(119) Cracroft-Amcotts of Kettlethorpe and Hackthorn

Cracroft of Hackthorn

Amcotts of Kettlethorpe

This post concerns two families, initially quite distinct, but which became so closely entwined in the 18th and 19th centuries that it makes sense to tell their story together.

In 1618, John Cracroft (c.1559-1622) inherited estates around Lincoln at Hackthorn, Dunholme and Whisby in Doddington from his maternal uncle, Robert Grantham.  He is reputed to have built a new house at Hackthorn, but the record provided by baptisms, marriages, burials and wills suggests that the family was not firmly centred there until the end of the 17th century. Almost all trace of their first house has, however, vanished, replaced by a neo-classical villa built in 1793-95 by John Cracroft (1748-1821). The Hackthorn estate has passed in an orderly way from generation to generation for some four hundred years. Robert Cracroft (d. 1677) enhanced it by the acquisition through marriage of lands at nearby Fulnetby, and his grandson, Robert Cracroft (1703-63) acquired the West Keal Hall estate near Spilsby, also through marriage, but otherwise the estate remained largely unchanged until the 19th century.

The Amcotts family were established by the mid 16th century at nearby Aisthorpe, about three miles from Hackthorn as the crow flies. A descendant of this family, Vincent Amcotts (c.1625-86), who had apparently had a successful legal practice in London, bought Harrington Hall near Spilsby (Lincs) in 1673 and rebuilt it shortly afterwards. He died leaving a young family by his second wife, Amy, and left the house to her until such time as his heir should come of age. Amy married again, and by her second husband produced a son, Charles Hall (d. 1743), who inherited Kettlethorpe Hall from his father's family and probably largely rebuilt it. He died without issue and bequeathed Kettlethorpe to his half-brother's son, Charles Amcotts (1729-77) of Harrington Hall. In youth, Charles gained a reputation as a firebrand Jacobite, and had the distinction of being expelled from Cambridge University for drinking the health of the Young Pretender in 1749. He remained a Tory in politics, but became part of the county establishment, serving as High Sheriff, MP for Boston, and Colonel of the county militia. The one thing he omitted to do was to marry and have a family, so at his death his property was divided among his sisters. Anna-Maria (d. 1800), the wife of Sir Wharton Emerson - who promptly changed his name to Amcotts - received Kettlethorpe; and Frances (1726-c.1810), the wife of Edward Buckworth, got Harrington.

Sir Wharton Amcotts (1740-1807) and his wife produced an only daughter, Elizabeth (d. 1812), who married Sir John Ingilby (d. 1815), the illegitimate heir to the Ripley Castle estate in Yorkshire. When her mother died, she obtained royal licence to call herself Lady Amcotts-Ingilby (although she actually used the form Ingilby-Amcotts!), and her only surviving son and heir, who inherited the baronetcies of her father (by special remainder) and her husband, and both the Ripley Castle and Kettlethorpe Hall estates, was Sir William Amcotts-Ingilby (1783-1854), 2nd bt.  Curiously, he seems initially to have been very short of money, and he lived abroad from some years after 1812 to avoid his creditors, but by 1815 when he inherited his father's estates he was back in England and he became the radical Whig MP for Lincolnshire, 1823-32. He married twice but had no children, so when he died in 1854 his Lincolnshire estates passed to his nephew, Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1815-83) of Hackthorn Hall; this is where the two families join up.

Weston Cracroft-Amcotts also inherited the Hackthorn estate from his father in 1862. Perhaps because the classical house at Hackthorn was then very unfashionable, he chose to live at Kettlethorpe, which he extensively remodelled in 1863, giving the house its present form.  His eldest son and intended heir was Vincent (1845-81), who became a playwright in London, but died from an overdose of a sleeping draught shortly after he had leased a theatre to mount one of his plays.  When Weston Cracroft-Amcotts died two years later, he divided his estates between his two surviving sons. The elder, Edward Weston Cracroft (he dropped the Amcotts part of his surname) (1849-1933), received Hackthorn, and the younger, Frederick Augustus Cracroft-Amcotts (1853-97) got Kettlethorpe.  Frederick was killed in a hunting accident in 1897 and his widow remained at Kettlethorpe until her death in 1936, when it passed to her son, Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1888-1975), who had already inherited Hackthorn from his childless uncle.  Sir Weston made Hackthorn his home, and eventually sold Kettlethorpe in 1961 (although the estate was mostly sold off from 1942 onwards).  Hackthorn passed to Bridget (1933-2008), the third of his four daughters, and her husband Robert Peel Charles Eley (1931-96), who took the name Cracroft-Eley. Their son, William Cracroft-Eley, is the present owner of Hackthorn Hall.

Harrington Hall, Lincolnshire

Harrington Hall in 1986. Image: Nicholas Kingsley. Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

The house has a long west front and the part of this with a stone plinth marks the extent of the Tudor and Elizabethan house of the Copledyke family. Vincent Amcotts (c.1625-86) bought Harrington in 1673 and remodelled and extended the house over the next eight years, possibly to the designs of William Catlyn of Hull, who was building Brigg Grammar School at the time for a group of trustees of whom Amcotts was a member.  When the house was enlarged in the 1670s, the existing three-storey porch was retained, perhaps partly because it had relatively recently been rebuilt with Artisan Mannerist decoration of very elongated Ionic brick pilasters either side of the porch windows on the first and second floors, and perhaps partly  to provide a vertical accent in what would otherwise have been a long, low, rather monotonous facade. 

Harrington Hall in 1986: diaper work on the side of the porch betrays its Tudor origins. Image: Nicholas Kingsley
Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

Either side of the porch there are six bay, two-storey ranges, with a projecting wooden modillion cornice, pitched roof and dormers.  The windows were altered later in the Georgian period, and perhaps at the same time a lower extension was added to the north end.  After that, the 19th and 20th centuries made only minor changes and additions, until in 1991 there was a disastrous fire while repairs were in hand for the new owners. Almost the entire interior was destroyed and the even the external shell was badly damaged, but both have been carefully restored by Guy Taylor Associates of Newark, who won a Europa Nostra award for the project.  The gardens were laid out in the 18th century, and have been enhanced in the last twenty years.  The west front faces a wide court with brick walls and gatepiers, the south wall of which is the boundary of an elevated terraced garden ornamented with rusticated piers and urns, added in 1722.  The terrace itself is 17th century and thought to have been built from the rubble of the old house.  The gardens have been open to the public for many years, but closed permanently at the end of 2013.

