The period 1861 to 1976 is marked by initial rapid
change followed by a long period of consolidation.
When Henry Kirke Hebb took over the running of the firm in 1861 the character
of the firm changed substantially. The Bromeheads and their firm had been part
of the "county". Hebb was a man of the City of Lincoln. His father, also a solicitor,
had been mayor. He was to serve as a councillor and then as deputy town clerk
and clerk to the urban sanitary authority. One of the peculiarities of Lincoln
Corporation was that the deputy town clerk's office was far busier than that
of the town clerk.
Hebbs relocation of the downhill to St Peter's Churchyard in Silver Street must
have been a positive act to bring the practice to the commercial heart of the
city as the James Street premises were retained and let.
Lincoln was turning into an industrial and commercial city and Hebb was a part
of this. He became chairman of the Lincoln and Lindsey Bank (now HSBC) and other
important local businesses as well as a director of Royal Insurance.
The character of the work changed. No longer was probate the staple diet. Property
work of all kinds becomes much more significant. The surviving records do not
show how much litigation the firm undertook but in 1867 Hebb himself was a party
to an important case in contract law which is still referred to in textbooks.
Not every cause that Hebb took up was successful. On behalf of Lincoln Corporation
he tried to persuade the Government to do something about the level crossings
across Lincoln High Street. His successors at the City Council are still wrestling
with this problem.
He also became involved in Church controversy. In 1885 he attempted to have the
Precentor of the Cathedral punished in the ecclesiastical courts. The attempt
failed because the Archbishop of Canterbury, who knew Hebb, would not allow the
prosecution to proceed. This led directly to the prosecution of the Bishop of
Lincoln which did not need the Archbishop's consent. However, we have not been
able to trace any involvement by Hebb in this later prosecution.
Hebb died in 1902, a very wealthy man, at his home Coldbath House. The house
was bombed in World War II and the coronation garden in the arboretum stands
on the site. He had no children but his nephews and nieces paid for the restoration
of the tower of St Mary-le-Wigford Church as his memorial. A plaque in the church
records this.
Hebb left the practice to his nephew George Reginald Sills. Although Sills held
some public appointments he did not play the prominent part in local life that
his uncle had.
The firm settled into a long stable period. The phrase "a traditional solicitors'
practice" conjures up a certain image in the mind's eye of most people. For most
of the twentieth century Hebb & Sills and later Sills & Betteridge did not disappoint
that expectation. Although a full range of services was offered to clients, conveyancing
was the largest area of work. The firm was no longer at the centre of the commercial
life of Lincoln. The firm did become associated with the criminal justice system
as clerk to various magistrates benches.
G R Sills took his son Michael into partnership in 1937 but Michael died in the
war.
At the beginning of 1948 G R Sills entered into partnership with the newly qualified
Roger Betteridge. It was not the easiest of positions. Mr Sills had a reputation
for being difficult and Mr Betteridge was new to Lincoln. The partnership was
not to last as Mr Sills died before the end of the year. Mr Betteridge continued
as a sole practitioner until 1976. He was not however unaided. For many years
he was assisted by Vic Wilkinson whose connection with the firm started in 1935
and Gordon Oliver who went on to found his own firm. Mr Betteridge also took
articled clerks and trained the next generation of solicitors. One of these,
Roger Wallis, was to return and take over the firm.
Mr Betteridge enjoys an active retirement and has been presented with a certificate
by the Law Society to mark 50 years as a solicitor.
MORE HISTORY :-
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