Elizabeth Craven and Craven Cottage, Fulham
The name Craven Cottage today means a famous football ground in London, home of th e Fulham team. But why is it called Craven Cottage? The name derives from an earlier building on the site, and links it with Elizabeth Craven , the Georgian feminist writer. A View of Fulham from Putney with Old Fulham Bridge, All Saints’ Church and the Bridge Toll House, painted by Joseph Nichols c. 1750. Two hundred years ago, Fulham was a peaceful, green, picturesque village on the Thames where people might go to find a rural retreat from London. Elizabeth Craven wanted a quiet place she could retreat to on her own, so she had a little cottage built here in 1776. She could use it when she wanted to write her books and plays. It did not take her long to travel here by road or river from central London and then home again. Craven Cottage, a photograph taken c.1850. The cottage had a thatched roof and a large garden that went right down to the edge of the river. After Craven's death ...