Harrington Hall, as depicted on the Ordnance Survey 6" map, 1887

Descent: Sir Roger Copledike (c.1316-63); to son, John Copledike (c.1338-80); to son, John Copledike (c.1360-1408); to son, William Copledike; to son, William Copledike (b. 1402); to son, John Copledike (1425-c.1488);... Sir John Copledike (d. 1557), who probably built the house c.1535; to son, John Copledyke (d. 1585); to brother, Francis Copledyke (d. 1599); to nephew, Edward Copledike (d. 1609); to widow for life and then (after much legal wrangling) to his brother Thomas Copledike (d. 1658); to widow, Mary Copledike, for life; to nephew, Hugh Bethell (fl. 1673), who sold 1673 to Vincent Amcotts (c.1625-86), who remodelled the house; to son, Vincent Amcotts (c.1683-1733); to son, Charles Amcotts (1729-77); to sister, Frances (c.1726-1810); to great-niece, Augusta (d. 1857), wife of Robert Cracroft of Hackthorn (1783-1862); to cousin, Rev. Sir Henry John Ingilby (1790-1870), 1st bt.; to son, Sir Henry Day Ingilby (1826-1911), 2nd bt.; sold c.1920 to Maj. Thomas Jessup; sold 1927 to Maj. W.H. Rawnsley of Well; sold c.1930 to Holliday Hartley and used in WW2 by an evacuated Barnado's Home from Sheffield; sold 1950 to Sir John Maitland MP (1903-77), kt.; to widow; sold after her death 1991 to David Price; sold 2014.

Kettlethorpe Hall, Lincolnshire

Kettlethorpe Hall: the 14th century gateway. Image: Richard Croft.
Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

The house began in the 14th century as the home of the Swynford family, an association made famous by the marriage of Katharine Swynford to John of Gaunt, and more particularly by Anya Seton's novel about her.  Of this period, there remains only the stone gateway, with battlements and typical mouldings, which has been strengthened and repaired later in brick, and some remains of the moat.  There is also some old stonework in the south wall of the house itself, but otherwise the house dates largely from a rebuilding in the early 18th century, and especially from the last major remodelling in 1863. 

Kettlethorpe Hall as rebuilt in the early 18th century and remodelled in 1863.

Some earlier survivals include one room with reset 17th century panelling; the dining room which has Queen Anne panelling and a chimneypiece of c.1771 (for which there is a design in the Victoria & Albert Museum); and the adjacent room which has a very delicate stucco ceiling.  The original staircase of the 18th century house is said to be at Ripley Castle (Yorks), and was presumably moved in 1863.

Kettlethorpe Hall, as depicted on the Ordnance Survey 6" map, 1885 

Descent: Thomas Hall; to son, Charles Hall (d. 1743); to first cousin once removed, Charles Amcotts (1729-77); to sister, Anna-Maria (d. 1800), wife of Sir Wharton Emerson (later Amcotts) (1740-1807), 1st bt.; to daughter, Elizabeth (d. 1812), wife of Sir John Ingilby (d. 1815), 1st bt.; to son, Sir William Amcotts-Ingilby (1783-1854), 2nd bt.; to sister, Augusta (d. 1857), wife of Robert Cracroft (later Amcotts) (1783-1862); to son, Weston Cracroft Amcotts (1815-83); to son, Frederick Augustus Cracroft-Amcotts (1853-97); to widow (d. 1936); to son, Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1888-1975), kt, who sold 1961 to His Honour Edward Daly-Lewis (d. 1977); sold 1981 to C. Coulton; sold 1985 to Rt. Hon. Douglas Martin Hogg, 3rd Viscount Hailsham (b. 1945).

Hackthorn Hall, Lincolnshire

Hackthorn Hall: the 17th century house of the Cracroft family.

Hackthorn Hall in Lincolnshire has been the seat of the Cracroft family since 1618 when John Cracroft inherited the estate from his uncle, Robert Grantham. A painting shows the original 17th century hall, which was replaced in the 1790s by a new house on a different site west of the church. The old house seems to have been retained at first as a rectory, but was later pulled down. A sketch by Edmund Cracroft done in the 1790s shows the new house sitting alongside the old parish church and the old house in a bare new landscaped setting, created at the same time as the house was built.

Hackthorn Hall in the 1790s: a sketch by Edmund Cracroft showing the new house, old church, and old house in their newly-landscaped setting.

Hackthorn Hall: entrance front and west side, 2008. Image: East Yorkshire Local History Society

The 17th century house was replaced by the present four-square restrained neo-classical villa designed by James Lewis of London, which was built in 1793-95; a drawing of the completed house was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1798 and Lewis' designs remain at the house.  It is not clear how Lewis came to the attention of John Cracroft; in the next generation the two families were connected by marriage but there is nothing to suggest any earlier link and Hackthorn remains Lewis's only known Lincolnshire commission.  It may simply be that Cracroft had seen Lewis's book, Original Designs in Architecture, published in 1779-80. The new house was built in a pale Yorkshire stone, and is a square block with a long service wing added c.1858-60 on the east side. The north front has a semi-circular Ionic porch (regrettably ornamented in c.1860) and windows in arched recesses, and the south (garden) front has triangular pediments on alternate ground-floor windows, but otherwise the external decoration is minimal. 

Hackthorn Hall: garden front, 2009. Image: Thorpe. Licenced under this Creative Commons licence.

Inside, the rooms are grouped around an oval top-lit staircase hall containing a cantilevered stone staircase with an elegant wrought-iron handrail. The drawing room has a pretty and delicate plaster ceiling, the dining room a shallow sideboard recess, but the decoration is kept very simple and the house depends for much of its impact on the fine collection of family portraits and appropriate furnishings.  North-east of the house stands a mid 18th century stable block, altered in the later 18th century, and forming a group with the church (rebuilt in 1844-49).  Nearby are an old barn and another stable, the sole survivors from the earlier complex of buildings. The grounds were landscaped when the house was rebuilt, and a sketch by Edmund Cracroft done in the 1790s shows the new house sitting alongside the old parish church and the rectory in a bare new landscaped setting.

