Edwin Maddison Lawson was born Chester-le-Street, Durham, England on 12 January 1895 and studied at the Architectural Association in London and at the School of Architecture, University of London. He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1919 and subsequently worked as an architect in Chester-le-Street, Durham where he was Architect to the Urban District Council and to the Joint Hospital Board.
In the 1920s and early 1930s he was in partnership with John Gibson Cowe (1863-1945) as Cowe & Lawson. From the late 1930s he practised as E. M. Lawson & Partners. Following World War Two he practised alone.
Throughout his career, Lawson lived and practised in Chester-le-Street where he died on 8 September 1971
Works by Lawson in partnership with Cowe: Bank, Houghton-le-Spring, for Barclays Bank, Ltd.; Housing scheme, Chester-le-Street U.D.C.; Housing scheme, Houghton-le-Sprlng R.D.C.; "Coach and Horses" Hotel, Birtley; residence, "Causey Lodge," Beamish Park, for Col. W. A. Benson, D.S.O.; "Crown Hotel", Chester-le-Street; Cattle Auction Marts, Morpeth and Ferryhill; Workmen's Clubs at Fatfield, Shiney Row, and Fence-Houses; lay-out of grounds, tennis courts, bowling green, bandstand, pavilions, etc., for Houghton-le-Spring Miners' Welfare Committee; business premises for Co-operative Society, Chester-le-Street; "Blue Bell" Inn, Durham City. [Source: Who's Who in Architecture 1926]
Works by Lawson as E. M. Lawson & Partners: Kingston Place, Middle Way, Kingston Gorse, East Preston, West Sussex (1936); Whitegates, Wheatleywell Lane,
Plawsworth, Durham (1930s); Cowesby Hall, Cowesby, Yorkshire (1949); and Biddick Hall, Lambton Park, Chester le Street, Durham (1954-55)
Seaside Houses and Bungalows. Edited by Ella Carter. London: Country Life, 1937