Mergers and acquisitions in the history of Tallents Solicitors
Over the years and through several mergers and acquisitions, Tallents Solicitors has practised under several different names, but always retaining the Tallents name in their title.
The Head Office of Tallents Solicitors at 3 Middlegate, Newark
When Mr Philip Tallents founded Tallents Solicitors in 1774, the firm’s offices were originally at 24 Cartergate, Newark on Trent, which is now occupied by several different businesses. Tallents Solicitors moved to its present home at 3 Middlegate, Newark in 1901, where it remains to this day.
A letter sent to Tallents Burnaby in 1840
In 1832, Mr William Edward Tallents went into partnership with Mr Thomas F. A. Burnaby and the firm became Tallents, Burnaby, Griffin and Co. around 1846. The Senior Partner at the time was William’s son, Mr Godfrey Tallents (1812-1877).
Also intertwined into the history for Tallents Solicitors, is the legal firm Hodgkinson and Beevor, which was started by Grosvenor Hodgkinson in the mid-19th century. His son, Mr Roger Hodgkinson, went into partnership with Mr Henry Beevor in about 1900 and Hodgkinson & Beevor moved to 3 Middlegate, Newark in 1901.
No 3 Middlegate was originally built as a private house for Mr Joseph Pocklington in 1807. It was later a school and when Hodgkinson & Beevor took occupation it became a solicitors’ offices.
The granddaughter of Grosvenor Hodgkinson, Miss Nancy Beevor, married Colonel Hugh Tallents (1885-1978) in 1946. Colonel Tallents, the great-great-grandson of Mr Philip Tallents, was by then running Tallents & Co.
In 1970, when Colonel Tallents was 85 and wished to retire, his then partner, Mr Jeremy Ware joined with Mr Douglas Blatherwick, Mr Charles Hart and Mr Robert Wright, and the firm Hodgkinson & Tallents was formed.
Colonel Tallents and his wife had one son, Mr John Richard Tallents (b. 1947), but he did not wish to continue in the family tradition of legal work, so no family members of Tallents currently work for the firm today.
However, the Blatherwick family continued to work for Tallents Solicitors for three generations, with Mr Peter Blatherwick and Mr Jeremy Blatherwick both following their family’s connections with Tallents Solicitors.
The firm changed its name to Tallents Godfrey in the late 1980s when it amalgamated with a Nottingham firm. It has since demerged from that firm, and from 2nd January 2004 reverted to the original name of Tallents Solicitors, under which it still serves the local community today.
In 1988, Tallents merged with Temperley & Co to create the Southwell office, and in 1989 a merger with Harding & Co created the Mansfield office.
Tallents Solicitors is very proud to still carry the name of their founder over their doors and the firm continues to provide the same community-minded legal services that Philip Tallents first envisioned when he started the firm in 1774. We hope that we will be able to continue this successful legal service for another 250 years.
