THE WAY WE WORKED GEPP & SONS SOLICITORS: LAWYERS IN THE COUNTY TOWN J.B. Gilder This work copyright James Gilder, 2010 No part of this work to be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author. All images remain the property of their respective copyright holders. Published by Gepp & Sons Solicitors Printed in Monotype Perpetua 2 Contents Foreword by T C Gepp 5 Introduction 7 1. The Country Attorney 9 2. The Georgian County Town 19 3. The Early Gepps 25 4. The Loyal Chelmsford Volunteers 33 5. The Founding of the Borough 37 6. Law and Disorder 51 7. The Sheriff’s Office 63 8. Into the Twentieth Century 73 9. Fifty One Years of Peter Davis 83 10. Hilliard & Ward 95 11. Changing Times 101 Epilogue 109 Appendix 1: High Sheriffs of Essex 1768-2010 Appendix 2: Equity Partners of Gepp & Sons Appendix 3: Descendents of Edward Gepp Bibliography 120 Index of images 121 3 Thanks Thank you to the Essex Records Office and the Executors of the Estate of Lynton Lamb for permission, freely given, to publish the vast majority of the various images within these pages. Lynton Lamb was a prominent 20 th Century illustrator whose works can be found in many Penguin books amongst other publications. He lived in Sandon for much of his life. Thank you to the late Hilda Grieve, historian and sometime Head Archivist at Essex County Council. Much of the research involved in this volume has emanated from her excellent book ‘The Sleepers and the Shadows’ which I would recommend to anyone interested in the history of Chelmsford. Thank you to all members of staff, past and present, who have done so much to assist, and particularly to Tom Gepp, John Plumtree and Peter Davis for their memories. Finally, thank you to the current partners of Gepp & Sons and to Neil Ashford in particular, as he had the original idea of producing this book. 4 Foreword I am very pleased to have been asked to write a short foreword to this book of the history of Gepp & Sons Solicitors. Nothing in my long life of just over ninety years to date has been more important to me. I was the sixth generation of the Gepp family to have been a member of the firm and I liked to treat the partners and employees as my family. I think it was the case that, if a member of the firm wanted help or advice, he could always come to me or one of the partners for that help. I am very glad that this book has been written, as it will place on record the history of an important Essex institution. T C GEPP , SAFFRON WALDEN 5 6 Introduction Those of us who work at Gepp & Sons today may have some idea that the firm is an old one. However, it is probably true to say that few people are aware of just how tightly the history of Chelmsford and that of the Gepps and their business are interwoven. I did not know what I was in for when I started to research this book. I naively assumed that this history could be assembled after talking to members of staff past and present, a quick trip to the Records Office and a few hours at the computer. A year and a half later I have come to the realisation that I was very wrong. It has been a long but enjoyable task, one which could not have been completed without the great assistance of many contributors, to all of whom I am very thankful. I can, however, assure you that the mistakes are all mine. In this, a year which probably marks the 250 th anniversary of the arrival of Edward Gepp in Chelmsford, we have what I hope is a reasonably comprehensive history of a firm of solicitors, along with several chapters which are written in order to put that history in its context. Whatever your relationship with Gepp & Sons is or has been, I hope you find something within these pages which is interesting to you. 7 8 CHAPTER 1 The Country Attorney Despite the role and concept of the solicitor being uniquely English it would seem that, perhaps with the exception of the estate agent, it is the profession least well regarded by the British public. Solicitors have long been looked down upon by some members of the Bar, as ‘gentleman by virtue of an Act of Parliament rather than by pedigree’. To others, solicitors represent the worst of human nature, having gained a reputation in the minds of many for adding unnecessary confusion and with it, overcharging, for anyone unfortunate enough to come into contact with them. Although it might be fair to say that some members of the profession so often referred to as the ‘junior’ legal practitioner have been thoroughly deserving of the public’s ire, such criticisms have long been a sore point amongst those who endure the seemingly endless age of training and the years of uncertainty which follow thereafter, all in order to practice the law. Indeed, as Edmund Christian, a solicitor himself, pointed out in his book of on the subject of the profession in 1896: ‘In this country few professions are so old as the solicitor’s and probably none is so stringently regulated by the State. From the first day of his apprenticeship to the last day of his practice the solicitor is subject to regulations laid down by Parliament: his education; his right to practice; his relations to his employers; his remuneration, all are minutely prescribed by the Legislature. But his true position is not generally known. To the public the solicitor is the lawyer of first instance, the only sort of lawyer with whom the 9 client comes into contact. But if the opinion of the Bar be correct, the solicitor is no lawyer’. Legal representation in court has been in existence, as an idea at least, for several thousand years. Until the 13 th Century however, it was usual for those who had business before a court in England to attend and conduct their case personally. If an advocate was appointed, it would be one of that select band well versed in the law, who would be appointed to win or lose the case, come what may. By the mid 1400s it had become increasingly popular for those who had business before a court to appoint an attorney to appear in their place. Such attorneys were of vastly varying quality and character, indeed it would at first appear that the role solely consisted of acting in their client’s best interests when selecting an advocate. Thus, a husband could act as his wife’s attorney, although a wife could not appear for her husband. All appointments of attorneys at this time required a judge’s consent, the judge issuing a writ signifying that the attorney was sufficiently fit and proper to act for his principal. At first the appointment of an attorney was strictly confined to matters in the lower courts, but this rule was soon relaxed. Indeed, as early as Edward the Confessor’s reign, attorneys could be appointed to act in cases of ‘wounds and maims’ and thereafter the attorney could be found in all superior courts. Such a growth in the opportunities for attorneys to practice led to a corresponding increase in the numbers willing to do the job. Much as barristers did until the mid 20 th Century, attorneys followed judges around their circuit of courts and, particularly out of London, acquired something of a reputation for often taking fees from both sides in a case. One particular 14 th Century attorney got his come-uppance when travelling the Herefordshire circuit. The hapless lawyer took a boat on the River Severn in 10 order to travel onwards to Cornwall and thus steal a march on the other attorneys. However, a great storm erupted and he was blown dramatically off course, eventually ending up in Cumberland where he was arrested on suspicion of being an enemy spy. The court report (2 12 Edw 3) indicates that Scarshuhe, the judge, did not have much sympathy for the poor lawyer who missed the entire trial, remarking that it was particularly foolish of attorneys to expect God to protect them (of all people!). Not even the dangers of imprisonment for espionage could, it would seem, deter the growth of what had become a booming industry. By the year 1400 it was estimated that there were at least 2,000 attorneys practicing in England. The 15 th Century witnessed the King and his Parliament responding to the growing number of complaints made about attorneys throughout the land. In 1402 Parliament described the profession as: ‘uninterested in the law; some of them were even of tender age. They were negligent as well as ignorant and were guilty of coven and collusion’. In response the King limited the numbers of attorneys in each county and instituted an early form of enrolment for members of the profession. Furthermore, the would-be attorney was required to undertake an examination prior to admittance. Nonetheless, the role of the attorney remained a fairly minor one when compared to the advocate, and certainly far less well paid. The situation regarding pay was not helped by the fact that much of the work the attorney wished to do, indeed much of the work carried out today by solicitors, most particularly the drafting of legal documents, was denied them. Instead such work was divided between the advocate, by now also known as ‘counsel’, and the ‘prothonotary’, an employee of the court.