Isaac Lawrence
Mayor of Oxford 1759/60, 1768/9, and 1784/5
Isaac Lawrence (or Lawrance/Laurence/Larance/Learance) (c.1720–1784) was an Oxford grocer, son of Thomas Lawrence, who had been Mayor in 1737 and 1745.
Isaac Lawrence married Elizabeth Roque or Rock (the daughter of Samuel Roque Esq of Nuneham and his wife Zenobia Newton), and they had three sons (Thomas, Isaac, and Samuel) and several daughters.
Lawrence was admitted free for officers' fees on 4 March 1745, and in September 1746 he was appointed a cloth searcher. He was selected as Mayor’s Child by Richard Tawney on 30 September 1748, taking up a place as one of the Mayor’s Assistants. By 1751 he was a Chamberlain.
In September 1752 Lawrence took on his two sons Thomas and Isaac as apprentices. He advertised his wares regularly in Jackson’s Oxford Journal at this time: below is an advertisement from the edition of 2 April 1757:
RAISIN WINES
Which are Made and Sold by
Isaac Lawrence, Grocer, in Oxford,
Are warranted made of the Best Fruit only;
Are bright, strong, clean, and dry, and of a Flavour very
near that of Madeira. Price by the Gallon 3s. 6d. by the Hogshead cheaper
On 2 July 1762 Lawrence was granted a lease by the council of a house, bake-house, stable, and garden in St Mary Magdalen parish: this appears to have been in George Street (then George Lane).
Lawrence was a Chamberlain by 1752, and on 1 October 1753 he became Junior Bailiff. On 31 December 1758 he was elected one of the Mayor’s eight Assistants, and on 1 October 1759 he embarked on his first term as Mayor, naming John Brown as his Chamberlain and John Allen as his Child.
Lawrence’s eldest son, Thomas, died of a fever on 26 February 1765, five days after hurting his leg.
In 1766 the City got into such debt that they tried to sell its two parliamentary seats. As a result, the Mayor and ten councillors (including Lawrence) were committed to Newgate Prison in London for four days: they were discharged with a reprimand from the Speaker of the House of Commons on 10 February 1768.
Lawrence’s second term as Mayor started on 30 September 1768, naming Townsend Pitman as his Chamberlain, and on the decease of the latter in July selecting William Fletcher in his place.
On 21 January 1773, Jackson’s Oxford Journal reports that Lawrence was attacked by footpads when coming down the hill towards Botley from Witney, but managed to escape before they could rob him.
On 18 July 1774 Lawrence’s second son, Isaac, died.
On 6 January 1780 Lawrence’s only remaining son, Samuel, married Miss Andrews of Burford (a lady of "genteel fortune") at Swalcliffe.
Jackson’s Oxford Journal in 1783 carries advertisements for English Wines made by Isaac Lawrence, grocer: Orange Wine at 5s per gallon, Red at 5s per gallon, and Old Sim Raisin at 4s per gallon. He also advertises Jamaican Rum, French Brandy, and Marlborough cheese.
In 1784 Lawrence’s home was burgled by John Hawkins, William (alias Bumper) Smith, and Edward Ladds, all Oxford labourers: they stole about £37, two pairs of earrings in a snuffbox, and a few bottles of port. Richard Hawkins, the younger brother of John, was also implicated, as he had been Lawrence’s servant, and all four were sentenced to death at the Quarter Sessions of 22 April 1785. Bumper Smith later received the King’s Pardon and was transported to America for 14 years, while the Secretary of State sent an urgent respite for ten days for John Hawkins.
On 27 January 1784, Lawrence’s eldest daughter Dorothy married John Wise Thorp (Mayor in 1805 and 1822) and the pair’s two sons were also to become Mayor of Oxford in turn.
John Watson, who had been elected Mayor for 1783/4, died on 29 March 1784, and as a result Isaac Lawrence was appointed as a stand-in Mayor until 30 September. Unfortunately Lawrence himself also died at Finchampstead in Berkshire on 19 July 1784, so a third Mayor had to be appointed for that year.
Lawrence’s only surviving son, Samuel, put an advertisement into Jackson’s Oxford Journal of 31 July 1784 to say that he would carry on his father’s grocery business as before.
See also:
- Thomas Lawrence, Mayor 1737 and 1745 (his father)
- William Thorp II, Mayor 1833, 1844, 1848 (his grandson)
- John Thorp, Mayor 1845 (his grandson)
- Malcolm Graham, Oxford City Apprentices 1697–1800, entries numbered 2055 and 2056