The Allcroft Family: From Worcester to Stokesay

The Allcroft Family: From Worcester to Stokesay
By Antony David Davies

Step inside the remarkable rise of one of England’s great provincial dynasties.

Beginning in late-eighteenth-century Worcester, The Allcroft Family: From Worcester to Stokesay follows the Allcrofts from skilled glove-makers to industrial magnates and landed gentry. Through ambition and innovation, they helped build the famed firm of Dent, Allcroft & Co., shaping a global trade in fine leather gloves.

By the 1860s, John Derby Allcroft-entrepreneur and philanthropist-purchased the medieval Stokesay Castle and created the magnificent Stokesay Court Estate in rural Shropshire. His vast neo-Elizabethan mansion became the centre of family power and a landmark of Victorian architecture.

Subsequent generations left their mark on south Shropshire’s civic, cultural and religious life, from political influence to charitable works. The story concludes with Lady Jewell Magnus-Allcroft, last of the line and wife of celebrated biographer Philip Magnus, whose marriage linked the Allcrofts to the intellectual elite of twentieth-century Britain.

Drawing on original research and rich local history, historian Antony David Davies paints a vivid portrait of enterprise, faith and social transformation-an absorbing narrative for anyone fascinated by Victorian Britain, country houses, industrial heritage, or Shropshire history.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:
- British social and family histories
- Victorian and Edwardian country-house stories
- Industrial and regional history of the West Midlands and Shropshire
- Biographies of influential yet overlooked families