The house James and Hannah Croft and family lived in still exists. It's in the Robertsbridge part of Brightling. The modern day address of the building is very similar to what it was when the family lived there from at least 1841 well into the 20th century: "1 Longhouses, Brightling, Robertsbridge, TN32 5HT." You can get a great street view of it on G**gl*maps.
Re: the Crofts being a long line of brickbuilders: Although the censuses take you back only as far as 1841, I have long suspected that James Croft's father worked for Mad Jack Fuller on the follies. Longhouses was originally part of Rose Hill, Mad Jack Fuller's estate (later Brightling Park). Recently I found proof online that James Croft's descendants, including members of your family, did work on the follies for the Fuller family, at least in maintaining them. In 1985, extensive renovations were needed to stabilize Brightling Needle, one of the follies. At that time, the renovators found 100-year-old grafitti!! etched into the structure by the Crofts, who had made brick repairs to the Needle in the late 1800s: One of them was by 16-year old Charles Croft, (son of your Robert Croft), in 1889. The other was "R. Croft"--possibly your ancestor Robert himself? ten years later, in 1899.
Your ancestor Hannah Porter's father Edward remarried and moved to Vermont, USA. Would love to compare notes with you about the Crofts and Porters. Our family has a letter sent by Hannah Porter Croft and her daughter-in-law Sophy Croft (Tom Croft's wife).
