Tho[ma]s Cubitt & Co Extant Records

Lease Ledgers

Cubitt & Co  – Cubitt & Co rather than T, W & L Cubitt & Co, T & W Cubitt & Co, Thomas Cubitt & Co or William Cubitt & Co is used quite deliberately. The ledgers are not an amalgam of all of the brothers assets gather together to be managed by one organisation but they are a meticulous set of record for each area of operation: which recorded the:-

1. arrangements with the landowner and terms; and
2. a map or plan of the area to be developed; and
3. a page per property, in the earlier volumes, with a colour washed plan on it noting whom the property was leased to when and for how much; and
4. any changes in title or lease terms are noted; and
5. any registrations of title or mortgage are noted in red with the registration number.

These were continued on by Cubitt Estates Limited after Thomas’ death in 1855. This is therefore highly confusing and points to there being other records that could possibly extant relating to William & Lewis Cubitt’s property holdings.

How contemporaneous are these lease books?

Initial thoughts

These were long thought not to be contemporaneous records but summary records assembled after Thomas and probably William Cubitts’ deaths. This seems not be the case at all.

Initial analysis

Surprisingly, an initial, analysis of the handwriting of the clerks appears to show that all of the entries made prior to circa 1833 are in the same hand. With various clerks identifiable in clear time bands. This is actually pretty clear on scanning through two of the three volumes that were to hand to work with, the third is likely of later date.

The 1832/3 date could well be significant for two reasons.

Firstly on the 13th October 1833 Lord Carrington wrote a letter to Thomas Cubitt stating that due to his advancing years it was necessary for Cubitt to source finance elsewhere .

Secondly there was a major property recession in early 1830’s

These two factors may have combined to spur the creation of a thorough set of overarching and impressive looking master records.

Certainly, Cubitt was approaching other banks, institutions and lenders. They would want to be able to gain an overview of Cubitt’s highly complex operations and these volumes which contain mortgage and deed related information inclosing registry numbers marked in red seem to be produced to this very purpose.

There is another point that works slightly against us: because of the recession the transaction volumes will, of necessity have been low, so pinpointing the precise dates of creation is harder. That said the ledgers were certainly not written in the course of a few days, but rather over a period of weeks and months.

Further analysis

It is becoming cleared, from the assembled mass of information, that after the dissolution of the building company partnership, William Cubitt took responsibility for the administration of what eventually became Cubitt Estates Limited. What it was styled in the initial years is harder to know.

So, it is more than likely that it was William Cubitt and James Hopgood who were the driving force behind the compilation of these volumes. Maybe inspired by similar volumes in Grosvenor, Bedford or maybe even the mortgage books [Buckinghamshire Archives D/CN/20/2/9/1] that Lord Carrington assembled but it certainly wasn’t inspired by the Lyall Estate’s half hearted efforts [Buckinghamshire Archives D/LO/6/15/16]!

There were probably 10-11 of these volumes each with about 7-800 pages, on heavy laid paper, not all of them used.

We have compared the handwriting of known individuals to the handwriting in the ledgers. One of the challengers is finding contemporaneous handwriting samples. Handwriting can change subtly over a period of time and so handwriting samples from 20 years later are harder to compare directly.

How the Estate was administered

Between 1823 and 1827 there are 77 newspaper adverts, readily identifiable in the British Newspaper Archives, for properties using the name “T. W. and L. Cubitt”.

After 1827 all lease and letting adverts appear as “William Cubitt” or “Wm. Cubitt”.

This is signifiant as William has clearly taken over managing the property portfolio.

Changes and alterations

Looking through volume three [LA/4608/01/02/003] between pages 139 and 140 there is something clearly going on. A page has been stuck over the original page 140. If you look at the lower imaged below, which is held up to the light, in this case literally the light coming through the London Archives reading room windows, and compare it to page 139 you can clearly see the ghost image of what used to be on page 140.

