Lucas Brothers was a leading British building business based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Early history

The business was founded by Charles Thomas Lucas (1820 London – 1895 Warnham Court, near Horsham) and Thomas Lucas (1822–1902). They were the sons of James Lucas (1792–1865), a builder from St Pancras, London. Charles joined his father's business and was soon employed to manage construction of the

Norwich & Brandon Railway The Norwich & Brandon Railway (N&BR) was the second railway in Norfolk, England, after the Yarmouth & Norwich Railway (Y&NR). Its Act of Parliament on 10 May 1844 authorised it to build a line between Norwich and the small town of Brandon, actual ...

for Sir

Samuel Morton Peto Sir Samuel Morton Peto, 1st Baronet (4 August 1809 – 13 November 1889) was an English entrepreneur, civil engineer and railway developer, and, for more than 20 years, a Member of Parliament (MP). A partner in the firm of Grissell and Peto, he ...

. In 1842 Charles set up his own contracting business in

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...

and progressed to rebuilding Peto's house,

Somerleyton Hall Somerleyton Hall is a country house and estate near Somerleyton and Lowestoft in Suffolk, England owned and lived in by Hugh Crossley, 4th Baron Somerleyton, originally designed by John Thomas. The hall is Grade II* listed on the National Heri ...

. Charles and Thomas established a facility in

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the most easterly UK settlement, it is north-east of London, north-east of Ipswich and sou ...

from which they undertook various works, including the railway, the station, the Esplanade, Wellington Terrace, Kirkley Cliff Terrace, St John's church, and several hotels. RoyalAlbertHall

Building contracts

Building contracts included: *

Covent Garden Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

(completed in 1858) *

Oxford University Museum of Natural History The Oxford University Museum of Natural History, sometimes known simply as the Oxford University Museum or OUMNH, is a museum displaying many of the University of Oxford's natural history specimens, located on Parks Road in Oxford, England. It a ...

(1860) * Floral Hall (1860) *

King's College Hospital King's College Hospital is a major teaching hospital and major trauma centre in Denmark Hill, Camberwell in the London Borough of Lambeth, referred to locally and by staff simply as "King's" or abbreviated internally to "KCH". It is managed b ...

(1862) *

Langham Hotel The Langham, London, is one of the largest and best known traditional-style grand hotels in London, England. It is situated in the district of Marylebone on Langham Place, London, Langham Place and faces up Portland Place towards Regent's Park. ...

(1865) *

Charing Cross Hotel Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via As ...

(1865) *the

Junior Carlton Club The Junior Carlton Club was a London gentlemen's club, now dissolved, which was established in 1864 and was disbanded in 1977. History Anticipating the forthcoming Second Reform Act under Benjamin Disraeli, numerous prospective electors decide ...

(1866) * City Terminus Hotel (1867) *

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

(1871) *

Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...

(1872) *

Alexandra Palace Alexandra Palace is a Grade II listed entertainment and sports venue in London, situated between Wood Green and Muswell Hill in the London Borough of Haringey. It is built on the site of Tottenham Wood and the later Tottenham Wood Farm. Origi ...

(1873) * Royal Station Hotel, York (1878) * Great Eastern Hotel (1884) Stations included: *

Lowestoft railway station Lowestoft railway station (formerly Lowestoft Central) serves the town of Lowestoft, Suffolk, and is the eastern terminus of the East Suffolk Line from and is one of two eastern termini of the Wherry Lines from (the other being ). Lowestoft i ...

(1855) *

Charing Cross railway station Charing Cross railway station (also known as London Charing Cross) is a central London railway terminus between the Strand and Hungerford Bridge in the City of Westminster. It is the terminus of the South Eastern Main Line to Dover via Ashfo ...

(1864) *

Cannon Street station Cannon Street station, also known as London Cannon Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Travelcard zone 1 located on Cannon Street in the City of London and managed by Network Rail. It is on ...

(1866) *

Liverpool Street station Liverpool Street station, also known as London Liverpool Street, is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in the north-eastern corner of the City of London, in the ward of Bishopsgate Without. It is the t ...

(1874) *

York railway station York railway station is on the East Coast Main Line serving the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is north of and on the main line it is situated between to the south and to the north. , the station is operated by London North Ea ...

(1877) Private houses included: *

Cliveden Cliveden (pronounced ) is an English country house and estate in the care of the National Trust in Buckinghamshire, on the border with Berkshire. The Italianate mansion, also known as Cliveden House, crowns an outlying ridge of the Chiltern ...

(1851) *

Henham Hall Henham Park is an historic estate in the parish of Wangford with Henham, situated north of the village of Blythburgh in the English county of Suffolk. The park is bordered to the east by the A12 road and to the west by the A145, the two roa ...

(1858) *

Rendlesham Hall Rendlesham Hall was a large manor house in the village of Rendlesham in Suffolk. History The hall was built in the pointed style in 1780Normanhurst Court (1870) Civil engineering works i.e. railways and bridges were undertaken from 1870 by the joint venture,

Lucas and Aird Lucas and Aird was a major civil engineering business operating in the 19th century. History The business was formed as a joint venture between Lucas Brothers and John Aird & Co. in 1870. The joint venture was dissolved in 1896. Major projects ...

. Lucas Brothers also undertook the construction for the International Exhibition of 1862 and the South Kensington Exhibitions of 1867 and 1871 with Sir John Kelk.

Structure

After the company began collaborating with John Aird & Co., their combined businesses were re-organised in 1870 as follows: * Lucas Brothers – Building *

– Railway work and civil engineering * John Aird & Sons – Water and gas contracts In 1895, when Sir Charles Lucas died, Lucas Brothers and Lucas and Aird were dissolved.

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 Lucas married Jane Golder and had a daughter. After her death, he married 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. Sir Thomas Charles Lucas was the first of the

Lucas baronets There have been two baronetcies created for persons with the surname Lucas: one in the Baronetage of England and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. The Lucas Baronetcy, of Fenton in the County of Lincoln, was created in the Baronet ...

, the present holder of the baronetcy is Sir Thomas Edward Gubbins Lucas 5th Bt.Mosley, Charles, editor. Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes. Wilmington, Delaware, U.S.A.: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003.

Early history

Building contracts

Structure

About the founders

References

Further reading