George Washington

Lawrence Washington’s ancestry and family name can be traced back to the manor of Wessington in County Durham from about the end of the twelfth century.

Born around 1500, Lawrence Washington came from a small village in Lancashire. By 1529 he was working as a bailiff for William, Lord Parr, uncle of Katherine Parr (sixth and final wife of Henry VIII).  In 1530, he came south to Northampton.  Here he took over the property and prosperous woolstapling business of William Gough and married Elizabeth, his widow.

Now a wealthy independent wool merchant, he served as Mayor of Northampton in 1532 and 1545. Elizabeth died childless and Lawrence married Amy Pargiter, another wealthy widow in 1538.

Lawrence bought land in the village of Sulgrave and there, in 1539, he built the manor house which was to be his family’s home for more than a century.