LAWRENCE, Robert Farror (1871-1953 ) succeeded Evered Criddle as Supervising Architect for the Province of British Columbia in July 1911 and held this post until May 1912. During his brief tenure as Provincial Architect he completed the construction of the Court House, Winnipeg Avenue at Fourth Street, GRAND FORKS, B.C., 1911, a building originally designed in 1910 by William King of Revelstoke (Colonist [Victoria], 11 March 1911, 7, descrip.; M. Carter, Early Canadian Court Houses, 1983, 192, 230,illus.; dwgs. B.C. Archives, Victoria), as well as the Court House at HOPE, B.C. (Vancouver Daily World, 29 Aug. 1911, 8).
He was also credited with the design of the new Craigflower School, Cross Road near Gorge Road, VICTORIA, B.C. (Colonist [Victoria], 1 March 1912, 1). Born in Newport, Wales on 21 May 1871 he began his career as an architect there in 1895 and arrived in Canada in 1907. He served as City Engineer in Nelson, B.C. before moving to Victoria to take up a position in the office of the Provincial Architect. No information on his activity has been found after 1913. He later died in New Westminster on 17 March 1953 (death notice The Province [Vancouver], 18 March 1953, 31; Vancouver Sun, 19 March 1953, 31; biog. Who's Who in Western Canada, 1911, 234; D. Luxton, Building the West: The Early Architects of British Columbia, 2003, 473, 509)