A.W. Lawrence
Encyclopedia
Arnold Walter Lawrence (2 May 1900 – 31 March 1991) was a British authority on classical sculpture and architecture. He was Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
at Cambridge University
in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s in Accra
he founded what later became the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board as well as the National Museum of Ghana
. He was the youngest brother of T. E. Lawrence
("Lawrence of Arabia") and his literary executor
.
, Oxford
, on 2 May 1900, the youngest of five sons born to Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman
(1846–1919), and Sarah Junner (1861–1959). The couple were unmarried but took the names "Thomas Robert Lawrence" and "Sarah Lawrence". Their second son was T. E. Lawrence
who later found fame as "Lawrence of Arabia". Arnold Lawrence and he were close.
The Lawrence children were brought up in Oxford
by their mother who was very religious. But Arnold Lawrence expressed outspoken anti-religious views. He once stated "All religion is vermin". He attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys
before joining New College, Oxford
, obtaining a diploma in Classical Archaeology
in 1920 and graduating with a third in Literae Humaniores
in 1921. Classical archaeology was his second choice: the young A.W. Lawrence had wanted to specialize in South-American archaeology, but no British university offered a course.
Arnold Lawrence was a student at the British School at Rome
in 1921 and then at the British School at Athens
until 1926. In 1923 Lawrence worked on the excavation of Ur
which was directed by Leonard Woolley
under whom T. E. Lawrence had excavated at Carchemish before World War I
. In 1925 Lawrence married Barbara Inness Thompson (1902–1986), with whom he had one child, Jane Helen Thera Lawrence (1926–1978).
Lawrence was the model for the statue of "Youth" (1920), sculpted by Kathleen Scott
, at the Scott Polar Research Institute
in Cambridge.
He wrote widely on the subject of Greek architecture and sculpture as well as on fortifications in west Africa. In 1930 he was elected to the Laurence readership in Classical Archaeology
at the University of Cambridge
. In 1944 he succeeded A.J.B. Wace
as Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
at Cambridge University
and as such was elected to a Fellowship
at Jesus College, Cambridge
. In 1951 he obtained a Leverhulme research fellowship for the study of ancient fortifications, a subject inherited from T. E. Lawrence. In 1951 he resigned his post at Cambridge to become the Professor of Archaeology at the University College of the Gold Coast where he established the National Museum
and was the Secretary and Conservator of the Monuments and Relics Committee. He resigned these posts in 1957 after Ghana became independent and soon after settled at Pateley Bridge
in Yorkshire
, later moving to Bouthwaite
.
In the summer of 1985 Lawrence was interviewed by Julia Cave for a BBC
Omnibus
programme about T. E. Lawrence
. In September 1985, when he and his wife could no longer drive, they moved to Langford
, near Biggleswade
, close to where their two grandchildren were living. There his wife died unexpectedly in November 1986. In 1987-88 Lawrence moved to the house of an old friend and fellow archaeologist, Peggy Guido (1912-1994) in Devizes
, Wiltshire
. There he worked on preparing a new edition of his 1935 Annotated Herodotus
but the job could not be completed. He died at 44 Long Street, Devizes
on 31 March 1991 aged 90. The unfinished Herodotus material was handed over to the Bodleian Library
.
Lawrence was a Fellow of the British Academy
.
Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
The Laurence Professorship of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University was established in 1930 as one of the offices endowed by the bequest of Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence.-Laurence Professors of Classical Archaeology:* Arthur Bernard Cook...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s in Accra
Accra
Accra is the capital and largest city of Ghana, with an urban population of 1,658,937 according to the 2000 census. Accra is also the capital of the Greater Accra Region and of the Accra Metropolitan District, with which it is coterminous...
he founded what later became the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board as well as the National Museum of Ghana
National Museum of Ghana
The National Museum of Ghana is in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It is the largest and oldest of the six museums under the administration of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board....
. He was the youngest brother of T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
("Lawrence of Arabia") and his literary executor
Literary executor
A literary executor is a person with decision-making power in respect of a literary estate. According to Wills, Administration and Taxation: a practical guide "A will may appoint different executors to deal with different parts of the estate...
.
Early life
Arnold Lawrence was born at 2 Polstead RoadPolstead Road
Polstead Road is a residential road that runs between Kingston Road and Hayfield Road to the west and the Woodstock Road to the east, in the suburb of North Oxford, England. Half way along it forms the southern junction of Chalfont Road...
, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
, on 2 May 1900, the youngest of five sons born to Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman
Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet
Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, 7th Baronet was an Anglo-Irish landowner, the last of the Chapman Baronets of Killua Castle in Ireland. For many years he lived under the name of Thomas Robert Lawrence, taking the name of his partner, Sarah Lawrence, the mother of his five sons, one of whom was T. E...
(1846–1919), and Sarah Junner (1861–1959). The couple were unmarried but took the names "Thomas Robert Lawrence" and "Sarah Lawrence". Their second son was T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
who later found fame as "Lawrence of Arabia". Arnold Lawrence and he were close.
The Lawrence children were brought up in Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
by their mother who was very religious. But Arnold Lawrence expressed outspoken anti-religious views. He once stated "All religion is vermin". He attended the City of Oxford High School for Boys
City of Oxford High School for Boys
The City of Oxford High School for Boys was founded in 1881 by Thomas Hill Green to provide Oxford boys with an education which would enable them to prepare for University.-History:...
before joining New College, Oxford
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, obtaining a diploma in Classical Archaeology
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and Greek texts...
in 1920 and graduating with a third in Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores
Literae Humaniores is the name given to an undergraduate course focused on Classics at Oxford and some other universities.The Latin name means literally "more humane letters", but is perhaps better rendered as "Advanced Studies", since humaniores has the sense of "more refined" or "more learned",...
in 1921. Classical archaeology was his second choice: the young A.W. Lawrence had wanted to specialize in South-American archaeology, but no British university offered a course.
Arnold Lawrence was a student at the British School at Rome
British School at Rome
The British School at Rome was established in 1901 and granted a Royal Charter in 1912 as an educational institute in the fields of archaeology, literature, music, and history of Rome and Italy of every period, and for the study of the fine arts and architecture...
in 1921 and then at the British School at Athens
British School at Athens
The British School at Athens is one of the 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes in Athens, Greece.-General information:The School was founded in 1886 as the fourth such institution in Greece...
until 1926. In 1923 Lawrence worked on the excavation of Ur
Ur
Ur was an important city-state in ancient Sumer located at the site of modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq's Dhi Qar Governorate...
which was directed by Leonard Woolley
Leonard Woolley
Sir Charles Leonard Woolley was a British archaeologist best known for his excavations at Ur in Mesopotamia...
under whom T. E. Lawrence had excavated at Carchemish before World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1925 Lawrence married Barbara Inness Thompson (1902–1986), with whom he had one child, Jane Helen Thera Lawrence (1926–1978).
Lawrence was the model for the statue of "Youth" (1920), sculpted by Kathleen Scott
Kathleen Scott
Kathleen Scott, Baroness Kennet, FRSBS was a British sculptor.-Early life:Born Edith Agnes Kathleen Bruce at Carlton in Lindrick, Bassetlaw, Nottinghamshire, she was the youngest of eleven children of Canon Lloyd Stuart Bruce and Jane Skene Kathleen Scott, Baroness Kennet, FRSBS (27 March...
, at the Scott Polar Research Institute
Scott Polar Research Institute
The Scott Polar Research Institute is a centre for research into the polar regions and glaciology worldwide. It is a sub-department of the Department of Geography in the University of Cambridge, located on Lensfield Road in the south of Cambridge ....
in Cambridge.
Academic career
After T.E. Lawrence's death, A.W. Lawrence promoted his older brother's memory, collecting papers about him, and challenging what he considered any misrepresentation of his character in the press. T.E.'s enduring fame was a burden for A.W.; from his early twenties till the day he died, many, if not most, people saw A.W. Lawrence primarily as the brother of someone else.He wrote widely on the subject of Greek architecture and sculpture as well as on fortifications in west Africa. In 1930 he was elected to the Laurence readership in Classical Archaeology
Classical archaeology
Classical archaeology is the archaeological investigation of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Nineteenth century archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann were drawn to study the societies they had read about in Latin and Greek texts...
at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
. In 1944 he succeeded A.J.B. Wace
Alan Wace
Alan John Bayard Wace was an English archaeologist.Wace was educated at Shrewsbury School and Pembroke College, Cambridge...
as Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
Laurence Professor of Classical Archaeology
The Laurence Professorship of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University was established in 1930 as one of the offices endowed by the bequest of Sir Perceval Maitland Laurence.-Laurence Professors of Classical Archaeology:* Arthur Bernard Cook...
at Cambridge University
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
and as such was elected to a Fellowship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
at Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College, Cambridge
Jesus College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England.The College was founded in 1496 on the site of a Benedictine nunnery by John Alcock, then Bishop of Ely...
