The garden next to Sidney Sussex College wall and the close behind it had not been included in the third lease granted to John Haggerston in 1788. John Bullen still held the lease and by 1812 a house had been built there and was occupied by a man called Leach. In 1815 the College agreed to let this lease run out. A development plan was made by James Webster (a Cambridge builder who also designed Malcolm Street), and Nos. 35, 36 and 37 were built. Nos. 36 and 37 were held by Webster himself on a 40 year lease.
Nos. 33 and 34 were built in 1844 at the expense of the College. The total cost of the two was £1400 and James Webster thought they would let for £60 each. An offer for one was at once made by a lodging house keeper who wanted to move from one of the older houses on the other side of the lane. The new houses had marble mantlepieces and a water closet was installed in No. 33. This had to be removed in 1896 as it was considered very insanitary by the then Medical Officer of Health. In 1900 No. 33 was the first house in this part of Jesus Lane to have electric light installed. The wiring was done free of charge by the Cambridge Electric Supply Co. but there was a charge of a penny a unit added to the cost of electricity to pay for this. The house was occupied as a college lodging house by the Head Porter of the College, James Hoppett. His house was the first college lodging house to have a bathroom installed, in 1908. An extension had to be built for this at the turn of the staircase between the ground and first floors. The whole work cost £40 0s 0d, half of which was defrayed by the College.
[taken from notes made by Freda Jones]
In 1970 Nos. 33 and 34 Jesus Lane were converted into a College Hostel. Therefore records from 1970 which cover Nos. 33 and 34 have been catalogued under 33 Jesus Lane
