John Croft (1732–1820) was an English wine merchant in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

and

Oporto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

. He was known also for antiquarian and literary interests, and as an eccentric.

Life

He was the fifth son of Stephen Croft (1683–1733) and his wife Elizabeth Anderson, daughter of Sir Edmund Anderson, 4th Baronet, born at

Stillington, North Yorkshire Stillington is a village and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the York to Helmsley road about north of York. Stillington Mill was the endpoint of the Foss Navigation Act of 1793. History The ...

. He went to Oporto and took part in the wine trade, where there were Croft family connections. Another John Croft, a first cousin, had joined the British firm there in 1736, which then traded as Tilden, Thompson & Croft. After a period in Oporto, Croft returned to York, where he worked as a partner in the wine merchants Messrs George Suttrell & Co. He gained the

freedom of the city The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of York in 1770, and in 1773 was one of its sheriffs. He became a well-known, eccentrically dressed local character, with the nickname "Scrapeana" from one of his works. He died at home on 18 November 1820, and was buried in York Minster on 24 November.

Works

Croft published: *''A Treatise on the Wines of Portugal; also a Dissertation on the Nature and Use of Wines in general imported into Great Britain'', York 1787, 2nd edition 1788. It was dedicated to William Constable (1721–1791) of

Burton Constable Hall Burton Constable Hall is a large Elizabethan country house in England, with 18th- and 19th-century interiors and a fine 18th-century cabinet of curiosities. The hall, a Grade I listed building, is set in a park designed by Capability Brown ...

. *''A Small Collection of the Beauties of Shakspeare'', followed by ''Annotations on Plays of Shakespear (Johnson and Steevens's edition)'', York, 1810. *''Scrapeana, Fugitive Miscellany, Sans Souci'', 1792, jests and anecdotes. Dedicated to

Józef Boruwłaski Józef Boruwłaski (November 1739–September 5 1837) was a Poland, Polish-born court dwarf, dwarf and musician who toured in European and Turkish courts. Early life Józef Boruwłaski was born near Halych, Halicz in Poland in November 1739. ...

. *''Excerpta Antiqua; or a Collection of Original Manuscripts'', 1797. *''Rules at the Game of Chess'', 1808, anonymous. *''Memoirs'' of Harry Rowe the showman, who died in 1799. This was a charity publication, in support of York Dispensary. ''Scrapeana'' contained an anecdote about Elizabeth Sterne, wife of

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...

. Stephen Croft of Stillington (1713–1798) was a friend of Sterne, and John Croft's brother. In 1795, John Croft sent a collection of anecdotes about Sterne to

Caleb Whitefoord Caleb Whitefoord (1734 – 25 January 1810) was a Scottish merchant, diplomat, and political satirist. Life He was born in Edinburgh in 1734, probably in the family home of Whitefoord House on the Canongate, the illegitimate son of Colonel C ...

; and they were later published by

William Hewins William Albert Samuel Hewins (11 May 1865 – 17 November 1931) was a British economist and Conservative politician. In 1895, he was appointed by Sidney Webb as the first Director of the London School of Economics, a post he held until 1903. Fa ...

. They constitute what has been called "an inimical character sketch".

Family

Croft married in 1774 Judith Bacon, daughter of Francis Bacon, alderman of York, and his second wife, Catherine Hildrop. There were two sons.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croft, John 1732 births 1820 deaths English businesspeople English antiquarians 18th-century English writers