[5] In 1849, Laverton leased the Angel Mill, Westbury, from the trustees of William Matravers and converted it to produce cloth.
[6] Laverton became a Westbury Justice of the Peace, and in 1864 a dispute arose between him and Charles Paul Phipps as to their seniority as magistrates.
[8] From 1868, Laverton stood unsuccessfully for parliament in Westbury as a Liberal, first against the Conservative John Lewis Phipps, when he lost by only twenty-seven votes.
Mr Justice Willes found that, although Phipps himself was personally innocent of any corrupt practice, his agent, Harrop, had carried out acts of intimidation on voters.
[10] In 1869, a by-election was thus held to fill the vacancy, at which Laverton lost by only eleven votes, defeated by his rival's brother, Charles Paul Phipps, standing for the Conservatives.
[11] In 1874, a poem called Warblings from Westbury was published, poking fun at Laverton in his new role as Member of Parliament.
[11] Following this defeat, he filed a petition in the High Court to have the result of the election annulled on the grounds of bribery, treating, and undue influence on the part of his Conservative opponent.
[14] In 1869, shortly after his second election defeat, Laverton built Prospect Square, Westbury, a development of thirty-nine houses, of which thirty-two were for his mill workers and seven were almshouses, around three sides of a large open space which before that had been used as allotments.
[21] The great west window of Westbury's All Saints parish church was donated by Abraham Laverton.