Estates in Bloomsbury

1 Duke of Bedford
2 City of London Corporation
3 Capper Mortimer
4 Fitzroy (Duke of Grafton)
5 Somers
6 Skinners' (Tonbridge)
7 Battle Bridge
8 Lucas
9 Harrison
10 Foundling Hospital
11 Rugby
12 Bedford Charity (Harpur)
13 Doughty
14 Gray's Inn
15 Bainbridge–Dyott (Rookeries)

Area between the Foundling and Harrison estates: Church land

Grey areas: fragmented ownership and haphazard development; already built up by 1800

About the Lucas Estate

This seven-acre estate in the north-east of Bloomsbury was originally part of the Peperfield area of the Harrison estate, but became separated from it in the eighteenth century (Survey of London, vol. 24, 1952)

Its owner at the beginning of the nineteenth century was Joseph Lucas, a tin plate worker, who decided in 1801 to develop the land (Survey of London, vol. 24, 1952)

The estate was a small strip with a curved top, stretching from the area of the Boot pub to Gray’s Inn Road

Its main street when developed was Cromer Street, which was begun in 1801, and known as Lucas Street after the landowner until 1834 (Survey of London, vol. 24, 1952)

The origin of other street names on the estate remains obscure

Peace Cottages

The Ordnance Survey map of 1867–1870 shows this as a narrow street running parallel with Speedy Place, off Cromer Street

Unlike Speedy Place, however, it was not accessible from Cromer Street itself, but from Brunswick Street to its east

The Ordnance Survey map shows one alleyway from Brunswick Street which connected to the north ends of both Peace Cottages and Speedy Place, whereas Weller’s map of 1868 shows this alleyway stopping short of Speedy Place, and another alleyway from Brunswick Street leading to the south end of Peace Cottages (the OS map having this last alleyway as stopping short of Peace Cottages)

The discrepancies probably reflect the mean nature of the street

No trace of it remains