Speaker Meeting with partners, 6.45 for 7pm

The speaker at this meeting was Rotarian Jeremy Holt a member of the Rotary Club of Swindon.  Before his retirement, Jeremy was a solicitor with an office in the Town centre.

His talk, A Lawyer 250 Years Ago, was based on snippets of information drawn from bills submitted by an attorney’s practice between 1789 and 1797.   Lawyers are required to keep copies of their invoices and there being no photocopiers or computers two and a half centuries ago, clerks had to write duplicates by hand using pen and ink.  The copies Jeremy had in his hands were bound together as a book, a book given to him a few years ago by a friend who had been tasked with the clearance of an office.  Rather than throwing it away, the friend wondered whether Jeremy would like it.  Thankfully, a valuable item of British history had been saved and, remarkably, the ink has not faded at all.

Jeremy set the scene in Britain during that period. George III was on the throne; he reigned from 1760 for 60 years becoming the longest reigning monarch up to that time.  The Country was predominantly agricultural, but 1792 was the last year in which Britain had a surplus of wheat to export.   A welfare system was in place, and had been since Elizabeth I’s time.  It was the individual parishes which had the responsibility of administering it.

It was the height of canal building, railways and steam engines were still some years to come. The fastest way to travel was by stagecoach, mainly on turnpike roads.  Notable events of the era included Britain’s loss of America, the mutiny on the Bounty and the French Revolution.   Income tax was introduced—intended as a temporary measure—and £1 NOTES started to replace gold sovereigns.

Using the book of bills, Jeremy read out several interesting examples to illustrate the type of legal work undertaken in the late 18th century.  In those days, solicitors were known as attorneys. The typical cost of engaging an attorney was £2 per day, plus £1 a day for his clerk (approximately £400 and £200 in today’s money).

Members thanked Jeremy for a fascinating and informative presentation which offered a vivid insight into legal practice and everyday life at the end of the 1700s.

In the pictures: The Book of Bills; our speaker with President Robin; and also with visiting Rotarian, Tobias Frenzi, a member of our Twin Club, the Rotary Club of Inglostadt-Kreuztor.