William Cubitt (1791 – 28 October 1863), lord mayor of London, was an English engineering contractor and

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

politician.

Career

William was a partner in the building firm established by his elder brother,

Thomas Cubitt 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 in Belgravia, Pimlico and Bloomsbury. His great-great-g ...

, at

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

but in about 1827 the partnership was dissolved leaving William solely in charge of the business. William built

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

completed in 1830 and

Fishmongers' Hall Fishmongers' Hall (sometimes shortened in common parlance to Fish Hall) is a listed building, Grade II* listed building adjacent to London Bridge. It is the headquarters of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers, one of the 110 livery companies of ...

completed in 1834. He also built the portico and the original station buildings at Euston completed in 1837. He was also responsible for the reclaiming and development of

Cubitt Town Cubitt Town is a district on the eastern side of the Isle of Dogs in London, England. This part of the former Metropolitan Borough of Poplar was redeveloped as part of the Port of London in the 1840s and 1850s by William Cubitt, Lord Mayor of L ...

in southern Poplar on the

Isle of Dogs The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ham ...

completed in 1850. He retired completely from the business in 1851. In 1883 the business was acquired by Holland & Hannen, a leading competitor, and the combined business became known as Holland & Hannen and Cubitts and subsequently as

Holland, Hannen & Cubitts Holland, Hannen & Cubitts was a major building firm responsible for many of the great buildings of London. History The company was formed from the fusion of two well-established building houses that had competed throughout the later decades of ...

. William also had a younger brother,

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

, a leading designer of his day. William sat as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia * Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Ando ...

from 1847 until 1861. He then resigned his seat on 23 July 1861 by accepting appointment as Steward of the Manor of Hempholme so that he could contest a by-election for the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

, which he lost. He was re-elected for Andover on 17 December 1862 and served until his death on 28 October 1863. William became active in the politics of the

. He was Sheriff of London and

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

in 1847, an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the City in 1851, represented the city on the

Metropolitan Board of Works The Metropolitan Board of Works (MBW) was the principal instrument of local government in a wide area of Middlesex, Surrey, and Kent, defined by the Metropolis Management Act 1855, from December 1855 until the establishment of the London County ...

from 1856, served as

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1860–61 and was re-elected in 1861–62. He was the most recent Lord Mayor to serve more than a single term until William Russell in 2020. He died in

aged 72.

Family

In 1814 he married Elizabeth Scarlett; they had a son and four daughters.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cubitt, William 1791 births 1863 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 Sheriffs of the City of London 19th-century lord mayors of London 19th-century English politicians British railway civil engineers People of the Industrial Revolution Members of the Metropolitan Board of Works

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...