Welcome to The Cranford Page featuring our collection of Autographs, Videos and Memorabelia related to the series
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Set in the early 1840s in the fictional village of Cranford in the county of Cheshire in North West England, the story focuses primarily on the town's single and widowed middle class female inhabitants who are comfortable with their traditional way of life and place great store in propriety and maintaining an appearance of gentility. Among them are the spinster Jenkyns sisters, Matty and Deborah; their houseguest from Manchester, Mary Smith; Octavia Pole, the town's leading gossip; the Tomkinson sisters, Augusta and Caroline; Mrs Forrester, who treats her beloved cow Bessie as she would a daughter; Mrs Rose, the housekeeper for Dr Harrison; Jessie Brown, who rejects Major Gordon's marriage proposal twice despite her feelings for him; Laurentia Galindo, a milliner who strongly believes men and women are on equal footing; the Honourable Mrs Jamieson, a snob who dresses her dog in ensembles to match her own; Sophy Hutton, the vicar's eldest daughter and surrogate mother to her three younger siblings, who is courted by Dr Harrison; and the aristocratic Lady Ludlow, who lives in splendour at Hanbury Court and perceives change as a peril to the natural order of things.
Our Video Introduces The Cast and Characters of The BBC Period Drama "Cranford"
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Miss Matilda Jenkyns - Dame Judi Dench
The younger sister of Deborah, Elizabeth Gaskell wrote of Matty Jenkyns, "Her own rebellious spirit was crushed long ago and she remained loyal to her sister as the true arbiter of taste."
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Miss Deborah Jenkyns - Dame Eileen Atkins
Daughter of the deceased rector of Cranford, older sister of Matty and Peter, Deborah grew up in the early years of the Napoleonic Wars. Deborah upholds a rigidly narrow and exclusive code of conduct, dominating other women of Cranford.
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Doctor Jack Marshland - Joe McfaddenIn his late 20s, Dr. Jack Marshland one of Dr. Harrison's friends from London. Lively and fun, Marshland is a great prankster although he means well.
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Martha - Claudie BlakleyAged 22 and an orphan, Martha is a servant to the Jenkyns sisters. A "rough, honest-looking country girl, "Martha is courted by Jem Hearne.
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Mrs Forrester - Julia McKenzie
Widow of a Major, Mrs. Forrester has very limited means. She owns one beloved cow, Bessie, which she loves as a daughter.
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Miss Pole - Imelia Staunton
Miss Pole acts as a sort of roving ambassador for the Cranford ladies and a voluble disseminator of local news. Her peripatetic nature means she is never far from any unfolding incident. Mary Smith says of her: "We looked on her as a kind of prophetess, from the knack of foreseeing things before they came to pass - although she did not like to disturb her friends by telling them of her foreknowledge."
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Captain Brown - Jim CarterFather of Miss Brown (who is ill) and Jessie, Captain Brown is a plainspoken military man, whose common sense gained him a place of authority among the women of Cranford.
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Jessie Brown - Julia SawalhaAged 28 and prettier than her older sister, Jessie Brown is a self-sacrificing nursemaid to her mother and sister. Jessie is courted by Major Gordon.
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Mary Smith - Lisa Dillon
Mary is a visitor from Manchester in her early twenties who stayed with the Jenkyns sisters in the last series. She says of herself that she's "indiscreet and incautious". Her mother died when she was eight and her father remarried and has a second family. Her mother grew up in Cranford alongside the ladies of the town.
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Miss Peggy Bell - Jodie Whittaker
The younger child of Mrs Bell and the deceased Curate of Cranford, she lives in an isolated cottage outside of town with her family. Though she's bullied by older brother, Edward, and ignored by her mother, she seems to have accepted her lot in life with good grace because she has a gentle and loving nature. But her solitary life has made her live too much in her own head, making her appear dreamy in public. Miss Matty feels for Peggy and actively encourages a friendship between Peggy, Erminia and William. Though different in many ways, Peggy enjoys this friendship and her true, surprisingly strong, character blossoms as a result.
