Robinson was a member of an entrepreneurial family who had interests in paper-making and printing in Bristol and London and in a wide range of goods in Singapore.
The extensive Robinson family had estates at Flax Bourton and Backwell, near Nailsea, south of Bristol, and in 1879 Crescens was part of a team of "Eleven Robinsons"[REF] that played a match against the Backwell Cricket Club at the Flax Bourton ground [REF].