Hackthorn Hall, as depicted on the Ordnance Survey 6" map, 1885-86.

Descent: John Cracroft (c.1559-1622); to son, Robert Cracroft (d. 1666); to grandson, Robert Cracroft (d. 1677); to son, Robert Cracroft (1676-1712); to son, Robert Cracroft (1703-63); to son, Robert Wilson Cracroft (1746-87); to brother, John Cracroft (1748-1821), who rebuilt the house; to son, Robert Cracroft (later Amcotts) (1783-1862); to son, Weston Cracroft Amcotts (1815-83); to son, Edward Weston Cracroft (1849-1933); to nephew, Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1888-1975); to daughter, Bridget Katharine (1933-2008), wife of Robert Peel Charles Cracroft-Eley (1931-96); to son, Charles William Amcotts Cracroft-Eley (b. 1963). 

Amcotts family of Harrington Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall

Amcotts, Vincent (1625-86), of Harrington Hall. Son of Vincent Amcotts (d. 1637/8) of Langton-by-Wragby (Lincs) and his wife Anne, daughter of Anthony Norton of Burton (Lincs), born 23 September 1625. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1648). He married 1st, 18 February 1668, Helen Webberley of East Kirkby (Lincs), and 2nd, about July 1675, Amy (1648-1712/3), daughter of Henry Mildmay of Graces, Little Baddow (Essex), and had issue:
(1.1) Elizabeth Amcotts (b. & d. 1669), baptised at Nettleham, 28 November 1669; died in infancy and was buried at Nettleham, 7 December 1669;
(2.1) Annie Amcotts (b. 1676), born 16 and baptised 17 April 1676; died before 1686;
(2.2) Vincent Amcotts (1679-80), baptised 25 June 1679; died in infancy and was buried 9 April 1680;
(2.3) Mary Amcotts (1681-87), born 2 February 1681; died unmarried, 18 November 1687;
(2.4) Vincent Amcotts (1683-1733) (q.v.);
(2.5) Henry Amcotts (1684-1705), born 21 January 1684; died unmarried and without issue, 18 May 1705; will proved in PCC, 13 June 1711.
He purchased Harrington Hall in 1673 and rebuilt the house. At his death he left his estates to his widow until his son achieved his majority.
He died 25 May 1686 and was buried at Harrington, where he is commemorated by a monument; his will was proved 2 August 1686 and his inventory is here. His widow married 2nd, Thomas Hall of Kettlethorpe Hall and had issue a son, Charles Hall (d. 1743), who bequeathed Kettlethorpe to Charles Amcotts (1729-77) (q.v.). She died 20 February 1712/3.

Amcotts, Vincent (1683-1733), of Harrington Hall. Son of Vincent Amcotts (c.1625-86) and his second wife, Amy Mildmay, born 1683. Educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge (admitted 1700) and Lincolns Inn (admitted 1703). Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1726. He married, 18 May 1720, Elizabeth (c.1694-1765), daughter of Rev. John Quincey of Aslackby (Lincs), and had issue:
(1) Vincent Amcotts (1721-30), baptised 22 July 1721; died young, 23 May and was buried 26 May 1730;
(2) Elizabeth Amcotts (1723-62), baptised 9 October 1723; died unmarried, 10 May 1762;
(3) Anna Maria Amcotts (1725-1800), baptised 21 April 1725; married, 16 April 1762, Sir Wharton Emerson (later Amcotts) (q.v.) and had issue a daughter; died 1 July 1800;
(4) Frances Amcotts (1726-1810), baptised 3 November 1726; married, 1 August 1754, Rev. Dr. Everard Buckworth (d. 1792) of Washingborough, but had no issue; inherited Harrington Hall from her brother in 1777, and left it to her great-niece Augusta Cracroft; died 21 April 1810;
(5) Col. Charles Amcotts (1729-77) (q.v.).
He inherited Harrington Hall on the expiry of his mother's interest in 1704. 
He died 26 August and was buried at Harrington, 4 September 1733; his will was proved 11 February 1735/6. His widow was buried at Harrington, 19 July 1765.

Amcotts, Col. Charles (1729-77), of Harrington Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall. Second but only surviving son of Vincent Amcotts (1683-1733) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Quincey of Aslackby (Lincs), baptised 25 June 1729. Educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge (admitted 1746; sent down for drinking the health of the Young Pretender, 1749); created DCL by the University of Oxford, 8 July 1763. A 'notorious Jacobite', he became Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1753, Colonel of the Lincolnshire Militia, and Tory MP for Boston (Lincs), 1754-61, 1766-77; Alderman of Boston, 1774. He was unmarried.
He inherited Harrington Hall from his father in 1733 and Kettlethorpe Hall from his father's half-brother, Charles Hall, in 1743; he came of age in 1750. At his death, Kettlethorpe passed to his sister Anna-Maria and her husband and Harrington to his sister Frances and her husband.
He died 14 April 1777 and is buried at Harrington, where he is commemorated by a monument.

Amcotts (né Emerson), Sir Wharton (1740-1807), 1st bt., of Kettlethorpe Hall. Eldest son of Alexander Emerson (d. 1744) of East Retford (Notts) and Caister (Lincs) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and co-heir of Rev. Thomas Bosville of Ufford (Northants), born 23 February and baptised 24 February 1739/40. Served in 14th Foot (ensign, 1758; lieutenant, 1759; resigned 1760). Assumed the name of Amcotts in lieu of Emerson by royal licence, 13 May 1777, when his wife succeeded her brother in the Kettlethorpe estate.  MP for East Retford, 1780-90, 1796-1802; created a baronet, 11 May 1796. He married 1st, 16 April 1762, Anna Maria (1725-1800), daughter of Vincent Amcotts (1683-1733) of Harrington Hall, and 2nd, 20 October 1800, Amelia Theresa (d. 1833), daughter of Duncan Campbell of South Hall (Ayrshire), and had issue:
(1.1) Elizabeth Amcotts (later Ingilby, then Ingilby-Amcotts) (c.1763-1812) (q.v.);
(2.1) Sophia Louisa Emerson Amcotts (1804-33), born 16 January 1804 and baptised in a Catholic chapel in York on the same day; married, 15 June 1826 at St James, Piccadilly, Westminster (Middx), Mathew (later Sir Mathew) Wilson (1802-91), 1st bt., son of Mathew Wilson of Eshton Hall (Durham), and had issue one son; died 29 September 1833.
He inherited house property at East Retford (Notts). His wife inherited the Kettlethorpe Hall estate in 1777. At her death it passed to their daughter.
He died at Scarborough, 26 September 1807, and was buried at East Retford (Notts), 5 October 1807.  He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, by special remainder. His first wife died 1 July 1800. His widow married, 2nd, 29 May 1809, Richard Bradley Wainman and was buried at Kildwick (Yorks), 19 July 1833.

