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This unique house, 'Atelier', 14, Kidderpore Avenue, was designed and built in 1901 by the artist George Hillyard Swinstead for his family, paintings and sculpture. During the second world war the Swinsteads abandoned the house and it was bought by Harold Craxton and his wife Essie in 1945 after they and their family were bombed out of their home in St. John's Wood. Their six children included the distinguished oboist the late Janet Craxton; the painter John Craxton R.A. and the BBC’s Royal events television director Antony Craxton C.V.O.
Professor Harold Craxton O.B.E (Royal Academy of Music), an eminent and much-loved pianist and teacher, (ref: National Dictionary of Biography and ‘Who was Who’) lectured and taught at the house and accompanied some of the finest singers and musicians of the day. As a result, the house became a focal point for music and the artistic milieu in London. [1]
Harold’s daughter Janet Craxton, distinguished oboist and Professor of the Royal Academy, (ref: National Dictionary of Biography) lived and taught at 14 Kidderpore Avenue with her husband Alan Richardson (composer, pianist and Professor of the Royal Academy) and used it for rehearsals and auditions for the many groups and ensembles in which she was involved. Harold's sons Michael Craxton M.Uni. (Brunel) and John Craxton (Royal Academician, one of the foremost painters of the post-war, figurative era, [Ref: 'Who's Who']) still live in the house, and John also continues to maintain his studio there.
Harold Craxton died in 1971 and to additionally [2] foster the cultural heritage he had created, Essie and Janet commenced letting a wider circle of classical music groups and ensembles rehearse and audition in the house.
Essie Craxton died in 1977 leaving the house to her six children. Janet Craxton died in 1981. Following Janet's death, Antony, Michael and Alisi (Michael's wife) [3] managed the music rehearsal business until 1993 when Michael's daughter Jane and her partner Kim Mathen took over.
The music rehearsal business now provides the cream of national and international classical and jazz musicians with a singular and exclusive ambience for musical excellence in a distinctive and unique venue.
[2]
The Craxton Memorial Trust, a registered charity, established in Harold Craxton’s memory after his death to give awards to young, talented musicians in need of financial assistance is administered by Jane Craxton. Since its inception in 1971, it has used the house for its regular fund-raising concerts by distinguished musicians, as well as previous CMT Award winners, its auditions for its bi-ennial awards presided over by an eminent panel of musicians, and as a repository for its archives. (For more information please visit the website: www.craxtonmemorialtrust.org.uk).
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[3]
Alisi Craxton (wife of Michael Craxton and mother of Jane Craxton) came to England in 1948 and lived with the Craxton family at 14, Kidderpore Avenue where she was absorbed into the family’s existence which in many ways reflected her own up-bringing as the daughter of a family of gentleman farmers and artists in pre-war Germany. She married Michael in 1952. Alisi was crucial in enabling the house’s continuing existence and it is as much a memorial to her efforts as to Harold and Essie’s because she felt it was important to keep the house as a going concern for artistic activity and as a home. Alisi died in 1997.
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