Croydon Connections

Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft was born on 22nd December 1907. Her father, who unfortunately died during the First World War, was a Land Agent and her Danish-German mother was an amateur actress. Her mother took lessons in poetic speech from Elsie Foggerty and at the age of 16 Dame Peggy joined the Central School of Speech and Drama in London founded by that same lady.

Her first stage appearance was in 1926, opposite Ralph Richardson, in a Birmingham Repertory revival of 'Dear Brutus' by JM Barrie. From this time onwards Peggy Ashcroft was never without work unless she was ill or chose not to perform.

Dame Peggy, as she became in 1956, in recognition of her many performances in Shakespeare's plays, was and still is Croydon's most famous actress - indeed the Ashcroft Theatre in the Fairfield Halls was named after her. Her reaction to this was one of astonishment and gratification at having a theatre named after her. She thanked the Council for paying her this tribute and praised the ambitious project of the Fairfield Halls - being a concert hall, art gallery and theatre all under one roof. She hoped that other places would dedicate theatres to actors and suggested that Olivier, Gielgud and Redgrave would be a good start'.

Dame Peggy made three appearances at the Ashcroft Theatre the first in 1962 at its opening, the second in 1973 appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company in a short season of two Harold Pinter plays. Her third visit saw her accepting a portrait of herself as 'Juliet' by the artist Elizabeth Montgomery. The next time you visit take a close look at the safety curtain at the Ashcroft Theatre it also incorporates a picture of the actress.

Dame Peggy made few films but the ones she did make were extremely successful. She is known for her part in the Thirty-Nine Steps made by Alfred Hitchcock in 1935, but in 1982 she made the film 'A Jewel in the Crown' and at the age of 77, two years later, appeared in 'A Passage to India' for which she won an Academy Award.