George Craske

Born in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1795, George Craske trained with William Forster in London and later worked for Thomas Dodd. He subsequently moved to Bath, Leeds and Sheffield before settling in Birmingham for some twenty years. He then moved again to Manchester, Salford and Stockport, before finally returning to Bath, where he died in 1888. In later life he was supported by investments he had made in the railway industry and he worked undisturbed and on his own terms without the necessity of selling his work. He is thought to have made well over 2,500 violins, violas, cellos and double basses, many of which were found in his home after his death in 1888, and subsequently purchased and resold by W.E. Hill & Sons, bearing labels with both the Hill and Craske names. His work, particularly from the first half of his career, can be exceptionally good, if a little robust in character, with fine red varnish and good materials. In later years the quality deteriorated, and many instruments were refinished by the Hills, many requiring new heads to be made, a part of the work that Craske apparently found uninteresting.