Cranford ladles college is a secondary and finishing girls public school in the (fictional) Cheshire town of Cranford. It was established in 1869 with a grant from the Harry Gregson, himself a recipient of charity.
‘ establish a school to furnish the brave character, education and physical health for young ladies of the county Cheshire and other parts of the North.’ Cranford Ladies College Charter
The main roleplaying of cranford has been a campaign with player characters as participants on a world tour by the 1926-27 Old Girls team of the Empire and North America with pulp adventures along the way.
Background
A pulp Appendix N
The Tour
Egypt
Episode 1 Bay of baset
Episode 2 a fistful of crocs
Tour match Wives & Daughters 273 squadron RAF
Aden
Episode 1 camels & cameras
Episode 2 confrontations on corridors
Episode 3 assault on precinct Aden
Tour match Shiek Mumabrak’s harem
Bombay
Episode 1 Bombay murders
Episode 2 Hunting the big cat
Episode 3 Confounding Cannibals
Episode 4 Bombay Bungalow straw dogs
Tour match Fagins ladies college
Columbo
Episode 1 let’s have a ball
Episode 2 KMT leg theory
Episode 3 gremlin submarine shuffle & minty balls
Tour match Sisters Of Mercy XI
Singapore
Episode 1 sky pirates
Episode 2 Zeppelin death volcano peril
Episode 3 reversing the polarity of the neutron flow
Tour match Onedin line Singapore office social club ladies XI
Perth
Episode 1 Yowie Yowser
Episode 2 out of the frying pan
Tour match Gold Diggers XI
Perth / Suborea
Episode 1 Perth to Suborea express
Episode 2 Liberty for Suborea
Episode 3 The Suborea Ashes (also an impromptu match)
Sydney
Episode 1 smash n grab
Episode 2 don’t go to pieces
Episode 3 Explosive Ending
Tour match Cranford Old Girls v Sheep Station XI
Wellington, NZ
Episode 1 Death Flamingos
Episode 2 calm before the storm
Episode 3 Flashman Hamlet Massacre
Episode 4 the crazy constitution of New Zealand carpentry
Tour match Cranford old Girls v White Ferns
Hollywood, California, USA
Episode 1 Hollywood Hierophant
Episode 2 Happy Slappy
Episode 3 lights, cameras, action !
Episode 4 Star Struck
Episode 5 Rocket Rampage
Tour Match vs the Overseas Cricket Club cancelled due to fleeing the authorities
The Hamptons, NY, USA (ongoing – final tour match)
Episode 1 Sag Harbour Vampire
Episode 2 oh the fiends we left behind
Episode 3 oh la la the gangs all here
The future ….
In play we’ve spoken about ‘
- four Mary’s’ style flash backs or as totally new adventures
- Cranford in other universes ie superheroes (umbrella academy style,) Space 1889 solar system tour etc
- The antics of a 1960s tour
- The college being an SOE school and 1924 survivors being instructors
- Ghost stories at the college – if I’m the future it became a hotel or conference venue
- An Shado or torchwood type organisation recruiting from the college
