10 Glebe Way, Histon

History of 10 Glebe Way

Built circa 1840 (See Ramble Round the Heart of Histon, 1979) on the foundations of a much older building.

The owners for many years were the Lucas family.

Smith Lucas was convicted of stealing and sentenced to transportation. However, local researchers have discovered that while he was confined in a hulk in Southampton, friends submitted a petition to the Queen. He was granted a Royal Pardon and died in Histon in 1904.

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1861 8 East of the Green

Smith Lucas, 44, market gardener, b Histon

Elizabeth, 50, b Histon

Sarah, 18, b Histon

Elizabeth Biggs, 6, b Histon

Frederick Mansfield, 5, b Histon

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1881

Smith Lucas, 64, gardener, b Histon

Elizabeth, 70, b Histon

Sarah, 38, b Histon

Frederick Mansfield, 24, b Histon

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1901

Smith Lucas, 84, market gardener,

Sarah, 57,

Frederick Mansfield, grandson, 44, garden labourer,

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The Life of Smith Lucas of Histon (c.1816–1905)

Smith Lucas, born around 1816–1817 in the Cambridgeshire village of Histon, lived a long and eventful life that spanned nearly nine decades. His name is most remembered locally due to an early misfortune and subsequent redemption that shaped the arc of his life.

In 1838, at the age of about 22, Smith Lucas was convicted of stealing wheat and a brass pot from a property in Waterbeach. For this crime, he was sentenced to seven years of transportation—a harsh punishment, especially for a man of the labouring class. At the time of his sentencing, Lucas had a pregnant wife and two small children who were left destitute. His situation, however, stirred sympathy in the local community. A petition was raised by residents of Histon—farmers, tradespeople, and neighbours—arguing for clemency. They highlighted Lucas’s role as a family man and the extreme consequences of his exile. As a result of this intervention, he was granted a free pardon in May 1842. While initially held in Cambridge gaol and then aboard the prison hulk Leviathan at Portsmouth, Lucas was spared the full sentence of transportation, and he returned home.

Resuming his life in Histon, Smith Lucas went on to become a market gardener. He fathered more children, including a son born in 1843, and is believed to have lived at 10 Glebe Road—a property that incorporated parts of an older house. By the 1881 Census, he was recorded living with his wife Elizabeth, daughter Sarah, and a nephew. Despite his early troubles, Smith Lucas lived a long life and became a fixture of the Histon community. He died in 1905 at the age of 89, surrounded by his children and grandchildren. His story is one of hardship, community support, and resilience.

Local historians and the Histon & Impington Village Society continue to preserve his memory, noting not only the details of his criminal case but also the remarkable endurance of a man who lived through a transformative century. (AI 2025)