Lewis Cubitt

Lewis Cubitt (29 September 1799 – 9 June 1883) was an English civil engineer and architect.

He was a younger brother of Thomas Cubitt, the leading master builder in London in the second quarter of the 19th century, and he designed many of the housing developments constructed by his sibling. He also was a younger brother of William Cubitt, the Lord Mayor of London with whom he worked on a number of developments and railway projects.

Lewis worked, amongst many other engagements, on the London and Croydon Railway (L&CR) which was an early railway in England. It opened in 1839 and in February 1846 merged with other railways to form the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR).

He built a large number of bridges in his career, most of them being in South America, Australia and India. Lewis was jointly responsible for designing the rebuilt London Bridge railway station in 1844. He also designed Bricklayers Arms (1844) and King’s Cross railway stations (1851–52) and the Great Northern Hotel (1854) as a part of his works for The Great Northern Railway.

As part of the contemporary redevelopment of the adjoining railway lands, now known as King’s Cross Central, a granary designed by Cubitt has been refurbished as the main campus facility for Central Saint Martins, a constituent college of the University of the Arts London.

A part of Lewis Cubitt’s drawings for King’s Cross entitled ‘Great Northern Railway. London Terminus Passenger Station’: transverse…survive in the National Archives [below].

The structural rivet Cubitt used in his development of the granary supposedly inspired the hinges used by eyewear brand Cubitts, who are named after the Cubitt brothers.

Lewis Cubitt was a student of Kendall was in turn a student of Thomas Leverton and possibly of John Nash. His wide-ranging styles included Greek, Italian and Tudor revival.^[1]

His son, Henry Edward Kendall Jr. (1805–1885) was also an architect and, for a while, the two ran a practice together, which, in 1834, was located at 17, Suffolk Street, London. The Esplanade and Tunnel in Kemp Town, Brighton, dating between 1828 and 1830, was one of their notable works.^[2]

Lewis Cubitt (who married his daughter Sophia in 1830) was amongst those who worked at the practice before setting up on his own.^[3] Both were amongst the co-founders of what became the Royal Institute of British Architects.^[4]

Kendall designed many civic buildings including workhouses, hospitals and schools.^[4] In 1832 he won the hundred guinea prize for his Gothic design for Kensal Green Cemetery and his Italianate design was runner-up, yet, despite this, his designs were overlooked in favour of a Greek revival design by John Griffith.^[4][5] The cemetery contains a monument to Kendall’s son, attributed to Kendall senior.

Henry Edward Kendall died in Westminster, 4 January 1875, aged 98.^[6]

He married Sophia Kendall (1811-1879) on 23 January 1830.

Works with his brother William

Further work

Agreement for performance of works, with plans (signed by Geo. Rennie)