Due to You Tube Restrictions This Video may not be available in some countries
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Mrs Rose - Lesley Manville
Late 30s and newly widowed, Mrs. Rose is the housekeeper for Dr. Harrison. Her husband was a doctor and friend of Dr. Morgan.
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Mrs Galindo - Emma FieldingLaurentia Galindo is a milliner and friend to Lady Ludlow, "apt to speak more strongly than accurately". Though the daughter of a baronet, she has no money and is forced to work for a living
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Mrs Jamieson - Barbara FlynnMrs Jamieson is a widower with aristocratic pretentions. She's a great snob and the sister-in-law to Lady Glenmire. She is also the owner of her beloved dog, Guiseppe.
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Sir Charles Maulver - Greg Wise
Aristocrat and Magistrate, Sir Charles is a childhood friend of both Septimus (Lady Ludlow's youngest son) and Miss Galindo. A proponent of the emerging railways, he brought Captain Brown to Cranford with the offer of a job as Manager of Works for the railway company.
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Doctor Morgan - John BoweCranford's dapper Dr. Morgan runs the major practice in the area. An old-fashioned man, he is gravely challenged by the modern ways brought to Cranford by his new partner, Dr. Harrison.
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Mr Carter - Philip GlenisterLady Ludlow's land agent, Edmund Carter is passionate about free education for the working classes. Sensing the potential of young Harry Gregson, Carter becomes determined to educate him.
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Sophy Hutton - Kimberley Nixon
Aged 20, Sophy is the vicar's eldest daughter and has been a surrogate mother to her three younger siblings since her mother died six years earlier. She has a gentle and loving manner with children and becomes a good friend of Mary Smith, as well as the love interest of Dr. Harrison.
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Reverend Hutton - Alex Jennings
Reverend Hutton is the vicar of Cranford and successor to Deborah's and Matty's father. He is a widower with several children including Sophy (above)and has been tutoring Harry Gregson for the past year to prepare him for school.
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Lady Glenmire - Celia ImrieLady Glenmire (Celia Imrie)is the sister-in-law and social superior of Mrs Jamieson, though by far the more down-to-earth of the two. A genteel Scotswoman on the surface, she is intelligent, lively and very sociable - the exact opposite, therefore, of Mrs Jamieson. Captain Brown finds her charming, sensible and energetic.
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Mrs Johnson - Debra GillettMrs. Johnson is a ruthless saleswoman, Mrs. Johnson runs Johnson's Universal Stores with her husband.
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Erminia Whyte - Michelle Dockery
The orphaned daughter of Mr Buxton's wife's sister and now his ward (and William's cousin), Erminia has lived abroad and has recently finished an expensive education in Brussels. She is pretty, musical and full of life. At first Erminia befriends Peggy Bell out of a sense of kindness and duty, but she quickly sees the true value of Peggy's character and they become firm friends.
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Mrs Bell - Lesley Sharp
A widow, Mrs Bell is quietly mocked by Cranford's ladies for her dramatic display of grief at her husband's graveside each Sunday. Though genuinely bereft by his death, she has not only locked herself into this weekly ritual but refuses all social invitations, thereby dooming her children to a lonely life with little social contact. She now lives entirely for her domineering son, Edward, of whom she is rather in awe. Peggy will always be second best and functions at home more as a drudge than as a daughter.
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Lady Ludlow - Francesca Annis
Lady Ludlow is the reigning aristocrat of the area and lives at Hanbury Court. Driven by a rigid sense of duty, she can be compassionate but represents the status quo and sees change as a danger to the natural order of things. She had crossed swords with her land agent Mr Carter about reforms to her estate, but now he is dead she misses his wise judgement. She has taken a great interest in the welfare of Harry Gregson and, as much as is possible considering their different social status, they have become friends. She longs in vain to see her only surviving son, Septimus, who lives in Italy.
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