Josiah Crackenthorpe

In the novel 4.50 from Paddington, Josiah Crackenthorpe was a very rich Victorian businessman, making biscuits, relishes and pickles under the brand name Crackenthorpe's Fancies. He had two sons; Luther and Henry. He built Rutherford Hall in 1884, and died in 1928.

Although Josiah was very wealthy, he was not miserly. He did, however, have a terrible temper. He was disappointed in both his son's, as he had given them an Oxford education and brought them up to be gentlemen, only to find that neither of them wanted to go into the family business.

Josiah did not like his son, Luther. He was disappointed that Luther had no interest in going into the family business or business of any kind, and was unsympathetic to Luther's interest in collecting works of art. Because of this, he left his fortune in trust for his grandchildren.

According to Josiah's will, his fortune was left in trust, with the income to be paid to Luther throughout his lifetime. After Luther's death, the capital was to be divided equally between Luther's children, Edmund, Cedric, Harold, Alfred, Emma, and Edith. The house was to go to Luther's eldest surviving son or his issue. As Edmund had died during the war, and did not have children, the house would go to Cedric.