Baroness Doreen Lawrence

Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE was born in Jamaica and travelled to the UK when she was nine. After leaving secondary school she married and had three beautiful children, two boys, Stephen and Stuart and a daughter, Georgina.


Baroness Lawrence returned to education as a mature student once all her children were at the stage in their lives when they were settled in school. Baroness Lawrence completed an Access course in her first year back into education, as a starting point to then embark on a BA Hon Humanities degree. Stephen, Baroness Lawrence’s first son was in the first year (1993) of her course. Baroness Lawrence successfully completed her degree in 1995.

After completing her degree Baroness Lawrence worked as a Domestic Violence Advisor in the voluntary sector and later worked at the local university where she had studied as a student financial advisor. Baroness Lawrence, a firm believer in education and continual learning, went on to study and in 1998 gained a postgraduate certificate in Counselling Skills and later gained a diploma in Therapeutic Counselling.

Baroness Lawrence has been awarded with six honorary degrees, by the University of East Anglia, Bradford University, Staffordshire University, University of Greenwich, Bishop Grosseteste University College Lincoln, University of East London FRIBA (Honorary Fellow Royal Institute of British Architect), Goldsmith University Honorary Fellows and at the start of 2013 from York University. She has also been recipient of the Freedom of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the Special Award for the Legal Aid Lawyer of the Year.

Baroness Lawrence is currently the Director of the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. The Trust was set up in 1998 to give bursaries to young people who want to study architecture because her son Stephen aspired and worked towards being an Architect. The Stephen Lawrence Centre built in Stephen’s memory is situated in Deptford in the London Borough of Lewisham and provides a broader range of the professional and vocational skills that help shape our environment. Baroness Lawrence is often invited to visit and give speeches at schools and different organisations in the UK and abroad, and as time and resources permit, she tries her best to honour these invitations.

Baroness Lawrence received a life peerage in August 2013 and took up office in the House of Lords in October 2013. Baroness Lawrence OBE was admitted as an Honorary Freewoman of the London Borough of Lewisham on 14th March 2014 in recognition of her work in seeking justice for her son, Stephen and creating a positive and dynamic legacy in his honour through the setting up of the Stephen Lawrence Centre and Charitable Trust. Baroness Lawrence was named the number one on the Woman's Hour Power List 2014 Game Changers.