200 Years of Serving the Community – The Brethertons story 1810 to 2010

In 2010 Brethertons LLP is looking forward to celebrating our 200th year in business. 

Our firm has been practising law for two hundred years, since 1810 when Count William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788-1853), a Bohemian nobleman, began his legal practice in Rugby, Warwickshire, aged 22 years.

Our firm’s history starts in 1810, a year when King George III was on the British throne and when Francisco de Goya painted his famous self-portrait; when composer Frederich Francois Chopin was born and it was five years before Napoleon’s defeat at The Battle of Waterloo.

Our firm’s founder, Count William Ferdinand Wratislaw, was the third son of Marc Wratislaw (1735-1796), and it is William that founded his solicitor practice in Rugby – the forerunner of today’s Brethertons LLP. 

The Wratislaw family history goes back further than this, as William’s father Marc Wratislaw was a Bohemian descendent of John Wenceslau Wratislaw von Mitrowitz (Count Wratislaw). The Count had supported Prince Eugene of Savoy Carignan to rally reinforcements to fight in The Battle of Blenheim in 1704 in which the Duke of Marlborough, John Churchill, and the allied forces won and the French surrendered.  The Battle was a turning point in the War of the Spanish Succession and Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire was built by the Crown as a gift to Marlborough to mark the importance of the success of the campaign.

John Wenceslau Wratislaw’s name might sound familiar as he was a descendent of “Good King Wenceslaus” or the Duke of Bohemia (907-935), who was the son of Wratislaus the First of Bohemia – Vratislaus I (888-912) and who had been a lawyer in his early years.  The lineage can be traced all the way back to Krok the Munificent (born 614AD) who founded the city of Krakow in Poland.

Most of the sons of the UK arm of the Wratislaw family have been educated at Rugby School and Oxford University, many have tutored or been past Masters at Rugby School like The Rev. Albert Joseph Wratislaw in 1809 (who lived in Clifton) and George Galbraldi Augustus Wratislaw in 1815, and many were trained as lawyers in the family firm:

• More about poet Theodore William Graf Wratislaw (1871-1933)
• More about Count William Ferdinand Wratislaw (1788-1853) 
• More about Marc Wratislaw (1735-1796)
• More about Good King Wenceslaus (907-935)

Charles Edward Wratislaw (1826-1861) and Theodore Marc Wratislaw (1831-1919) went on to become solicitors and continued the legal practice, then known as Wratislaw & Thompson.

It was Theodore’s second son, Marc Eugene T.G. Wratislaw (1879-1962) who took over the family practice.  The practice continued to grow and develop, as the town of Rugby has grown and developed before, during and after the war years, with Marc Eugene T.G. Wratislaw fighting in the Army and also receiving the Home Service Medal in World War I.  The firm has seen a few name changes since then:

• Wratislaw & Thomson 1860-1905  - Joined by Frank Thompson
• Wratislaw & Fuller  - By 1865 the firm was called Wratislaw & Fuller.  Frederick Fuller later dissolved his part of the partnership and his new firm became Frederick Fuller & Sons in Rugby.
• Wratislaw Dean & Bretherton - Re-named in 1928 - Marc Eugene T. Wratislaw and Charles Dean, of Pulman & Dean from Lutterworth (a firm acquired by Brethertons). Partners also included Arthur Augustus Bretherton, Bernard Crofts and Raymond Morris.
• Wratislaw Bretherton & Crofts - By 1933 the firm was called Wratislaw Bretherton & Crofts.
• Bretherton Crofts & Turpin  - By 1945 the firm was called Bretherton Crofts & Turpin, joined by Maurice Sherbrooke Turpin.
• Bretherton Turpin & Pell - Re-named in 1960 joined by Montague Noel Pell.  Richard Pell who is the senior partner at Brethertons LLP today, is the son of Montague Pell.  Partners included Richard Pell, Paul Smith, John Duffy, Tony Sutton, Christopher Pratt, Roderick Ross and Clifford Cooper.  This firm’s name continued until 1992.
• Brethertons  - The firm was re-named in April 1992.
• Brethertons - In 1995 Auld & Jardine, a Banbury firm, merged   with Brethertons.
• Brethertons LLP - Changed to LLP status in 2006.

Since 1900 there have been a few name changes of the firm and Brethertons was officially created under a single name in 1992.  In recent years, Brethertons has seen the most change, growing steadily and doubling in size in the past 10 years, introducing a strong corporate team providing advice and assistance to companies and directors, including a dedicated commercial property team.
In 1995, Rugby-based Brethertons merged with Banbury-based corporate commercial firm Auld & Jardine and this gave us a foothold into a second county, Oxfordshire, and further enhanced our commercial offering. Over half of the firm’s work is commercial in nature including litigation, commercial property and debt recovery.

The other half is advising individuals on private client matters including wealth planning, and family law.

The firm’s private client foundation is in the provision of quality legal advice to all sectors of the local community on issues affecting them. We have moved on from our historical roots of being the family trusted lawyer, but have still maintained complete focus on all round service delivery, whether this in times of bereavement or family discord, financial crisis accident or illness.

In Rugby and Banbury the firm has over many years had a well-respected, efficient client-friendly domestic conveyancing service
The firm adopted LLP status in 2006.

Brethertons LLP recognises the importance of our role in the communities we operate in.  We are proud of our legal roots and how the firm has continued through the ages, and how we have adapted and changed as the law itself has changed.  We are a firm that is passionate about our legal work for clients and our obligations to our community and we continue the charity-giving tradition started by Count Wratislaw.

Today, clients of the firm include well-known listed companies, owner-managed businesses, SMEs and individuals including, directors, accountants, IFAs, managers, those of high net worth and landowners.   Our firm has won many awards for client service, innovation and legal prowess and we are seen as ‘leading the field’ in the delivery of legal services using new methods of technology and online solutions.
It is all a far cry from 1810.