History of Andrew Jackson

The Colonel and The Doctor

The firm was founded by Andrew Marvell Jackson known as "the Colonel" as a sole practitioner on 31st August 1874, with a loan of £10 from his father. At the end of the first year, his cash book showed he had £29.1s.7d, the equivalent amount today would be £1,404. His brother, Thomas, known as "the Doctor" joined him in Partnership in 1887 and Andw. M Jackson & Co became the first firm of Solicitors to be designated "& Co".

In 1882 the property on which Victoria Chambers in Bowlalley Lane stands was purchased for £3,400 (current day value would be £164,000).  The original buildings were demolished and replaced by a purpose-built office where the firm operated until 1999.

Andrew Marvell Jackson's sons Eric and Ivor were both educated at Hymers College in Hull where they won scholarships to Cambridge and obtained First Class Honours in Law. Eric then took his Doctorate and became known as "Dr Eric", he and "Mr Ivor" were taken into the Partnership in 1909 and 1912 respectively; their share of the profits on 31st August 1913 was £757 each which would be £32,500 today.

Hull was then the third largest port in the United Kingdom and fruit, vegetables and timber were imported to Hull from all over the world, during this period they developed their expertise particularly in Commercial and Admiralty.

Attack of the Russians

In 1904  the Russian Baltic fleet  unexpectedly opened fire on unarmed trawlers from one of Hull's fishing fleet in the North Sea killing two and seriously injuring others. For a short time there was a possibility that this could bring on a war between the two countries. The Doctor represented this fishing fleet at a Public Enquiry held into the event , news of which featured in the Times.

Mr Ivor, served throughout the 1914/18 War in the East Yorkshire Regiment of the Territorial Army, of which his father known as "the Colonel" was a Colonel. He was also seconded to the Coldstream Guards and was Brigade Major with them.  During the time he was in France, his leg was badly injured by shrapnel; he never really recovered from his injuries and was always in considerable pain which led to his early retirement in 1934. Dr Eric was seconded to the War Office in London, and was later awarded an OBE for his services.

Until the beginning of the First World War, the staff had consisted entirely of men; when so many clerks were being called up for service, two ladies, Miss Waudby and Miss Marshall, joined the staff and they both served with the firm until retirement.

The four Jacksons continued in partnership until the Colonel died in 1926. Mr Ivor then retired in 1934 and when Dr Eric died in 1942, the Doctor was left on his own. Clifford Ashburn helped to keep the firm going during the course of the Second World War. At the end of the war, Geoffrey Haworth and the Doctor's son, also known as Tom, returned to the firm.

Mr Tom's era

In 1947 "the Doctor" took into  partnership Clifford Ashburn, Geoffrey Haworth and Tom Jackson. The partnership agreement was written on the back of an envelope and kept in "the Doctor's" safe.  If an alteration was required, the partners were invited to attend in "the Doctors" room and place their initial where he indicated without even being allowed to read what the alteration was about!

Following the death of "the Doctor" in 1949 his son, known and remembered by many of those who still work at the firm as "Mr Tom" became Senior Partner, a post held for 42 years until his retirement from the partnership in 1991.  On retirement he took up a consultancy with the firm and remained active as a Solicitor until 2003. He was on the Roll of Solicitors for 56 years and in 2000 held the record for being the longest Notary Public in England and Wales.

At his prime Mr Tom's client list read like a Who's Who of the local business community; it included ship owners, trawler companies, landowners, farmers and business people to whom he was known as a trusted advisor and confidante. Mr Tom knew that only the highest standards of personal integrity, legal business advice together with client service could keep his firm at the forefront of the local legal scene, a message he never tired of hammering home. He also found time to carry out public service work for the city which was recognised with the award of an OBE in 1986.

Major expansion

The period from 1949 to 1980 saw many changes. Rodney Jackson became a partner in 1964 and Ian Davis in 1969. Rodney acted for many of the top insurance companies and had a fierce reputation as a litigator; he headed the Litigation Department for 22 years, latterly sitting as a District Judge. In the mid 1970s Ian set up the firm's Commercial Property (now Real Estate) Department  acting for  companies such as MFI, and ABP. This became the firm's largest department as it remains today.  

In 1980 Bill Fisher and Silas Taylor became partners and later the same year the firm amalgamated with Frankish, Iveson & Son  based in Driffield. This introduced further partners, namely Martin Whitehead, Roger Iveson, Gerald Gordon and Bob Gunby. Martin went on to become joint senior partner with Silas Taylor.

In 1982 the partners decided to effect a change in tradition by moving the firm's account from the Bank of England where it had been since 1892, to one of the major clearing banks.

In 1983, we opened a new office in Grimsby, and Rob Penrose joined the firm working in that office. Rob went on to run the office, and became managing partner in 2003.

In 1995, the firm re-evaluated its position, and closed its offices in Driffield and Grimsby. In a changing marketplace, we reopened an office in Grimsby in 2010.

In the 1990s and 2000s, the firm expanded and became the leading firm in Hull and East Yorkshire.

The future

The firm has remained faithful to its values of being a trusted advisor and acting with integrity. It continues to provide first-class legal services to private individuals and businesses not only in the region, but nationally and internationally.

The firm's plans for the future centre on delivering quality and value, and further specialisation in the region's businesses including food, transport and logistics, ports, and new industries such as renewables and digital gaming and entertainment.

Since 2010 we have had an office in Grimsby, started offering online legal services and we also provide a wealth of legal information and resources at no cost online.

In February 2013 we moved to prestigious new offices at Marina Court in Hull.

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