Ingilby-Amcotts (née Amcotts, then Ingilby), Elizabeth (c.1763-1812) of Ingilby Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall. Daughter of Sir Wharton Amcotts (né Emerson) and his first wife, Anna Maria, daughter of Vincent Amcotts of Harrington Hall, born 24 June 1763. She assumed by royal licence, 3 October 1800, the surname Amcotts in addition to that of Ingilby. She married, 25 October 1780, Sir John Ingilby (1758-1815), 1st bt. of Ripley (Yorks) and had issue:
(1) John Ingilby (1781-92), born 12 and baptised 13 August 1781; died young, December 1792;
(2) Charles Amcotts Ingilby (b. & d. 1782), baptised 13 June 1782; died in infancy and was buried 15 June 1782;
(3) Sir William Ingilby (later Amcotts-Ingilby) (1783-1854), 2nd bt. (q.v.);
(4) Elizabeth Ingilby (b. 1784), born 11 May 1784;
(5) Augusta Ingilby (1786-1857), born 29 April and baptised 5 May 1786; married Robert Cracroft (1783-1862) of Hackthorn Hall (q.v.); inherited Kettlethorpe Hall from her brother in 1854; died 16 January 1857;
(6) Anna-Maria Ingilby; died in infancy;
(7) Anne Ingilby (d. 1790); died young in 1790;
(8) Diana Ingilby (1790-1841), born 16 and baptised 19 September 1790; married, April 1814, William Gunning-Campbell of Fairfield (Scotland); died 1841;
(9) Vincent Bosville Ingilby (1792-93), born 17 November and baptised 21 December 1792; died young in 1793;
(10) Julia Wharton Ingilby (1794-1836), born 12 February and baptised April 1794; married, 24 October 1816, Rear-Adm. Sir Robert Barrie RN and had issue one son and four daughters; died November 1836;
(11) Constance Ingilby (1795-1877), born 26 July 1795; married, 5 July 1819, Dr. Mark Theodore de Morlat MD; died 22 October 1877.
She inherited the Kettlethorpe Hall estate from her mother in 1800.  At her death it passed to her son.
She died 21 September 1812; her will was proved 27 October 1812. Her widower died 13/14 May 1815.

Political cartoon of Sir William Amcotts-Ingilby

Amcotts-Ingilby (né Ingilby), Sir William (1783-1854), 2nd bt., of Ingilby Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall. Only surviving son of Sir John Ingilby (d. 1815), 1st bt. of Ingilby Hall (Yorks) and his wife, Elizabeth Ingilby-Amcotts, daughter of Sir Wharton Amcotts, 1st bt., of Kettlethorpe Hall, born 20 June 1783.  Educated at Louth Grammar School. He succeeded his grandfather as 2nd bt. of Kettlethorpe by special remainder in 1807, and his father, also as 2nd bt. of Ingilby, in 1815. Lieutenant in West Riding Yeomanry, 1803; High Sheriff of Yorkshire, 1821-22; MP for East Retford, 1807-12, Lincolnshire, 1823-32 and North Lincolnshire, 1832-35. Although apparently in youth a Tory, he became a radical Whig in politics, consistently supporting the cause of reform (and going so far as to support petitions for the introduction of the secret ballot), the abolition of slavery, Catholic emanicipation, and raising the living standards of working people. He had a reputation for drinking, gambling and eccentricity, and more than once was mistaken for a ‘poor farming-like sort of person’; his cigar-smoking, bizarre taste in cheap hats and facetiousness at political meetings endeared him to his constituents but made him the butt of political cartoonists. He assumed the name of Amcotts in addition to Ingilby on the death of his mother in 1812, and this was confirmed by royal licence, 11 April 1822.  In 1812 he slipped abroad to avoid his creditors and he may have stayed abroad until he succeeded his father in 1815. He enjoyed Continental travel and later visited Italy and Alsace-Lorraine, and in 1818 he was in Vienna. He married 1st, 18 April 1822, Louisa (d. 1836), daughter of John Atkinson of Maple Hayes (Staffs) and 2nd, 27 July 1843, Mary Anne, daughter of John Clementson, serjeant-at-arms to the House of Commons, but had no issue.
He inherited the Kettlethorpe Hall estate from his mother in 1812 and Ripley Castle from his father in 1815. At his death Kettlethorpe passed to his nephew, Weston Cracroft-Amcotts of Hackthorn Hall (q.v.) and Ripley to his cousin, Rev. Henry John Ingilby, "because I don't believe that you are any longer the canting hypocrite I took you for".
He died in London, 14 May 1854, when the baronetcies became extinct. His first wife died 22 July 1836. His widow's date of death is unknown.

