Cranford: 1842. Cranford, a market town in the North West of England, is a place governed by etiquette, custom and above all, an intricate netwo rk of ladies. Despite the most vigilant eyes and ears, however, the town still has its secrets. And while it seems that Cranford life is conduct ed according to strict social rules, Cranford is on the cusp of change.. .Return to Cranford:Cranford is modernizing quickly despite the best e fforts of its aging spinsters. The shadow of the railway still looms, al though the line is currently halted five miles out of town - a disaster as far as Captain Brown is concerned. Meanwhile, Miss Marr (Dench) is tr ying to get some of the town's young people together, but when tragedy s trikes, she fears she has opened a Pandora's Box from which Cranford wil l never recover.