Frederick Orchard Lawrence was born in Toxteth, Liverpool, England on 15 May 1893 . He entered the University of Liverpool School of Architecture in 1910 and graduated with a B.Arch. in 1915 following two years in the office of Briggs & Thorneley. He then served in in the Army during World War One. In 1919 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) and in 1920 was awarded a Rome Scholarship in Architecture. On his return to England he went back to Briggs & Thorneley and worked on competition drawings of Herbert Rowse's design for the India Buildings and on the Northern Ireland Parliament Building (Stormont). He also worked in the office of Bradshaw, Gase & Hope.
In 1925 he joined the office Edmund Kirby & Sons. In 1930 he formed a partnership with Henry Langton Beckwith (1861-1940).
Lawrence's address was given as 164 Algburth Road, Liverpool in 1923; 135 Hartington Road, Sefton Park, Liverpool in 1926; Bank Chamber, 3 Cook Street, Liverpool in 1930 and 1939; and 7 Rolleston Drive, Wallasey in 1971. He died in Birkenhead, Cheshire on 13 June 1971
Sharples, Joseph, Powers, Alan and Shippobottom, Michael. Charles Reilly & the Liverpool School of Architecture 1904-1933. Catalogue of an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, 25 October 1996 - 2 February 1997. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 1996 pp. 173-174 [Contains other references to Lawrence, unfortunately, this very informative catalogue is not indexed]