Cracroft (later Cracroft-Amcotts) family of Hackthorn Hall

Cracroft, John (c.1559-1622), of Hackthorn and Dunholme. Elder son of Francis Cracroft (d. 1570) of Winthorpe (Lincs) and his first wife, Katherine, daughter of Hugh Grantham of Dunholme (Lincs), born about 1559. He married Elizabeth (1563-1602), daughter of William Beverley of North Grimston (Yorks), and had issue:
(1) Robert Cracroft (d. 1667) (q.v.);
(2) John Cracroft (d. before 1634);
(3) William Cracroft (d. 1637/8), of Cold Hanworth (Lincs); married before 1624, Elizabeth [surname unknown] and had issue one son; died 1 March 1637/8;
(4) Francis Cracroft (d. 1671), of Metheringham and Washingborough (Lincs); educated at Trinity College, Cambridge (admitted 1622); married, 20 November 1623, Jane Waterhouse (d. 1641) and had issue seven sons and two daughters; buried at Spalding (Lincs), 28 May 1671;
(5) Bridget Cracroft; married (after 1621) [forename unknown] Dickenson;
(6) Elizabeth Cracroft; married (before 1621), Thomas Appleby;
(7) Anne Cracroft (d. 1656); married (before 1616), Charles Wilson of Sheepwash (Lincs); died 1656 and was buried at Canwick (Lincs); will proved 26 November 1656;
(8) Jane Cracroft (d. 1635); married, 22 January 1617/8, Michael Lawes of Lincoln, plumber; buried 3 April 1635;
(9) Catherine Cracroft; married, 30 June 1625, Edward Monke of Broughton (Lincs).
He inherited Hackthorn, Whisby in Doddington Pigot and Dunholme from his uncle, Robert Grantham of Black Monks, Lincoln, in 1618.
He was buried at Dunholme (Lincs), 6 November 1622; his will was proved 28 November 1622 and an inquisition post mortem was held at Sleaford, 19 June 1623. His wife died 23 August 1602 and was buried at North Grimston (Yorks).

Cracroft, Robert (d. 1667), of Hackthorn and Dunholme. Eldest son of John Cracroft (d. 1622) and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of William Beverley of North Grimston (Yorks). He married, 28 February 1608/9, Martha (d. 1667), daughter of Sir Richard Amcotts KB of Aisthorpe (Lincs), and had issue:
(1) Robert Cracroft (1610-47) (q.v.);
(2) Mary Cracroft (b. 1611; fl. 1667), baptised at Aisthorpe, 28 March 1611; married, 22 October 1640, Rev. John Shelton and had issue a son;
(3) John Cracroft (c.1616-67); buried 17 August 1667; administration granted 6 September 1667;
(4) Elizabeth Cracroft (b. c.1615/6; fl. 1667), baptised at Wickenby (Lincs), 17 March 1615/6; married William Bedell;
(5) Richard Cracroft (1617-c.1685), baptised at Cold Hanworth (Lincs), 16 November 1617, innkeeper of Old White Hart, Lincoln; married Susannah [surname unknown] (d. 1666);
(6) Jane Cracroft (b. 1623; fl. 1667), baptised at Doddington Pigot (Lincs), 3 November 1623; married Francis Bland of Hablesthorp (Notts);
(7) Martha Cracroft (b. 1625; fl. 1684), baptised at Doddington Pigot, 8 January 1625; married (before 1666/7), Edward Barker;
(8) Thomas Cracroft (1628-81), baptised at Doddington Pigot, 8 April 1628; married Mary Whelpdale; will proved at Lincoln, 18 March 1680/81;
(9) Henry Cracroft (b. 1631), baptised at Doddington Pigot, 15 August 1631.
He inherited the Hackthorn and Dunholme estates from his father in 1622.
He was buried at Dunholme (Lincs), 14 September 1667; his will was proved at Lincoln, 19 November 1667. His wife was buried at Dunholme, 25 August 1667. The deaths of Robert, his wife and their son John in a short period in the autumn of 1667 suggest that they may have died of an infectious disease, perhaps even of the plague, which continued to break out across England that year.

Cracroft, Robert (1610-47). Eldest son of Robert Cracroft (d. 1666) and his wife Martha, daughter of Sir Richard Amcotts of Aisthorpe (Lincs), baptised at Aisthorpe, 4 May 1610. Educated at Grays Inn (admitted 1629). He married, 4 April 1636 at Lockington (Yorks), Margaret (d. 1655), daughter of Richard Remington of Lund (Yorks) and had issue:
(1) Robert Cracroft (d. 1677) (q.v.);
(2) Margaret Cracroft (fl. 1652);
(3) Mary Cracroft (fl. 1652).
He died in the lifetime of his father and was buried at St Mary-le-Wigford, Lincoln, 23 August 1647.  A grant of administration was issued for his widow on 3 October 1655.

Cracroft, Robert (d. 1677), of Hackthorn Hall. Only son of Robert Cracroft (1610-47) and his wife Margaret, daughter of Richard Remington of Lund (Yorks).  He married, 8 October 1664, Anne (1646-1717), daughter and co-heir of John Lodington of Fulnetby (Lincs) and had issue including:
(1) Mary Cracroft (b. 1665), baptised at Rand (Lincs), 4 November 1665;
(2) John Cracroft (1668-71), baptised at Hackthorn, 15 December 1668; died in infancy and was buried there, 17 January 1670/1;
(3) Richard Cracroft (1672-73), baptised at Hackthorn, 24 December 1672; died in infancy was buried there, 2 January 1672/3;
(4) Anne Cracroft (fl. 1681);
(5) Margaret Cracroft (fl. 1681); married, 2 August 1701, John Badisford;
(6) Jane Cracroft (b. 1674), baptised at Hackthorn, 9 April 1674; married, 9 July 1701 and Thurgarton (Notts), Robert Wilson;
(7) Elizabeth Cracroft (b. 1675), baptised at Hackthorn, 9 September 1675
(8) Robert Cracroft (1676-1712) (q.v.).
He inherited Hackthorn Hall from his grandfather in 1666 and Fulnetby in right of his wife.
He was buried at Hackthorn, 2 June 1677. His widow married 2nd, 1681, Francis Grantham of Wragby (Lincs).

Cracroft, Robert (1676-1712), of Hackthorn Hall and Fulnetby. Only surviving son of Robert Cracroft (d. 1677) and his wife Anne, daughter and co-heir of John Lodington of Fulnetby (Lincs), baptised at Hackthorn, 17 January 1676/7. He married, 2 October 1701, Grace (d. 1709), daughter of Rev. John Baxter of Lincoln, and had issue:
(1) Robert Cracroft (1703-63) (q.v.);
(2) Elizabeth Cracroft (1704-84), baptised at Hackthorn, 6 April 1703/4; died unmarried and was buried at Hackthorn, 19 July 1784;
(3) John Cracroft (1705-63), baptised at Hackthorn, 2 April 1705; married Sarah Edmonds (d. 1764); died 20 April 1763 and was buried at Louth; his will was proved 21 October 1763;
(4) Edward Cracroft (b. 1706), baptised at Hackthorn, 11 July 1706;
(5) Thomas Cracroft (d. 1708), buried at Hackthorn, 6 April 1708;
(6) Grace Cracroft (1708-76) of Louth, baptised at Hackthorn, 12 April 1708; died unmarried and was buried at Hackthorn, 9 February 1776; will proved 24 May 1776.
He inherited Hackthorn Hall and Fulnetby from his father in 1677.
He was buried at Hackthorn, 29 May 1712. His wife was buried at Hackthorn, 16 July 1709.

