Capturing Cambridge
  • search
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
30 Thompson's Lane, Malpas Lodge

30 Thompson’s Lane, Malpas Lodge

History of 30 Thompson's Lane

1543 Jeffrey Rankyn died childless and left to his nephew Gerard a tenement ‘sett and buylded in the same paryshe of Saint Clement at the corner leading towarde Harlestones place commonly called the corner howse wherein Wylliam Smythe pewterer nowe dwellythe.’ ‘Harlestones place’ was the same as the Harlston Inn [site of Anchor brewery], on the east side of Quayside Inn. The corner house was probably where no. 29 Thompson’s Lane stood in 1886. Jeffrey left two other properties to Gerard: ‘my mansion howsse or tenement called the tabere in the which tenement I now dwelle with all the yards and other appurtenances to the same belongyng‘, and another which T E Faber could not identify. This mansion house he identified with the location no. 30 Thompson’s Lane. (for more information about this location see section the William Dak tenement. (Source: T E Faber, An Intimate History of St Clement’s Parish, 2006)

30 Thompson’s Lane

1959 Royal Commission on Historical Monuments Survey of Cambridge: with walls of Gault brick with stone dressings and tile-covered roofs, was built c. 1820. No.30 is a particularly good and well-preserved example of a type of town house of which there are many less elaborate in Cambridge.

St Clement’s Parish east of Bridge Street in 1886

On an 1836 map of the area the west section (h) of the Dove House Close site is labelled Mr Foster’s garden. Richard Foster paid the Master of St John’s College £8 p.a. and was the owner of 30 Thompson’s Lane, as well as the triangular cole yard behind, i.e. to the south of, his coach house and stable yard.

1841 Richard Foster Snr and his son Henry, probably managing brewery

1851 Henry S Foster

The house was sold at auction in 1859 together with the rest of the Foster estate. This was then the principal dwelling house attached to the brewery with ‘noble Entrance Hall’, seven bedrooms, nursery etc. and was occupied by Henry Staples Foster.

1859 – 1870 house occupied by Swan Hurrell, owner of ironworks on the Thompson’s Lane brewery site

1870 – 1884 house rented to Augustus, son of William Ekin

1884 – death: occupied by Swan Hurrell.

After the Foster family had reoccupied the house it seems that they began to refer to it as Brookland’s Place, after Brooklands in Brooklands Avenue which Richard Foster Jnr had built and lived in.

1893 house put up for auction but withdrawn when bids only reached £6,500.

1913 Malpas Lodge

Mrs R Avory, lodging house keeper

1962

(30/31) Magdalene College Hostel

(30) Erich Schaefer, consulting physicist

Malpas Lodge (rear) in 2019

Contribute

Do you have any information about the people or places in this article? If so, then please let us know using the Contact page or by emailing capturingcambridge@museumofcambridge.org.uk.

Dear Visitor,

 

Thank you for exploring historical Cambridgeshire! We hope you enjoy your visit.

 

Did you know that we are a small, independent Museum and that we rely on donations from people like you to survive?

 

If you love Capturing Cambridge, and you are able to, we’d appreciate your support today.

 

Every donation makes a world of difference.

 

Thank you,

The Museum of Cambridge