Clutterbuck Crispe was a witch[1] who owned the Brews and Stews combination hostel/seafood restaurant in Diagon Alley.[2][3]


Clutterbuck is an anglicised form of a Dutch surname, which arrived in England either with Flemish weavers King Edward III had come to England to teach their techniques to the English in the 14th century, or with Huguenots who fled the Netherlands in the 16th century to escape religious persecution.[4] It may also derive from the Dutch klateren, "to clatter," and beek, "brook."[5] Dorothy Clutterbuck (1880-1951) was an English woman alleged to have been a leading member of an early Wiccan coven.

Crispe derives from Old English crisp, which comes from Latin crispus, meaning "curly-haired."[6]


Notes and references

  1. 1.0 1.1 The Brews and Stews sign gives her name as "Mme Clutterbuck Crispe" ("Mme" being an abbreviation of the French female honorific "Madame") and describes her as the "proprietrix" (this being an archaic word meaning "female proprietor").
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film) DVD (Disc 2 - Tour Diagon Alley) (see this image and this image)
  3. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter (see this image)
  4. "Clutterbuck" on The Internet Surname Database
  5. "Clutterbuck" on Ancestor Search
  6. "Crispe" on The Internet Surname Database