Cracroft, Robert (1703-63), of Hackthorn Hall. Eldest son of Robert Cracroft (1676-1712) and his wife Grace, daughter of Rev. John Baxter of Lincoln, born 6 February 1702/3 and baptised at Hackthorn.  He married 1st, 3 March 1729 Anne (1713-38), daughter and heiress of Martin Browne of Louth (Lincs) and 2nd, 30 May 1746, Rebecca (1722-1802), daughter of Edward Waldegrave of Louth and niece and heiress of Rev. Dr. Bernard Wilson of West Keal Hall (Lincs), vicar of Newark, and had issue:
(1.1) Anne Cracroft (b. & d. 1732), born at Louth (Lincs), 6 July 1732 and buried there, 23 August 1732;
(1.2) Anne Cracroft (c.1734-68), born about 1734; married, January 1767, Rev. John Langhorne (1735-79), formerly tutor to her father's second family and translator of Plutarch's Lives, and had issue; died 4 May 1768;
(1.3) Grace Cracroft (1735-90), born at Louth, 19 September 1735; married, 18 August 1757, William Marshall (1723-70) of Theddlethorpe (Lincs) and had issue; died at Louth, 3 June 1790;
(1.4) Mary Cracroft (1737-1809), born at Louth, 7 June 1737; married, 19 May 1766, John Nelthorpe (1736-84) of Little Grimsby Hall (Lincs) and had issue a daughter (Maria Janetta, who married 8th Duke of St. Albans); died at Lincoln, 12 January 1809 and was buried at Little Grimsby, 17 January 1809;
(2.1) Robert Wilson Cracroft (1746-87), of Hackthorn and Denham Court (Bucks), baptised at Louth, 10 March 1746; died unmarried at High Wycombe (Bucks), 27 February 1787 and was buried at Hackthorn, 15 March 1787; will proved 18 March 1787;
(2.2) John Cracroft (b. 1748) (q.v.);
(2.3) Thomas Cracroft (1749-1813) of West Keal Hall, baptised at Louth, 12 September 1749; married Elizabeth (d. 1807), daughter of Bentley Bennett of Keddington (Lincs) and had issue six sons and seven daughters; died at West Keal (Lincs), May 1813;
(2.4) Edward Cracroft (1750-63), baptised at Louth, 18 November 1750; died young and was buried at Hackthorn, 23 December 1763;
(2.5) Rev. Bernard Cracroft (1753-1821), baptised 1 February 1753; rector of Rippingale, East Keal and South Elkington (Lincs); married Mary Bennett (d. 1837) and had issue four sons and three daughters; died suddenly in Horbling church, 6 May 1821;
(2.6) Charles Cracroft (1754-1829), baptised at Louth, 2 June 1754; married, 3 October 1786, Dorothy Watkins (1769-1802) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died at Banff, 8 September 1829;
(2.7) Francis Tyrwhit Cracroft (b. 1755), baptised at Louth, 5 October 1755; emigrated to Baltimore (Maryland, USA); married Elizabeth [surname unknown] and had issue one son and two daughters;
(2.8) William Cracroft (b. 1757), baptised at Louth, 16 September 1757; married Elizabeth Sewell (d. 1837), daughter of Joseph Hawkes of London, merchant, and had issue two sons and four daughters;
(2.9) Elizabeth Clementina Cracroft (1760-71), baptised at Hackthorn, 13 October 1760; buried there 14 December 1771;
(2.10) Lt. Edmund Cracroft (1762-1830), baptised at Hackthorn, 2 July 1762; an officer in the Bengal Infantry; married, 6 October 1806, Sarah Lightburn (d. 1850) and had issue six sons and three daughters; died at Worcester, 1830.
He inherited the Hackthorn Hall estate from his father in 1712 and West Keal in right of his second wife.
He was buried at Hackthorn, 9 August 1763; his will was proved 11 April 1764.  His widow was buried at Hackthorn, 9 October 1802 and her will was proved at Lincoln the same day.

Cracroft, John (1748-1821), of Hackthorn Hall. Elder son of Robert Cracroft (b. 1702) and his second wife, Rebecca Waldegrave, baptised at Louth, 11 October 1748. High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1797. He married, 4 February 1782, Penelope Anne (d. 1821), daughter of Rev. Charles Fleetwood Weston of Somersby Hall (Lincs), rector of Therfield (Herts) and prebendary of Durham, and had issue:
(1) Robert Cracroft (later Cracroft-Amcotts) (1783-1862) (q.v.);
(2) Rev. John Cracroft (1784-1842); married 1st, 1807, Eliza Anne (d. 1811), daughter of James Lewis, architect, of Powis Place, London and had issue a daughter; married 2nd, 10 November 1814, Jane (d. 1857), daughter of Hezekiah Brown of Minster Yard, Lincoln, and had issue three sons and three daughters; died at Neuwied-am-Rhine (Germany), 21 September 1842; grant of administration of his goods, 2 September 1843;
(3) Penelope Anne Cracroft (1789-1861), baptised at Hackthorn, 5 July 1789; died unmarried in London, 10 May 1861;
(4) Emily Cracroft (1790-1828), baptised at Hackthorn, 30 August 1790; died unmarried, December 1828 and was buried at Hackthorn;
(5) Lucy Cracroft (1792-1870), baptised at Hackthorn, 11 June 1792; died unmarried in London, 11 May 1870;
(6) Arabella Cracroft (1801-73), baptised at Hackthorn, 22 July 1801; married, 1823, Matthew Henry Lister (1801-76) of Burwell Park and had issue; died 1 September 1873.
He inherited the Hackthorn and West Keal estates from his father, and rebuilt Hackthorn Hall to the designs of James Lewis.
He died 2 October 1821 and was buried at Hackthorn; his will was proved 14 November 1821. His wife died 29 September 1821 and was also buried at Hackthorn.

