MAYOR, cllr Ian Cunningham, has made a gift to the town council of a cup which has an historic link to the town. The cup once belonged to Abraham Laverton, the Victorian Westbury cloth mill owner and philanthropist.
The mid-Victorian silver, two-handled presentation cup and cover was bought at an auction by the mayor, who believed it should be back in Westbury.
The Laverton cup displays a repousse lion mask floral and swag decoration and is engraved ‘Presented to Abraham Laverton esq. by the middle and working classes of Westbury, expressive of their gratitude for his munificence in erecting the Laverton Institute and thus contributing so greatly to their hitherto limited means of amusement and edification, January 26th, 1874.’
It was presented to Abraham Laverton seven days before he won the local Parliamentary seat as a member of the Liberal Party. It was the first general election where voters were able to vote in a secret ballot.
Cllr Cunningham said, “When I bought it I was doing so because the town council couldn’t by law vote to spend any money in time as we found out about the cup days before the auction. So I bought it and now it has become my gift to the town on my retirement as mayor.”
Abraham Laverton (1819-1886) built the houses of Prospect Square in 1869 to house his mill workers. The square consisted of 32 homes and 7 almshouses. It was also his idea to build Westbury’s public baths, but the project was completed by his nephew, William Laverton, a year after Abraham Laverton’s death. Westbury’s Victorian swimming pool remains open to this day.
