A brief history of Bagshaws

The well known local firm of Bagshaws, Chartered Surveyors, Auctioneers and Valuers has been established over 130 years. The firm was founded in 1871 when Thomas Beardmore, the Licensee of the Three Tuns Inn, Uttoxeter exhibited a notice in the Staffordshire Advertiser of December 23rd, 1871 which read:-

This was a year in which highest price ever recorded for a Christmas Fat cow was £31 15s 0d (£31.75) a notable price for the period.
Pork was selling at between 8s 6d (42.5p) and 9s 3p (46.25p) per score liveweight and beef were making from 6d (2.5p) to 8.5 d (3.54p) per lb.

The first sale conducted by Thomas Beardmore took place at Lowe Hill, Leek on 19th March, 1871 for a Mr W. Beardmore, presumably a relative.

On January 1st, 1886 Thomas Beardmore took into partnership William Stanford Bagshaw and the firms name changed to "Beardmore and Bagshaw". Mr W. S. Bagshaw, who had earlier been in business in his own right as a coal merchant, was a member of a family much to the fore in business in Uttoxeter for many years.

Ralph Bagshaw was a prominent solicitor and Clerk to the Justices and another relative, Edward Bagshaw, a leading grocer in the town.

For some years the firm carried on under the title "Beardmore and Bagshaw", although certainly by the early 1890's Mr W. S. Bagshaw was sole principle.

On January 1st, 1900 the firm changed its name to "W. S. Bagshaw & Son", when George Fletcher Bagshaw was taken into the partnership by his father. George Bagshaw's entry into the firm marked the commencement of the growth which has led to the business developing into one of the largest agricultural auctioneers and valuers in the midlands.

At the end of 1905 the name of the business was amended to "W.S Bagshaw & Sons" when Sidney Hall Bagshaw, along with a third brother, William Ramage Bagshaw, joined the partnership. The fourth brother, John Lionel "Jack" Bagshaw, some years the youngest in the family, did not become a partner until 1927.

Two sisters were also well known in the business; Miss Bertie Bagshaw (later Mrs Tams), who for many years ruled the main office at Uttoxeter as head cashier, and her sister, Mrs Sutherland who occupied a similar role at Ashbourne office from 1943 following her husband's death. Two other members of the family emigrated to Australia where they developed highly successful farming interests.

Mr W. S. Bagshaw became a member of the Auctioneers Institute in 1899, later serving as Chairman of the Midlands branch and he also served as Chairman of Uttoxeter Urban District Council. He died on December 25th, 1928 in his 80th year, surviving his wife by two years.

The four brothers continued the business, all being members of the Auctioneers Institute. Mr G. F. Bagshaw was awarded the M.B.E in the 1939 Honours List and Sidney Bagshaw was similarly honoured in 1951. Mr George Bagshaw was highly respected in farming circles throughout the Midlands and was prominent in the organisation of a number of Red Cross Sales at Uttoxeter during the War and served as County Chairman of the Auctioneers for Staffordshire during the Second World War. Sidney Bagshaw was very prominent in Derbyshire affairs and served many years as Justice of the Peace.

In 1953 a further change in the partnership took place when Dennis Stanford Bagshaw and Anthony Fletcher Bagshaw, the sons of W. R Bagshaw, joined the Partnership along with Mr Edgar Naylor. In 1959 Mr Neill Dance also became a partner.

Sidney Bagshaw died in 1954, W. R Bagshaw in 1956 and G. F Bagshaw in 1957 with J. L Bagshaw surviving until 1962. Mr Denis Bagshaw was also Managing Director of Alton Towers Ltd and he resigned from the partnership in 1962 to devote himself full time to the organisation of the expanding Alton Towers Ltd. enterprise.

In 1963 Messrs. Peter Appleby, Basil Sutton and Philip Binder became partners and at the end of 1966 Mr A. F. Bagshaw resigned, deciding to devote his energies to his other extensive business interests.

At the beginning of 1967 Messrs. Ian Naylor, G. M. "Greg" Gagie and Ian Lawton joined the partnership, the latter two now remaining as consultants. Mr Norman Tweddle joined in 1976 and is now the senior partner. He has been joined by 5 other partners namely Alastair Sneddon, Nigel Young, Nick Hansen, Mark Elliott and Malcolm Gale.

In 1995, the long established Lichfield based firm of Wintertons became part of the Bagshaws partnership and Tony Winterton has an active consultancy role. The Fine Arts Department have retained the well known name, trading as Wintertons Fine Arts.

Copyright © 1995–2007 Bagshaws.