Thomas Cubitt | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 25 February 1788 Buxton, Norfolk, England |
| Died | 20 December 1855 (aged 67) Denbies, Surrey, England |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Practice | Cubitts |
| Buildings | TheLondon Institution Buckingham Palace Osborne House |
| Projects | Belgrave Square Lowndes Square Chesham Place Gordon Square Tavistock Square Eccleston Square |
| Design | Eaton Square Battersea Park |
Thomas Cubitt (25 February 1788 – 20 December 1855) was a British master builder, notable for his employment in developing many of the historic streets and squares of London, especially inBelgravia,Pimlico[a] andBloomsbury.[b]
The son of aNorfolk carpenter, he journeyed toIndia as a ship's carpenter, from which he earned sufficient funds to start his own building firm in 1810 onGray's Inn Road, London, where he was one of the first builders to have a 'modern' system of employing all the trades under his own management.[1]
Cubitt's first major building was theLondon Institution inFinsbury Circus, built in 1815.[2] After this he worked primarily on speculative housing atCamden Town,Islington, and especially atHighbury Park,Stoke Newington.[3]
His development of areas ofBloomsbury, includingGordon Square andTavistock Square, began in 1820, for a group of landowners including theDuke of Bedford.[4]
Cubitt's work outside London includes the country housePolesden Lacey, near Dorking, Surrey, which he rebuilt to largely its present form in the early 1820s.[5]
He was commissioned in 1824 byRichard Grosvenor, 2nd Marquess of Westminster, to create a great swathe of building inBelgravia centred onBelgrave Square andPimlico, in what was to become his greatest achievement in London.[6] Notable amongst this development are the north and west sides ofEaton Square, which exemplify Cubitt's style of building and design.[6]
After Cubitt's workshops in Thames Bank were destroyed by fire, he remarked "Tell the men they shall be at work within a week, and I will subscribe £600 towards buying them new tools."[7]
Cubitt was employed in the large development ofKemp Town inBrighton.[8] His public works included the provision of public parks, including being an organiser of theBattersea Park Scheme.[9]
In 1827 he withdrew from the management of hisGray's Inn Road concern leaving this to his brotherWilliam Cubitt; the firm of Cubitts still carried out the work of Thomas Cubitt and the change robbed neither partner of the credit for their work.[8]
Between 1845 and 1851, together withPrince Albert, Cubitt designed and builtOsborne House on theIsle of Wight, completed in 1851.[8][10] At the same time, between 1847 and 1850, he was responsible for the new east front ofBuckingham Palace.[8]
In the 1850s, Cubitt built and personally funded a thousandyards (nearly onekilometre) of theThames Embankment.[11]
Cubitt had two brothers, the contractor and politicianWilliam and the civil engineerLewis who designed many houses built by Thomas.[12]
Cubitt married Mary Anne Warner (1802–1880), on 25 March 1821 in the church ofSt Marylebone and they had at least twelve children – Anne (1820), Mary (1821), Emily (1823), George (1828), Sophia (1830), Fanny (1832), William (1834), Lucy (1835), Caroline (1837), Arthur (1840), and twins Thomas and Charles (1842), although five children predeceased their father.[13]George became apolitician, createdBaron Ashcombe in 1892. Mary, later Mrs Parker, was a botanist whose botanical specimens are held at the Royal Botanica Gardens, Kew.[14]
Thomas through his son,George, is a great-great-great-grandfather ofQueen Camilla.[15]
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Cubitt died in 1855[8] and was taken from Dorking for burial atWest Norwood Cemetery on 27 December 1855.[16]
After his death,Queen Victoria said, "In his sphere of life, with the immense business he had in hand, he is a real national loss. A better, kindhearted or more simple, unassuming man never breathed."[17]
As well as the statue in Denbigh Street, London,[18] another of Cubitt can be seen inDorking, opposite the Dorking Halls, as he was favoured there for his architecture on hisDenbies estate.[19]
In 1883 the business was acquired by Holland & Hannen, a leading competitor, which combination became known as Holland & Hannen and Cubitts, laterHolland, Hannen & Cubitts.[20]
Restaurants, pubs and other places have been named in his honour.[21]
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