Francis Crane
Sir Francis Crane (born ca. 1579, died ca.1636) was the founder of Mortlake Tapestry Works [1] at Mortlake on the south bank of the river Thames in West London.
Life
The tapestry works almost ruined Crane, as it involved him in considerable outlay of capital for an inadequate return, and in 1623 he was forced to appeal to the King, James I for financial help. James I died in 1625 and Crane was given much more favourable terms by the new King, Charles I, whose secretary he had been since 1617[2].
In 1629 the King gave him the Manor of Stoke Bruerne in Northamptonshire, where he built Stoke Park, a fine Palladian house, possibly with assistance from Inigo Jones.
References
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Wendy Hefford 2004.
- ^ "Portrait of Crane by Van Dyke auctioned at Sotheby's in 2002 for £227,000". Retrieved 2008-08-20.