Lady Gertrude Eleanor Crawford
Lady Gertrude Eleanor Molyneux, a remarkable and renowned ornamental turner, was born in 1868. Her father was the 4th Earl of Sefton, and from him she learnt the use of the ornamental lathe from the time she was “tall enough to stand beside one”.
1905: she married Captain John Halkett Crawford, a Liveryman of the Turners’ Company.
1907: Lady Gertrude Crawford was granted the title of Honorary Freeman of the Turners Company, one of only three ever granted by the Turners’ Company.
1929: In February her work was displayed in the 74th Society of Women Artists Exhibition held at the Royal Institute Galleries. That November, she organised an exhibition of her work at Leighton House, Kensington.
In 1931 and 1932 her work was displayed at the 75th and 76th exhibitions of the Society of Women Artists.
Lady Crawford won numerous prizes in Turner’s Company competitions including a Silver Medal. In 1932 she was awarded a specially struck Gold Medal for her work.
In 1934 she was made a Freeman of the Company in her own right and, in the absence of the Lord Mayor, also presented the prizes in the Company competitions held in Mansion House. She also gave her friend Queen Mary a private tour of the exhibition.
Lady Gertrude Crawford died in 1937.
Read more about the life and work of Lady Gertrude Crawford in this article by Past Master Nicholas Edwards (July 2020).
The headings below provide links to pages providing images of material from the dispatch box of Lady Crawford, owned by Past Master Nicholas Somers. We are very grateful to Past Master Nicholas Somers for his permission to make this material available.