 Lawton was born at Dukinfield, Cheshire, the son of John Edward Lawton and his wife Ellen.His father owned a cotton spinning business at Dukinfield and in 1883 Frederic Charles Arkwright brought him to Matlock, Derbyshire to revive Masson Mill to meet the growing market for sewing thread generated by the popularity of sewing machines.Lawton senior built a substantial mansion Woodbank, later Cromford Court, overlooking Masson Mill.