If you look carefully at the right hand side of page 140 [below] you can see the where the page has been overlaid and glued in as there is a clear line in the image.

In other places pages have been stuck together sometimes even when entirely blank on all surfaces which is quite puzzling.

In a few cases pages have clearly been historically razored [cleanly cut] out of the book.

Where are the various volumes currently held?

Three of the volumes analysed, here, are held by London Archives [LA/4608/01/02/001-003].

The remaining eight(?) volumes are in private hands and are inaccessible to researchers.

The volumes are substantial and on high quality thick laid paper. They were originally leather bound but appear to have been covered over with a cloth type material possibly to accommodate wear and to increase their durability.

How were the volumes created?

The volumes were possibly created flat and then bound.

Our methodology and inferences

We have attempted to date the creation of each volume by when the clerk’s hand changes. This is by no means certain as it is quite possible that post creation of the volume the same clerk was responsible for maintaining it. however, it is the best methodology we can arrive at for an approximate date.¹ Given the lack of variation in ink colours on the page it is likely that each page was written, as far as the change of hand in a single session.

We are currently trying to identify the initial clerk’s hand in Volumes 1 & 2 by comparing the hand to various signatures and the contents of Thomas Cubitt & Co’s letter books [LA/4608/01/01/005].

The physical volumes

Volume 1 – Belgrave [Estate]; Lowndes [Estate]; Albert Gate; Herries [Estate]; and L[ittle] Holland [Estate].

Probably, created between August 1833 and September 1835.¹

Contains approximately 890 numbered pages in the volume.

We believe that this volume was created between August 1833 and September 1835.

Page 13 there is a clear change in hand from August 1833. However, this entry needs to be treated with a little caution as this is Thomas Read Kemp’s mansion on Belgrave Square. That said the 2nd hand is very similar to the 2nd hand on page 31 [below].

Page 31 the initial hand is consistent up to 11th June 1830 and then changes hand at 10th September 1835.

Page 47 the initial hand is consistent up to 2rd January 1832.

Based on this a non exhaustive survey of the change from the initial clerk’s hand in early pages to the hand of later clerks:  it appears to have been created between January 1832 and September 1835.¹

We would suggest that the later hand is that of John Hopgood based on the later sample of his handwriting [below]. This is consistent with his working, as a clerk to his brother James Hopgood, from around ~1833.

Our working hypothesis, that is not currently supported by any clear comparatives,* is that the earlier entries were made by Thomas Waller, Cubitt’s confidential clerk. Creating this series of ledgers was a commercially vital task as was understanding what should included and what should be omitted from the record.

The pages are numbered seemingly in the initial hand.

*The main issue is that the wet copy letter books are not terribly clear so we need to find other handwriting samples that are both clearer and closer to being contemporaneous preferably from deeds or other good primary sources.

Volume 2 – Euston [Estate]; Bedford [Estate]; Southampton [Estate]; Calthorpe [Estate] and Newington [Estate].

Probably created between August 1831 and December 1833.¹

Contains approximately 780 numbered pages in the volume.

Page 113 the initial hand is consistent up to 30th August 1831 and then changes hand at 13th May 1834.

Page 117 the initial hand is consistent up to 16th May 1831 and then changes hand at 7th April 1834.

Based on this a non exhaustive survey of the change from the initial clerk’s hand in early pages to the hand of later clerks:  it appears to have been created between August 1831 and December 1833.¹

Volume 3 –  Wise [Estate];  Battersea [Land]; Stanley [Estate]; Grosvenor [Estate]; Crown [Estate];

Probably, created between 1842 and  June 1855.¹

In this instance the Grosvenor Estate referred to is that used to from Pimlico along with the Stanley [Sloane Stanley] Estate, Wise Estate, Crown Estate and Church Commissioners lands.

The pages in this volume are numbered in a different hand and ink from the first two volumes.

Approximately 770 numbered pages in the volume.

