Lucy's Building

[Suzy100]

Can anyone tell me where lucy's buildings, St Andrews Holborn, Middlesex were.  Samuel Button lived there in the 1851 census but I do not know the road they were in?  Thanks

[Milliepede]

If you page back and forth on the census you can look at other addresses that might help locate it.

[ShaunJ]

"Our walk,..... brought us to Lucy's buildings, near the north end of Leather-lane, Holborn,......."

https://archive.org/stream/townswampssocial838godw/townswampssocial838godw_djvu.txt

[maddys52]

Also:

"MESSRS. REYNOLDS and EASON wil sell by Auction ... Nos. 1 and 2 Lucy's building (adjoining), Clerkenwell-road, Hatton-garden, held for 499 years from September 29, 1821 at 4l. ground rent ..."
   Saturday,  Aug. 6, 1881, The Standard

[maddys52]

Other mentions in newspapers put Lucy's Building at Laystall St, Vine St, Leather Lane ... 

Description here:
"Lucy's buildings ... is singularly well adapted for the purposes of destroying health: contiuning from the steps from the end of Leather-lane, and crossing at a steep gradient the street already alluded to, we come to three double rows of buildings, each containing twelve houses (rent 3s. 3d. a week) of three rooms each. The lowest court is reached by nine steps: at the top of the steps is a sort of narrow back-yard, in which are conveniences, one for each two houses. Nothing can be worse than this arrangement,- but we cannot go into details. The backs of the rooms built against this bank are damp, and most unfavourable to health. In the lower court is an untrapped gully-hole, which is also most offensive: here cholera was a visitor, and fever seems to be held in terror. The water-cistern was empty on Saturday evening, and would continue so until Monday afternnon. This court, badly as it is situated, might be materially improved in condition by two things - viz., and unlimited supply of water, and the application of proper traps to the closets and gully-holes."

from "The Labourer's friend"
Author: Society for the Improvement of the Condition of the Labouring Classes (London, England) Society for Improving the Condition of the Labouring Classes (London, England)
Publication Date: 1853


Also appearing in various newspapers eg:
"Mr. Holmes mentions that 'Lucy's buildings are very close, thickly inhabited by working people, and the greater part built over the old sewer. The inhabitants are very poor. There is a public pump, but the supply of water scanty.' "
   Wednesday,  Dec. 31, 1851 The Times

Compare this to another mention:
"Mr. Holmes describes this place as follows: - 'Lucy's buildings is very close and confined, built directly over the old Fleet sewer, and occupied by very poor Irish families: there is plenty of water from a large public cistern; the drainage is good.' "
Wednesday,  Oct. 20, 1852 Daily News

[Ruskie]

I did some sesrching for Lucy’s Building last night my time, but had to give up due to how late it was getting, and not having any success - despite searching several maps I could not find it marked on any.

Those places you mention Maddys52, Laystall St, Vine St, plus a couple more, are included in the 1851 census book along with Lucy’s Building where Samuel Button was living. The area enumerated seems to have been quite a small one of five or six roads/buildings.it appears that there was a high population in the area, which seems to tally with the descriptions in Maddy’s findings.

I haven’t yet exhausted all searches, so will return to the search again later if no one manages to locate it in the mean time.

The vicinity:

https://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=18.79501738187462&lat=51.52242&lon=-0.11147&layers=163&b=1

Maybe the description in maddy’s post might help narrow it down.

[Suzy100]

Thank you guys the information is brilliant.  So interesting to see how they must have been living, and very sad too.