Cracroft-Amcotts (né Cracroft), Col. Robert (1783-1862), of Hackthorn Hall. Elder son of John Cracroft (b. 1748) of Hackthorn Hall and West Keal and his wife Penelope Anne, daughter of Rev. Charles Fleetwood Weston of Somersby Hall (Lincs) and rector of Therfield (Herts), born 25 January 1783.  He assumed the name and arms of Amcotts by royal licence in 1854. JP and DL for Lincolnshire. He married, 14 June 1814, Augusta Amcotts-Ingilby (d. 1857), daughter of Sir John Ingilby, 1st bt., of Ripley (Yorks) and Kettlethorpe (Lincs) (q.v.) and had issue:
(1) Weston Cracroft Amcotts (1815-83) (q.v.);
(2) Capt. Peter Cracroft-Amcotts (1816-65) CB RN, born 15 March and baptised at Harrington, 16 March 1816; Captain in the Royal Navy; married, 8 November 1851, Caroline (d. 1879), daughter of Sir Samuel Scott, 2nd bt. of Lytchett Minster (Dorset); died without issue at Port Royal (Jamaica), 2 August 1865;
(3) twin, Frances Amcotts Cracroft-Amcotts (1817-91), baptised at Harrington, 1 March 1817; married, 1841, Rev. Edwin Jarvis (1816-76), vicar of Hackthorn (Lincs) and rector of Cold Hanworth (Lincs), son of Col. George Ralph Payne Jarvis of Doddington Hall, and had issue; died 11 February 1891;
(4) twin, Augusta Cracroft-Amcotts (1817-55), baptised at Harrington, 1 March 1817; married, 1840, Rev. Charles Macquarie Jarvis (1804-63), rector of Doddington (Lincs), son of Col. George Ralph Payne Jarvis of Doddington Hall; died without issue, 1855;
(5) Louisa Cracroft-Amcotts (1819-1911), baptised at Harrington, 12 May 1819; married, 1 January 1846, Gervase Tottenham Waldo-Sibthorp MP (1815-61) of Canwick Hall and had issue; died 27 November 1911;
(6) Constance Elizabeth Cracroft-Amcotts (1821-98), baptised at Harrington, 22 April 1821; married, 17 February 1859, Capt. Charles Edmund Tennant RN (d. 1862) of Needwood House (Staffs) and had issue; died 26 October 1898;
(7) Rev. Robert Wentworth Cracroft-Amcotts (1826-1905), born 15 June and baptised 4 July 1826; rector of Harrington and Brinkhill (Lincs); married, 7 July 1864, Hon. Elizabeth Caroline Lane-Fox (d. 1879), daughter of Sackville Walter Lane-Fox MP and sister of Sackville George Lane-Fox, 12th Baron Conyers; died without issue, 22 March 1905.
He inherited the Hackthorn Hall estate from his father and the Kettlethorpe Hall estate in right of his wife in 1854.
He died 3 September 1862; his will was proved 10 October 1862 (estate under £35,000). His wife died 16 January 1857.

Cracroft-Amcotts, Weston (1815-83), of Hackthorn Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall. Eldest son of Col. Robert Cracroft (later Cracroft-Amcotts) (1783-1862) of Hackthorn Hall and his wife Augusta, daughter of Sir John Ingilby, 1st bt. of Ripley (Yorks) and Kettlethorpe Hall (Lincs), born 9 March 1815. Educated at Eton. JP and DL for Lincolnshire; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1861; MP for Mid Lincolnshire, 1868-74; Lt-Col. of North Lincolnshire Militia. He married 1st, 16 May 1834 at Leominster (Herefs), Williama Emma (d. 1861), second daughter and co-heir of William George Cherry of Buckland (Herefs) and 2nd, 21 April 1864, Ellen Kempthorne (d. 1881), daughter of Rev. Charles Bryan of Woolaston (Glos) and widow of Henry Nevile of Wellingore Hall (Lincs), and had issue:
(1.1) Vincent Amcotts Cracroft-Amcotts (1845-81); educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford (matriculated 1863; BA 1867) and the Inner Temple (admitted 1867); playwright and classical dramatist; JP and DL for Lincolnshire; died unmarried in London from an overdose of chloral hydrate, 26 November 1881; will proved 7 January 1882 (estate £1,626);
(1.2) Edward Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (later Cracroft) (1849-1933) (q.v.);
(1.3) Frederick Augustus Cracroft-Amcotts (1853-97) (q.v.).
He inherited the Hackthorn and Kettlethorpe estates from his father.  At his death he left Hackthorn to his elder, and Kettlethorpe to his younger, surviving son.
He died at Harrogate (Yorks), 14 July 1883; his will was proved 22 August 1883 (estate £20,363). His first wife died 9 July 1861 and his second wife on 9 February 1881.

Cracroft (né Cracroft-Amcotts), Edward Weston (1849-1933), of Hackthorn Hall. Elder surviving son of Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1815-83) and his first wife Williama Emma, daughter and co-heir of William George Cherry of Buckland (Herefs), born 5 January 1849. Educated at Magdalen College, Oxford. JP for Lincolnshire; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1893. He discontinued the use of the surname Amcotts in 1885, reverting to Cracroft. He married, 24 April 1879, Cecily Sophia Mary (d. 1919), daughter of Henry Nevile of Walcot Hall (Northants) and Wellingore Hall (Lincs), but had no issue.
He inherited Hackthorn Hall from his father in 1883.  At his death it passed to his nephew, Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (q.v.).
He died 30 January 1933; his will was proved 5 May 1933 (estate £70,965). His wife died 22 January 1919.

