic career In 1905 his articles on leadwork topics began to be published in leading journals such as Country Life, Architectural Review, The Burlington Magazine, and The Art Workers' Quarterly. Over time his articles' subject matter widened to cover all aspects of architecture. In 1910 Weaver was appointed Architectural Editor of Country Life, writing on contemporary architecture as an 'advocate of the new' and the Arts and Crafts Movement, and subsequently becoming a director. He wrote a large number of articles on country houses and gardens, especially those by Edwin Lutyens, providing a strong counterpoint to his predecessor, Avray Tipping. In 1913 the magazine was described as "the keeper of the architectural conscience of the nation".

Career in the civil service During the First World War, from 1916, he became a civil servant. In 1919, when he was the Commercial Secretary of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, he founded the National Institute of Agricultural Botany. He was knighted in 1920 (KBE).

He was buried with his mother Frances Mary Weaver (1854-1933) and his second wife Elizabeth Margaret de Gaux (1888-1975) on the eastern side of Highgate Cemetery. The grave (no.44618) is almost opposite the grave of the celebrated theatre architect, Frank Matcham.

Books By Weaver:

English Leadwork: Its Art and History (B. T. Batsford, London, 1909). Illustrated with many b/w photos and drawings. The "Country Life" Book of Cottages (Country Life Ltd, 1913). Illustrated with many b/w photographs and plans. Small country houses; their repair and enlargement; forty examples chosen from five centuries (Offices of Country life, London, 1914). Illustrated. Memorials & monuments old and new: two hundred subjects chosen from seven centuries (Offices of "Country Life", London, 1915). Illustrated with b/w photos and drawings. Village clubs and halls (Offices of "Country Life", London, 1920). Lutyens houses and gardens (Offices of "Country Life", London, 1921). Small country houses of to-day Volume 1, Volume 2 (Offices of Country Life, London, 1922). Illustrated with many b/w photos and plans. Sir Christopher Wren, scientist, scholar and architect (Offices of "Country life", London, 1923). Illustrated with b/w photos, and drawings by E. H. New. High Wycombe Furniture (The Fanfare Press, London, 1929). Illustrated.

Co-written by Weaver:

Gardens for Small Country Houses Gertrude Jekyll & Lawrence Weaver (Country Life Ltd, 1914). Illustrated with many b/w photos and plans. The Queen's Dolls' House (Everybody's Book of), A. C. Benson & Sir Lawrence Weaver (The Daily Telegraph, Methuen & Co, London, 1924).