This volume is harder to date as its earliest entries are from the mid 1840’s. We can be pretty sure, as the clerk’s hand appears to change post 1856 coincident with the office move from Lyall Street after Thomas’ death, that the initial entries in this volume were compiled in Thomas Cubitt’s lifetime.

Page 52 the initial hand is consistent up to 30th April 1850 and then changes hand at 27th September 1866.

Page 66 the initial hand is consistent up to 15th June 1855 and then changes hand at 27th September 1866.

There do not appear to be any entries in the initial hand post 1856.

Based on this a non exhaustive survey of the change from the initial clerk’s hand in early pages to the hand of later clerks:  it appears to have been initially created between 1842 and June 1855.¹

Leases

Hobhouse asserts [Thomas Cubitt: master Builder insert pg. ref.] that Cubitt was one of the first to use printed form leases.

This is likely erroneous as the Bedford Estate was clearly using them from 1824 and indeed a lease using one such form was granted to Thomas Cubitt by The Duke of Bedford in 1824 for lands and a messuage on Upper Woburn Place [below].

Having surveyed the very substantial collection of deeds for The Wise Estate that were issued by Cubitt’s office from the 1840’s onwards [Westminster Archives Accn. 326/396], none of these are printed form deeds.

How comprehensive are the Lease Books?

Less comprehensive than one might think.

Take for example: 41 Cambridge Street in Pimlico. This was of interest as OLBC had renovated this house some years ago.

This property is not shown at all in the Cubitt Lease Book covering Pimlico.

However, the lease survives in the Grosvenor Archives [old lease number 2900] made out to Thomas Cubitt in 1851 for a 99 year term.

The Grosvenor Lease Ledger finding aid shows that the lease was granted to Thomas Cubitt in 1851 [GE/1049/4/51 pg. 300], as per the lease itself, and then reassigned to William Cubitt after Thomas’ death in 1855 or maybe before that as the date of alteration is not marked in the Grosvenor records.

Whilst it is possible that these properties were not entered into the lease ledger at the time because of the pressure of business it is also suggestive that other properties were held in other ownership structures right from the off.

Letter Books

It is not known if there are earlier letter books – there likely were but they are probably not extant – there is no complete catalogue of the relevant volumes but they are not mentioned in in the catalogue of the 2012 auction of Cubitt related materials.

Letter Book A – 1850 Sep 20 – 1851 Nov 12

Letter Book B – 1851 Nov 12 – 1852 Oct 25

Letter Book C – 1852 Oct 6 – 1853 Jul 18

Letter Book D – 1853 Jul 23 – 1855 Apr 27 [~Thomas Cubitt’s death]

Letter Book E- 1855 Apr 28 – 1859 Mar 12 [The Administration ofThomas Cubitt’s Estate]

Letter Book F – 1859 Mar 21 – 1864 Aug 30 [The Administration ofThomas Cubitt’s Estate]

Contracts

At least three sample agreements are extant and reproduced below.

• The 1826  building agreement with Thomas Read Kemp for his massive house on Belgrave Square and the exchange of building sites in Brighton in partial compensation.
• The agreement with John Smith, of the banking family connected with Smith, Payne & Smith for the construction of his various Eaton Place houses; and
• The London Institution specifications and contract survive sadly without any trace of the plans or drawings.

The agreement with John Smith for various Eaton Place houses

This is a contract bundle complete with drawings, specifications and other intriguing notes and account sheets. Part of which are reproduced below as they are exceptionally informative of Cubitt’s working methods.

Thomas Allan’s account, presumably he is John Smith’s solicitor, makes it clear that from an early stage he was becoming involved in Thomas Read Kemp’s Brighton scheme – 1st paragraph.

This duly resulted in the production of contract plans and specification for the houses which were accompanied by this beautiful hand coloured plan indicating that the overall deal involved a house on the eastern side of Belgrave Square, two houses on the southern side of Eaton Place and four houses on the northern side of Easton Place. This was by any standards a substantial contract with a family that were at this point in time Cubitt’s largest known backers. Thomas Read Kemp’s monumental house on Belgrave Square is also shown to the bottom left corner of Belgrave Square.

Plans for No 1 House on the South Side of Eaton Place – click for full PDF

Plans for No 2 House on the South Side of Eaton Place – click for full PDF

Specification for two houses on the South Side of Eaton Place – click for full PDF-  [West Sussex County Archives ADDMS 22319].

John Smith’s account sheet [below] makes it clear the amounts and dates credits were made to Thomas Cubitt’s Smith, Payne & Smith [abbreviated to SP&S in the manuscript] bank account. It was hardly likely that Cubitt was going to try to persuade his largest backers and owners of a substantial bank to transact with another financial institution.

Both of these shed valuable light on the working methods and drawings used in Thomas Cubitt’s contracts.

There is also a partial survival in that some of the papers regarding Osborne House have survived but not the full contract bundle.

Other materials

There is a wide scatter of Cubitt related materials in a huge range of archives. There are many extant letters from Thomas Cubitt to various parties such as the letters to Lord Carrington and the extensive correspondence with Cundy/Boodle/Grosvenor Estate. However, few of them shed much light on the workings of his eponymous building company.

The diary of John Watson [builder] 1849-1851

The diary of John Watson, builder [Westminster Archives, 2282] covering 1849-1851 is an intriguing glimpse behind the curtain of the Cubitt machine.

The diary does not contain a huge number of entries but what is shown is significant and there are no comparable internal sources. The diary was clearly used for longer than the calendar year as some of the months have been altered and the pages used with alternative months and years marked by hand.

Watson initially worked directly for Cubitt on a number of projects such as Buckingham Palace, as in the entry below dated Monday 3rd February, 1849.

Saturday 17th February 1849, ‘Spoke to Mr Cubitt about leaving’.

Saturday 17th March 1849, ‘Left Mr Cubitts employ to begin for myself‘.

‘A barge of Gravel from Mr Cubitts’ is an indication of scale. A barge is likely to be around 25,000kg of gravel roughly equivalent to a modern tipper lorry load. That would be sufficient for some substantial foundations.

Watson was clearly buying materials from Thomas Cubitt as the Saturday 19th May 1849 entry clearly states, ‘Had from Mr Cubitts 200 6″ drain tubes(?) delivered‘.

The Wednesday 2nd May entry indicates that Watson was doing contracting works for the Cubitt enterprise. £86.0.0 was a substantial subcontracting payment.

The diary entries [below] offer a greater insight into the scale of John Watson’s operations.

July 2nd entry is a little mysterious and merely states ‘at the Belgrave office saw Mr Cuthell about plans‘ the vagueness of the last word is interesting as it is almost as if he doesn’t trust his diary with the information.

July 4th entry tells of the scale of his operations in that he ‘settled with Ambrose Colles do do the brickwork for 5 houses…..’

The entry [below] is interesting as it suggests a wider agreement for passing work between the Cubitt enterprise and John Watson. Andrew Cuthell being Thomas Cubitt’s nephew and a significant figure in his organisation.

Whilst the entry below is not conclusive it is suggestive that John Watson was paying Thomas Cubitt monies in commission for introducing works. It is unlikely that this line entry would have been for materials supplied as those costs would have been included in the materials sums above so it is fair to suppose that it was for something different.

It is possible that John Watson owned property, in this case, No 2 Albion Terrace and let it out.

¹There are plenty of obvious flaws with this methodology but it is currently our best guess at to the date that the individual volumes commenced creation. It is also perfectly possible that what were previously separate volumes have been bound together historically. Even allowing for an individual clerk being ill or on holiday aggregating the data together does tend to show a like window for the creation of these volumes. It is perfectly possible but a bit unlikely that the volumes were written out from the early 1820’s but the consistency of the hand, down the page, up to the point that it actually changes would likely point to the page being written in a sitting down to that point.