Cubitt Estates Limited Archive
573 volumes relating to the development and management of major estates in London and elsewhere, recording the division of lands, their initial development, mostly for housing but also for industrial use, and rentals with details of tenants, relating to property in Pimlico, Barnsbury and neighbouring areas (Caledonian Road, Holloway Road), Clapham, Balham, Fulham, Battersea, Grosvenor estates (including Belgavia), and Crown estates, also Surbiton, Brighton, and elsewhere, from the mid-19th Century to the mid-20th Century, comprising: 8 plan-books with maps detailing buildings and leases, relating to estates in west London (Pimlico, Fulham), north London (Caledonian Road, Barnsbury, Holloway Road), south London (Clapham, Balham) and elsewhere (Brighton), mostly relating to properties developed by Thomas Cubitt, mid-19th Century with later additons; 302 Rentals, mid-19th to mid-20th century, including names of tenants, the earlier volumes arranged by estate, 20th Century volumes arranged by year; 2 Lease books summarising sales and lettings, 1890s-1940s; 132 Letter-books, mostly retained carbon copies of letters to tenants, 20th Century; 40 Demand Books, 1890s onwards, recording late rents; 16 Minute books of Cubitt Estates Ltd., 1920s-40s; 41 ledgers recording various financial records, including for Cubitt Estates Ltd (8 volumes, 1920-1956), freehold receipts, and private ledgers; 8 Annual returns; Painters' bills, one volume, with detailed accounts of painting work done, mostly in Belgravia, 1850s; Garden Keys, one volume, recording sales of keys for communal gardens for London squares, 1866-87; together with an additional 22 volumes not available for inspection. This substantial archive relates to the substantial portfolio of property developed and managed by the company founded by William Cubitt (1791-1863). The developments of the 1840s-50s show him working closely with his brother the builder Thomas Cubitt. It is an exceptionally rich source of information for the development of London in the mid-19th Century, as well as providing the names and addresses of thousands of inhabitants of various areas of London over a hundred year period, which makes it a rich resource for family and local historians