Cracroft-Amcotts, Maj. Frederick Augustus (1853-97), of Kettlethorpe Hall. Youngest son of Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1815-83) and his first wife Williama Emma, daughter and co-heir of William George Cherry of Buckland (Herefs), born 3 May 1853. Major in 5th Dragoon Guards; resigned his commission to become a rancher in Montana, USA; JP for Lincolnshire. He married, 17 February 1885, Emily Grace (d. 1936), youngest daughter of Anthony Peacock (later Willson) of Rauceby Hall (Lincs), and had issue:
(1) Sylvia Cracroft-Amcotts (1886-1940), born 22 August 1886; married, 7 August 1919, George William Henderson (d. 1934) of Rauceby Hall (Lincs) and had issue; died 14 May 1940; will proved 26 July 1940 (estate £23,064);
(2) Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1888-1975) (q.v.);
(3) Lt-Cdr. John Cracroft-Amcotts (1891-1956) of Rauceby Hall (Lincs), born 3 January 1891; educated at HMS Britannia; Lieutenant-Commander in Royal Navy; JP for Kesteven; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1937; married, 12 February 1930, May (1895-1979), daughter of H. Redfearn-Shaw and widow of Frederic Martin Campbell and had issue three daughters; died 30 May 1956; will proved 7 November 1956 (estate £102,491).
He inherited Kettlethorpe Hall from his father in 1883. At his death it passed to his widow for life.
He died in a hunting accident at Baumber (Lincs), 15 April 1897; his will was proved 23 July 1897 (estate £2,556). His widow died 13 October 1936; her will was proved 29 April 1937 (estate £29,812).

Cracroft-Amcotts, Sir Weston (1888-1975), kt., of Hackthorn Hall and Kettlethorpe Hall. Elder son of Maj. Frederick Augustus Cracroft-Amcotts (1853-97) and his wife Emily Grace, daughter of Anthony Willson of Rauceby Hall (Lincs), born 7 November 1888. Educated at Eton and Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. Served in Royal Engineers, 1906-42 (Lt-Col; MC); JP and DL for Lincolnshire; High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1954; Chairman of Parts of Lindsey County Council; knighted, 1954. He married, 23 June 1927, Rhona (1901-97), only daughter of Edward Clifton Clifton-Brown of Burnham Grove (Bucks) and had issue:
(1) Rosemary Grace Cracroft-Amcotts (1928-2014), born 17 April 1928; married, 24 May 1952, Lt-Cdr. Gervis Hugh Frere Frere-Cook RN (1928-74) and had issue two sons and one daughter; died 26 October 2014;
(2) Marian Cicely Cracroft-Amcotts (b. 1931), born 13 September 1931; married, 15 June 1957, Thomas Charles Weguelin Micklem, son of Maj. Charles Micklem of Long Cross House, Chertsey (Surrey) and had issue one son and two daughters;
(3) Bridget Katharine Cracroft-Amcotts (1933-2008) (q.v.); 
(4) Penelope Sylvia Cracroft-Amcotts (b. 1938), born 20 May 1938.
He inherited Hackthorn Hall from his uncle in 1933 and Kettlethorpe Hall from his mother in 1936; he sold Kettlethorpe in 1961.
He died in July-September 1975.

Cracroft-Eley (né Cracroft-Amcotts), Bridget Katharine (1933-2008). Third daughter of Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts (1888-1975) and his wife Rhona, only daughter of Edward Clifton Clifton-Brown of Burnham Grove (Bucks), born at Hertford, 29 October 1933.  High Sheriff of Lincolnshire, 1989; Lord Lieutenant of Lincolnshire, 1995-2008, being the first woman to hold that office; High Steward of Lincoln Cathedral, 1998-2008. Appointed CVO, 2008 and Hon. LLD of De Montfort University, 2003. She married, 31 October 1959, Robert Peel Charles Eley (1931-96), elder son of Charles Ryves Maxwell Eley OBE of East Bergholt Place (Suffolk) and had issue:
(1) Annabel Louise Cracroft Cracroft-Eley (b. 1961), born 15 January 1961; married, 1987, Andrew Stewart Ross Jones, son of R.H. Jones of London, and had issue one son and one daughter;
(2) Charles William Amcotts Cracroft-Eley (b. 1963) (q.v.).
She inherited Hackthorn Hall from her father in 1975.
She died 29 August 2008. Her husband died 22 December 1996.

Cracroft-Eley, Charles William Amcotts (b. 1963) of Hackthorn Hall.  Only son of Robert Peel Charles Cracroft-Eley and his wife Bridget Katharine, daughter of Sir Weston Cracroft-Amcotts of Hackthorn Hall, born 8 March 1963.  He married, 1991 at Pershore (Worcs), Margaret Elizabeth, daughter of Roger Lole of Hermitage Farm, Wadborough (Leics), and had issue:
(1) Florence Elizabeth Cracroft-Eley (b. 1994), born 3 June 1994;
(2) Cecily Ophelia Violet Cracroft-Eley (b. 1996), born 5 February 1996;
(3) Elfreda Queenie Theodora Cracroft-Eley (b. 2000), born 24 January 2000.
He inherited Hackthorn Hall from his mother in 2008.
Now living.

Sources

Burke's Landed Gentry, 1965, pp. 16-17; P. Cracroft-Brennan, Three Black Birds: the 900-year history of a Lincolnshire family, 2003, vols 2-3; Sir H.M. Colvin, Biographical dictionary of British architects, 4th edn., 2008, pp. 649-51; http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1820-1832/member/amcotts-ingilby-sir-william-1783-1854; 

Location of archives

Cracroft-Amcotts family of Kettlethorpe etc: deeds, estate and legal papers, family and personal papers, 1409-20th cent. [Lincolnshire Archives, AMC, 2 AMC, MARTIN]; miscellaneous deeds and papers, 12th-19th cent. [West Yorkshire Archives Service, Leeds, WYL230].

Coat of arms

Amcotts: Argent, a tower triple-towered, between three covered cups azure.
Cracroft: Vert, on a bend dancettée, three martlets sable.
Cracroft-Amcotts: The two shields quartered with Amcotts in the 1st and 4th quarters and Cracroft 2nd and 3rd.

Revision
This account was first published 21 April 2014 and was revised 21 December 2014, 20 September 2015, 16 February 2016, 10 May, 15 July and 24 July 2018, 19 December 2020 and 13 August 2024. I am grateful to Rodge Brownlow and Rob Wheeler for some additional information and to Dart Montgomery for a correction.