Lot Essay
Louisa Brunton was the daughter of John Brunton, a grocer in Drury Lane, who also acted. He appeared at Covent Garden Theatre on 11 April 1774, as Cyrus, and on 3 May 1774, as Hamlet, later becoming manager of the Norwich Theatre. He had six daughters, the youngest of whom, Louisa, made her first stage appearance Covent Garden, playing Lady Townley in The Provoked Husband, later playing Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing. Her last recorded appearance on stage was on 21 October 1807, when she played Clara Sedley in Frederic Reynolds's comedy The Rage. She married William Craven, 1st Earl of Craven (see lot 132), on 30 December of that year. They had three sons and a daughter. She outlived her husband by 35 years and lived and died quietly at Hamstead Lodge, Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire.