Thomas Geoffry Lucas

Thomas Geoffry Lucas (6 June 1872 – 3 October 1947), generally known as Geoffry Lucas, but often found incorrectly spelt as Geoffrey Lucas, was a 20th-century English architect. He is perhaps best known for his work in connection with the garden city movement, but was also active in other areas, including the design of churches and church fittings.

Lucas was born in 1872 and articled to Walter John Nash Millard of Hitchin, Hertfordshire from 1889. After academic and professional training between 1889 and 1891 he held a number of posts as an assistant in various offices before setting up his own independent practice in Hitchin in 1895. Between then and 1919 he carried out much work, mainly domestic or ecclesiastical "in a manner marked by good taste and well-studied detail", to use the words of his obituarist and former partner. Many of his commissions were within Hertfordshire and included a number of private houses for high-status patrons.

In 1903, in partnership with Sydney Cranfield, Lucas entered the competition for designs for a garden city at Letchworth which would make a reality of the ideas of Ebenezer Howard. The competition was won by Barry Parker and Raymond Unwin, but the design submitted by Lucas and Cranfield has been described as "an intelligent and pleasing plan, its main disadvantage being the separation of the north and south residential areas". Nevertheless, Lucas was responsible for the design of some of the houses in Letchworth, notably a group of cheap cottages at Paddock Close which were described as "The £150 House". Of these houses he said, "Although simple, an effort has been made to obtain dignity, and an architectural treatment, without extravagance". Whilst a similarity in style can be seen, their simplicity forms a marked contrast with the more opulent houses which he was designing for private patrons at this time (for details, see section 2.1 below).

A further embodiment of the garden city movement was Hampstead Garden Suburb. The Hampstead Garden Suburb Trust was formed in 1906 and the plans were prepared by Parker & Unwin, Unwin being architect to the Trust from 1906 to 1914. Lucas was one of a number of architects who made important contributions (listed in section 2 below). Hampstead Garden Suburb was followed by Romford Garden Suburb at Gidea Park where development began in 1910. Many of the architects who had contributed to Hampstead also contributed to Gidea Park, including Lucas, whose house at 54 Parkway took first prize among a group of more expensive exhibition houses.

...
Wikipedia