A brief history of the firm
Awdry Bailey and Douglas is proud to be able to trace its history back to approximately 1750 by way of an unbroken series of partnerships based in Devizes from around that time. The firm’s original founder was William Salmon who started his professional life as a young Attorney in Devizes around 1750. It was his son William Salmon the Second, the so called “King of Devizes” who continued the legal practice and became owner of much of Devizes Castle and co-founded Devizes’ first bank, situated in St John’s Street close to the firm’s first legal premises. Both William Salmons successively served as Town Clerk and Solicitor to the Borough of Devizes and the legal firm and the early bank in St John’s Street remained closely linked. The firm’s first most notable client was probably Henry Addington, the 1st Viscount Sidmouth, who later became Prime MInister from 1801-1804.
The third Salmon to run the Devizes law firm, William Wroughton Salmon, later sold the Castle to his banking partner, Thomas Tylee, and moved to London in 1828. The law firm was left to his two partners, William Edward Tugwell and Alexander Grant Meek. In 1865 those partners were joined by Joseph Jackson and for almost 90 years that followed the firm had at least one partner from the Jackson family.
Moving to the twentieth century, it was Henry Godwin Awdry, father of our present senior partner, Tony Awdry, who effectively commenced modernisation of the 200-year old legal firm and gave it its present form. Henry Awdry had started in legal practice in Chippenham with his cousin Daniel but began to assist with the legal practice in St John’s Street Devizes, then known as Jackson & Jackson, at the rear of No 33. This was in 1948 and Henry Awdry joined the Devizes firm as a partner the following year. When Guy Jackson died in 1953 Henry Awdry’s move to the Devizes firm became full time.
Up to that time the firm had a long standing licence, negotiated by “King” Salmon as long ago as 1783 to act as a Stamping Office for tax documents, as can be evidenced by the number of pigeon holes and safes in various rooms of the Devizes premises to this day.
Thus, for most of its history over a period of more than 250 years the firm has been dominated by three families, the Salmons, Jacksons and Awdrys, and in recent years has expanded to open offices in Calne, Royal Wootton Bassett and Marlborough.
To view our more detailed history of the firm and our offices, please click here.
