Lucas Brothers, Builders

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Lucas Brothers was a leading British building business based in London.

Contents 1 Early history 2 Building contracts 3 Collaboration with Sir John Aird 4 About the founders 5 Demise of the business 6 References

[edit] Early history

The business was founded by Charles Thomas Lucas (1820-1895) and Thomas Lucas (1822-1902). They were the sons of James Lucas (1792-1865), a builder, of St Pancras, London who started work on the Liverpool Street to Norwich railway, working for Sir Samuel Morton Peto and progressed to rebuilding his house, Somerleyton as well as his Lowestoft premises, including the railway, the station, the Esplanade, St John’s church and several hotels.

At their works in Lowestoft the brothers pre-fabricated huts for the navvies who built the Crimea railway. Their centre of operations then moved to London where they built various public buildings.

[edit] Building contracts

Perhaps their most famous building contract was the Royal Albert Hall although as well as that they built Covent Garden Opera House and the Floral Hall, King's College Hospital, Charterhouse School, The Junior Carlton Club, The Alexandra Palace, The Star and Garter Home at Richmond, Woolwich Arsenal and Colchester Army camp as well as work at Aldershot and Shorncliffe. Private houses included Cliveden, Henham, Rendlesham and Normanhurst and the South Kensington Exhibitions of 1867 and 1871 with Sir John Kelk.

[edit] Collaboration with Sir John Aird

In the 1860's the brothers collaborated with John Aird & Co. and formed a civil engineering business known as Lucas & Aird.

[edit] About the founders

Charles Thomas Lucas married Charlotte Tiffin and had five sons and two daughters. He lived in London and then at Warnham in Sussex. He was created a Baronet in 1887.

Thomas married first Jane Golder and had a daughter and then after her death, married secondly Mary Amelia Chamberlin, daughter of Robert Chamberlin of Norwich and had six sons and four daughters. He lived in London, Ascot and briefly at Ashtead in Surrey.

[edit] Demise of the business

In 1895 following the death of Sir Charles Thomas Lucas the business was dissolved.

[edit] References

• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• Burke's Peerage
• The Civil Engineer
• The Master Builders by Robert Middlemas,
• Sir Samuel Morton Peto by Rev Dr Edward C Brooks.
• Deptford, Toronto and Kingston by Peter Stirling-Aird