. In 1951 he obtained a Leverhulme research fellowship for the study of ancient fortifications, a subject inherited from T. E. Lawrence. In 1951 he resigned his post at Cambridge to become the Professor of Archaeology at the University College of the Gold Coast where he established the National Museum
National Museum of Ghana
The National Museum of Ghana is in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. It is the largest and oldest of the six museums under the administration of the Ghana Museums and Monuments Board....
and was the Secretary and Conservator of the Monuments and Relics Committee. He resigned these posts in 1957 after Ghana became independent and soon after settled at Pateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge
Pateley Bridge is a small market town in Nidderdale in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd.It has the oldest sweet shop in England and is the home of the Nidderdale Museum....
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, later moving to Bouthwaite
Bouthwaite
Bouthwaite is a village in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. It is situated in Nidderdale....
.
In the summer of 1985 Lawrence was interviewed by Julia Cave for a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Omnibus
Omnibus (TV series)
Omnibus was an arts-based BBC television documentary series, broadcast on BBC1 in the United Kingdom. It ran from 1967 until 2003, usually being transmitted on Sunday evenings....
programme about T. E. Lawrence
T. E. Lawrence
Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO , known professionally as T. E. Lawrence, was a British Army officer renowned especially for his liaison role during the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkish rule of 1916–18...
. In September 1985, when he and his wife could no longer drive, they moved to Langford
Langford, Bedfordshire
Langford is a village and civil parish situated alongside the River Ivel in the county of Bedfordshire.-Origins:The village is of Saxon origin, first mentioned in 944AD. and at one time it had one or more fording points across the river. The name is based on the words long ford from the length of...
, near Biggleswade
Biggleswade
Biggleswade is a market town and civil parish located on the River Ivel in Bedfordshire, England. It is well served by transport routes, being close to the A1 road between London and the North, as well as having a railway station on the main rail link North from London .-Geography:Located about 40...
, close to where their two grandchildren were living. There his wife died unexpectedly in November 1986. In 1987-88 Lawrence moved to the house of an old friend and fellow archaeologist, Peggy Guido (1912-1994) in Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
, Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
. There he worked on preparing a new edition of his 1935 Annotated Herodotus
Herodotus
Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a...
but the job could not be completed. He died at 44 Long Street, Devizes
Devizes
Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...
on 31 March 1991 aged 90. The unfinished Herodotus material was handed over to the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...
.
Lawrence was a Fellow of the British Academy
British Academy
The British Academy is the United Kingdom's national body for the humanities and the social sciences. Its purpose is to inspire, recognise and support excellence in the humanities and social sciences, throughout the UK and internationally, and to champion their role and value.It receives an annual...
.
Books
- Lawrence, A.W. Later Greek Sculpture and its Influence. London: Jonathan Cape; New York: Harcourt Brace, 1927.
- Lawrence, A.W. Classical Sculpture - Its History from the Earliest Times to the Death of Constantine. London: Jonathan Cape, 1929.
- Lawrence, A.W., ed. Narratives of the Discovery of America. London: Jonathan Cape, 1931.
- Lawrence, A.W. Herodotus, Rawlinson's Translation Revised and Annotated. London: Nonesuch Press, 1935.
- Lawrence, A.W., ed. T.E. Lawrence by His Friends. London: Jonathan Cape; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1937.
- Lawrence, A.W. Greek Architecture. London: Penguin; New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957; 2nd ed, 1967 (later editions revised by others).
- Lawrence, A.W., ed. Letters to T.E. Lawrence. London: Jonathan Cape, 1962.
- Lawrence, A.W. Trade Castles and Forts of West Africa. London: Jonathan Cape; Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1963.
- Lawrence, A.W. Greek and Roman Sculpture. London: Jonathan Cape, 1972.
- Lawrence, A.W. Greek Aims in Fortification. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979.
External links
- http://www.archiveshub.ac.uk/news/0300tel.htmlPapers of T.E. Lawrence and A.W. Lawrence held at The Bodleian Library, University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
] - Biography of Lawrence at Dictionary of Art Historians
- Lawrence Family on Peerage.com
- article about A.W. Lawrence in the Dutch daily NRC Handelsblad, 15 August 1992
