William Croft was born into a wealthy and ancient family at the Manor House, Nether Ettington in Warwickshire and was baptised on 30th December, 1678. He was educated as a ‘Child of the Chapel Royal’ where he was taught, by direction and example, by the composer John Blow (1649-1708). He remained at the Chapel as a ‘Child’ until he was twenty years old – something that only happened to the most talented of pupils. By the age of 19 he showed his obvious interest in composition by copying many extracts from cantatas by Scarlatti, Carissimi and others into his own manuscript book.
In 1724, Croft published Musica Sacra, a collection of church music, the first such collection to be printed in the form of a score. The Burial Service included in the collection has been used at state funerals in Great Britain and the United Kingdom ever since. Shortly afterwards his health deteriorated, and he died while visiting Bath.
For further details of his life, see:
http://www.rslade.co.uk/croft/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Croft