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London Metropolitan Archives

DRURY THURGOOD AND COMPANY and READS AND COMPANY


IDENTITY STATEMENT

Reference code(s): GB 0074 CLC/B/070

Held at: London Metropolitan Archives

Title: DRURY THURGOOD AND COMPANY and READS AND COMPANY

Date(s): 1926-1985

Level of description: Collection

Extent: 21 production units (Drury Thurgood) and 29 production units (Reads and Company).

Name of creator(s): Drury Thurgood and Co | chartered accountants
Reads and Co | chartered accountants

CONTEXT

Administrative/Biographical history:

In 1878 Harry Voce Thurgood started working as a clerk with James Waddell and Company in Queen Victoria Street, London. He left in 1883 and a year later joined the firm of Drury and Elliott, 11 Queen Street. In 1897 he started to practise in his own name, but by 1899, after the death of Elliott, he had joined Frank Drury as a partner. He carried on the practice as Drury, Thurgood and Company after Drury's retirement in 1901. The name of the firm has remained unchanged since then, except from 1909 until 1918 when it was known as Drury, Thurgood, Hatfield and Company. For many years the firm acted for several tea and rubber companies as the natural successor to James Waddell and Company and Drury and Elliott.

The firm took offices in Dashwood House at 69 Old Broad Street during the Second World War after its offices in Queen Victoria Street were bombed. The firm moved to Leith House at 47 Gresham Street upon merging with Reads, Cocke and Watson, later Reads &Company, in 1964. It practised from 71 Mark Lane, London from 1987 until 1994. The combined firm continued to practise under the names of both Reads and Company and Drury, Thurgood and Company until 1994 when Reads & Company merged with Grant Thornton.

Reads and Co was founded in 1869 by George Norton Read who set up practice at 3 Milk Street as G.N. Read and Company. By 1971 he had taken a partner, William Dangerfield, and the name was changed to Read and Dangerfield. The firm was subsequently restyled: Read, Dangerfield and Smith (1872); G.N. Read, Smith and Company (1876); G.N. Read Son and Company (1878); G.N. Read, Son, Cocke and Watson (1921); and Reads, Cocke and Watson (1927). Offices were opened in Guernsey in 1900; Bristol in 1904; Newfoundland, Canada in 1905; and Jersey in 1928. In 1964 the firm merged with Drury, Thurgood and Company. The name Reads and Company was adopted in 1969. There was a further merger in 1971 with the firm of Thomas Theobald and Son. The combined firm continued to practise under the names of both Reads & Company and Drury, Thurgood and Company. In 1987 the Guernsey and Jersey offices became independent of the London firm. Reads and Company merged with Grant Thornton in 1994.

The firm moved to 51 Queen Street in 1872, and then successively to 49 Queen Victoria Street in 1882, 44 Gresham Street in 1898 and 47 Gresham Street in 1927. In 1940 the offices were damaged by a bomb and the firm moved temporarily to Friars House, New Broad Street with such records as could be salvaged. The firm moved to 71 Mark Lane in 1987 and remained there until 1994.

CONTENT

Scope and content/abstract:

Records of Drury Thurgood and Company, chartered accountants. The records entirely comprise financial records, including private ledgers, 1926-71 (Ms 29896) and clients ledgers, 1936-85 (Ms 29898).

Records of chartered accountants Reads and Company, entirely comprising financial records, including private and expense ledgers, 1924-69 (Ms 29901), clients ledgers, 1929-85 (Ms 29902) and salaries books, 1918-45 (Mss 29913-14). The earliest record is a dividend book, relating to the debts of businesses in liquidation and bankrupts, which dates from 1905 until 1954 (Ms 29910). Most of these records are indexed.

ACCESS AND USE

Language/scripts of material: English

System of arrangement:

CLC/B/070-01: Drury Thurgood and Co; CLC/B/070-02: Reads and Co.

Conditions governing access:

Access by appointment only. Please contact staff.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copyright to this collection rests with the City of London.

Finding aids:

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

ARCHIVAL INFORMATION

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Drury Thurgood records were donated to the Manuscripts Section of Guildhall Library, together with those of Reads and Company, on 10 November 1994.

ALLIED MATERIALS

DESCRIPTION NOTES Rules or conventions: Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions: November 2010 to January 2011.


INDEX ENTRIES
Subjects
Accountants | Business people | People by occupation | People
Business records | Documents | Information sources
Financial records | Documents | Information sources

Personal names

Corporate names
Drury Thurgood and Co | chartered accountants
Reads and Co | chartered accountants

Places
City of London | London | England | UK | Western Europe | Europe