THE CRAUFORDS OF HOXTON

"Her first bouquet"

I have Reg Moore in New Zealand to thank for my interest in this fascinating branch of the family. He made me aware of an Alfred Craxford who seemed to go by the name Crauford and who was something to do with a theatre in North London. To say I was not prepared for the world that this has opened up is an understatement.

This section now sees the two articles about the Britannia Theatre of Hoxton, North London, brought into context and into their rightful places. The descendent lines from the families of those greasepaint laden Victorian days have taken much time and patient research to unpick and clarify. We have found a heady mix of high society and the performing arts along the way. We are in communication with several of their descendents and three more stories have been added here. Further interesting tales have yet to be told.

There were several Craxford families living in London during the 1800s. We had very strong suspicions that they were well acquainted with, if not actually related to, one another. We have traced at least one family back to the main trunk in Northamptonshire. We feel it will only be a matter of time before the remaining links will become apparent.

In the mean time, please read on … and enjoy!!

THE GUILD OF ONE-NAME STUDIES
Added January 14th 2007
Lane Crauford (a specific variant of the Craxford surname arising in London) has been registered with the Guild. We will be happy to respond to any queries this may produce.

The Interior of the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton

If you have any contributions or questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us at alancrax@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

June 20th 2005
Last update: September 5th 2011

THE MAKING OF THE BRITANNIA THEATRE
A naïve, semi-illiterate fisherman, Sam Lane left his home and seek his fortune in London...

THE BRITANNIA COMES TO THE CRAXFORDS
When the son was fourteen the father died from the prevalent scourge of cholera ...

ALFRED LANE CRAXFORD - THEATRE MANAGER
He continued to be interested in his own family history and wrote the book "Sam and Sallie" ...

WH LANE CRAUFORD: NOVELIST
He turned to writing on a full time basis during the second World War ...

THE NOBLE FORDE-PIGOTTS
Mimi Pigott became the actress Mimi Crawford and subsequently the Countess of Sussex

1. "Her first bouquet": Charles Green (1868) Pollock's Toy Museum Trust

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