One hundred years and counting ...

The origins of Barnes Roffe date back to August 1, 1899, when a London accountant named William Henry Barnes founded a practice from an office in Copthall Avenue off Moorgate in the City.

He was joined in 1919 by Samuel Sassienie, the firm’s first articled clerk whose articles were signed by a Mr G R McEwen. He came 33rd out of 521 candidates in his intermediate exam and passed his final in May 1924.

William Barnes’ son, Frank William, entered the practice in 1925 when he was articled to Sam Sassienie.

By the 1940s the firm had moved to Coleman Street and there were two employees including a Mr Samuels. Next to join, in 1942, were trainees Stan Elgar and Dennis Turner who arrived soon after the Blitz which both Mr Elgar and Sam Sassienie’s son, Neville, recall as having destroyed the area between the office and St Paul’s Cathedral.

“The whole of the intermediate space had been flattened by the Blitz — it was desolate,” Neville said. “Our office was the nearest building to the cathedral left standing. It was quite amazing really.”

Both Stan and Dennis left to join the Navy in 1943 and returned in 1947 when they started studying during what was a time of rapid expansion for the firm. They passed their exams at the same time, with Dennis in 11th place. He subsequently left to join the John Laing construction firm at Mill Hill and eventually became its deputy chairman.

Another clerk called Vic Lewin joined just after the war and left soon after qualifying in 1950 — the same year that Neville Sassienie joined the firm along with Michael Brown and Edgar Wadley. Lewin and Brown later started their own business.

Neville was articled to Frank Barnes and recalls that by that time his father was doing a lot of the technical work while Frank had the contacts which were very valuable in bringing in new clients and work. Neville’s father died while he was still articled: “I had to buy into the business which was strange when my father had done so much of the work in building it up,” Neville said.

William and Frank Barnes offered Stan a partnership to stop him leaving even though he was only 25 and had been qualified for just a year.

Stan stayed with the firm until 1970, having been senior partner since 1965. By the time he left, the three original partners had died — William Barnes in 1947, Sam Sassienie in 1953 and Frank Barnes in 1965. Frank, who had been senior partner since the end of the war, had gone into semi-retirement so he could pursue his sporting interests and ambitions — he was a very good cricketer and golfer and would go away for months at a time to play in major golf tournaments in the United States and South Africa. His golfing connections proved a very good source of business for the firm.

The practice had moved in 1962 to 24 Bedford Row, Holborn — having been for some time at 22 Queen Anne Street where it shared a building with a firm of solicitors.

Meanwhile Stan Elgar had been replaced as a partner by Roy Rich who worked alongside fellow partners Neville Sassenie (a partner since 1957) and Donald Dooley who had been with the practice since 1948.

The next major change came soon after with a joint working arrangement which led to the creation of Barnes Roffe in 1973.

Roffe Swayne had been founded by Henry John Roffe in about 1931 and had offices in Godalming, Haslemere and Lincolns Inn Fields. When partner John Wakeham (now Lord Wakeham) left with his staff and clients, the other partners — Henry Roffe’s son, John Roffe, Gerald Elliott (one day), and Gerald Bartlett — moved with their staff into the top floor at 24 Bedford Row.

After about two years, Roffe Swayne merged its London practice with W H Barnes, forming Barnes Roffe with John Roffe joining the Barnes Roffe partners but remaining as a partner of the Surrey- based Roffe Swayne practice. The arrangement lasted until 1987 when John Roffe left the London practice.

With Neville Sassienie at the helm, the practice had opened a second office at Walthamstow in 1978. This was headed by Peter Bonnell who had joined the firm as personal assistant to one of the partners at Holborn the previous year.

This office moved to bigger premises in Hoe Street four years later and to even larger premises in High Road, Leyton, in 1990 — the same year that the Dartford office opened.

Meanwhile the Uxbridge office had opened in 1985 at Highbridge House but a fire in April 1991 saw it move to the Brook Business Centre in November 1991 by which time it had reconstructed all its files thanks to the efforts of its staff. The Dartford office moved to bigger premises in the Copperfields centre in 1994. Two years later, the Holborn and East London offices merged at Leyton to provide an even better service for clients.

At the end of this period, Neville Sassieinie retired as senior partner. He was replaced in 1993 by Peter Bonnell under whose leadership the firm continued to expand and develop.

Barnes Roffe partners pictured at Neville Sassienie's retirement party in 1996