Reference
GA
Title
Messrs Garrard & Allen, Solicitors, Olney and F W Bull of Newport Pagnell
Date free text
1356-1909
Production date
From: 1356 To: 1909
Creator
Admin/biog history
Messrs J Garrard and Allen, Olney, Bucks - the following history was written by Frederick Bull in April 1949.
The founder of the legal firm of J Garrard & Allen of Olney, Bucks, was John Garrard who was admitted as an attorney in 1800 and commenced to practise at Olney in that year. He appears to have come from Watlington, Oxfordshire. A Richard Garrard is stated in the Oxon Quarter Sesion Records to have been coroner of Watlington from 1794 to 1808 and took the Oath of allegiance in 1792. A William Atherton Garrard of Watlington appears in Certificates of Communion in 1808 and 1810 and he is possibly the William Garrard mentioned in the will of John Garrard as his brother.
The Olney Parish Registers record the baptisms of four children of John and Ellen or Ellin Garrard as follows: Thomas Wilkinson Garrard on 7th July 1802 aged six months, John Garrard on 21st September 1804, William Garrard on 9th September 1808 and born 15 December 1805, Ellen Garrard on 9th Setepmeber 1808 and born 2nd January 1808.
John Garrard died on 15th April 1827 and was succeeded by John Iliffe who was admitted in 1827 and took over the practice in 1828. He married Ellen or Elin Garrard (John Garrard's daughter) at Olney Church on the 6th September 1831. He practised at Olney for some time in his own name, but left Olney for London in 1837, and his firm there was subsequently known as Iliffe Sweet & Co. He died on the 5th October 1891.
In the meantime John Garrard (son of the first John) was admitted in 1831 and joined John Iliffe at Olney, the practice for some time being carried on as Iliffe & Garrard and it is so recorded in a directory 1839.
Later the practice was carried on under John Garrard's own name until 1880 when Charles Atherton Allen (a nephew) who was admitted in July 1878 joined the firm which was thereafter known as J Garrard & Allen. Charles Atherton Allen died on the 6th April 1885. His brother Archibald Allen who was admitted in June 1878 and who had been practising at Kettering with his uncle, William Garrard, the brother of John Garrard, came to Olney on his brother's death and joined the firm, the style of which remained unaltered.
John Garrard died on the 2nd March 1896 aged 92, and Archibald Allen continued to practice alone until his death on 2nd November 1928.
The practice was then taken over by Frederick William Bull who was then practising at Newport Pagnell under the style of W B & W R Bull and at Kettering in his own name. The name of the Olney practice was however left unaltered.
William Sharman Bull, the son of Frederick William Bull, who was admitted in July 1930 became a partner whith his father in October 1932 and later Henry Adrian Greenhill Durbridge who was admitted in May 1934, joined the firm in October 1935.
William Sharman Bull was killed whilst on active service with the Royal Air Force in July 1940 and in December 1943 Frederick William Bull retired from the practice and Bertram Avens, who was admitted in February 1937, took his place as a partner in the firm.
The partners in 1949 were Henry Adrian Green Durbridge and Bertram Avens.
Scope and Content
Covers most parishes in the north and west of the county and some parishes further east and south. Includes deeds, legal papers, personal papers etc.
Exent
2961
Archival history
The material at Bedfordshire & Luton Archives Service has been deposited in 20 spearate accessions between 1937 and 1981. The original provenance was not always clear at the time of deposit, and for this reason a decision was made in the 1940s to treat all material received from F W Bull and his successors as one collection with the reference GA. Subsequent deposits have largely followed this pattern, but two deposits have been given separate reference namely X486 and Z312.
System of arrangement
The collection was sorted into some semblance of order before listing began.
Reference
Level of description
fonds
Persons/institution keyword
Keywords