Crockford's
Encyclopedia
Crockford's was a London
gentlemen's club
, now dissolved, which was established in 1793 and which closed in 1845. It was one of London's older clubs, was centred around gambling, and maintained a somewhat raffish and raucous reputation. It was founded by William Crockford
.
From 1823, the club leased 50 St. James's Street
. After the club's closure, this continued to be used as a clubhouse, at first briefly by the short-lived Naval, Military and Civil Service Club, and then between 1874 and 1976 it was home to the Devonshire Club
.
William Crockford was born in 1775, the son of William & Mary Ann Crockford and was baptised at St Clement Dane on 12 February 1776. He began life working in his father's fish shop adjoining Temple Bar (at the original site of that landmark gate - now to be found aside St Paul's Cathedral). His ability at calculation was to stand him in good stead for he quickly took to gambling and after a number of long sessions amassed a tidy sum - enough to launch himself into Regency clubland. He acquired a site in St James's Street and opened a building that was to become the most famous gaming house in Europe - "Crockford's". He fleeced the aristocracy and in the process amassed one of the greatest fortunes imaginable, certainly enough to establish homes at 11 Carlton House Terrace (later to become Prime Minister William Gladstone's home) and at Panton House, Newmarket.
He married Sarah Frances Douglas on 20 May 1812 in St George's Hanover Square; fathered 14 children and died on 24 May 1844. He lies buried in a family vault underneath the Chapel of Kensal Green Cemetery, London.
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
gentlemen's club
Gentlemen's club
A gentlemen's club is a members-only private club of a type originally set up by and for British upper class men in the eighteenth century, and popularised by English upper-middle class men and women in the late nineteenth century. Today, some are more open about the gender and social status of...
, now dissolved, which was established in 1793 and which closed in 1845. It was one of London's older clubs, was centred around gambling, and maintained a somewhat raffish and raucous reputation. It was founded by William Crockford
William Crockford
William Crockford was a London gambling club proprietor.Crockford was born in London in 1775, the son of a fishmonger, and for some time himself carried on that business. After winning a large sum of money either at cards or by running a gambling establishment, he built a luxurious gambling house...
.
From 1823, the club leased 50 St. James's Street
St. James's Street
St James's Street is one of the principal streets in the central London district of St James's. It runs from Piccadilly downhill to St James's Palace and Pall Mall...
. After the club's closure, this continued to be used as a clubhouse, at first briefly by the short-lived Naval, Military and Civil Service Club, and then between 1874 and 1976 it was home to the Devonshire Club
Devonshire Club
The Devonshire Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1874 and was disbanded in 1976. Throughout its existence it was based at 50 St James's Street...
.
William Crockford was born in 1775, the son of William & Mary Ann Crockford and was baptised at St Clement Dane on 12 February 1776. He began life working in his father's fish shop adjoining Temple Bar (at the original site of that landmark gate - now to be found aside St Paul's Cathedral). His ability at calculation was to stand him in good stead for he quickly took to gambling and after a number of long sessions amassed a tidy sum - enough to launch himself into Regency clubland. He acquired a site in St James's Street and opened a building that was to become the most famous gaming house in Europe - "Crockford's". He fleeced the aristocracy and in the process amassed one of the greatest fortunes imaginable, certainly enough to establish homes at 11 Carlton House Terrace (later to become Prime Minister William Gladstone's home) and at Panton House, Newmarket.
He married Sarah Frances Douglas on 20 May 1812 in St George's Hanover Square; fathered 14 children and died on 24 May 1844. He lies buried in a family vault underneath the Chapel of Kensal Green Cemetery, London.