HISTORY

The firm goes back in its roots to the late 1800’s.  At that time, it was known as Bingham Hall and Richie.  The successor firm was JP Worsnup who is the real founder of what is now known as Temperley Taylor.

He was a sole practitioner who started in business on Long Street (the old offices as they are known) on 1st January 1924.

Legal practice was very different in those days.  For instance, when selling and buying a house the transaction could be completed within a day; the solicitor could act for both parties and there was no need for searches, land registration etc.  This all changed in 1925 under the statutory regulation which was brought in for the registration of land and transactions.  Life was very different after then although by no means at the current pace.

In the old offices, i.e. Long Street, there was HM Collector of Taxes and a Stockbroker.  Mr George Temperley joined the firm as the youngest person to qualify in the country and he went into partnership with Mr Worsnup in 1935.

In 1940 Mr Temperley had to join the RAF and served with distinction in England, Scotland and India.  On his discharge, he was a Squadron Leader.  Sadly, he died many years ago.

During the war Mr Worsnup kept the firm going with the able assistance of Mrs Alice Temperley, wife of George.

Shortly after the war Mr Worsnup retired and lived to the age of 90. 

In 1957 the firm took on its present name when Eric Taylor, who had been an Assistant Solicitor, became a Partner.  Eric Taylor went on to expand the practice, he became a member of the National Law Society and was one of the first solicitors to be made a Recorder, otherwise known as a part-time Judge.

In 1967 Kenneth Wilkinson came to the firm as a previous pupil of Eric Taylor’s who was also a lecturer at Manchester University.  The firm then became known as Temperley Taylor and Wilkinson.

In 1971 Philip Temperley, George’s son joined the practice and became a Partner in 1973.  His father retired in 1976 having completed over fifty years of service in the firm.

Also in the 1970’s Karen Street, daughter of former Professor Harry Street, also became a Partner.  With the arrival of all these new people the firm took on a completely different profile which in many ways was the foundation for its status in the Manchester legal market.

Kenneth Wilkinson left the firm in 1980 to become a District Judge, he thereafter was elevated to a Circuit Judge, ultimately he became the Designated Family Judge in Liverpool.

In 1981, the current Senior Partner, Alan Cryne, joined the firm and he came a Partner in 1983.  At that time the practice was a mixed bag and not the specialists that they currently are.  Alan Cryne, in the 90’s developed the child care practice which is the area of work the firm is primarily known for.  In 1990 the firm acquired premises in Heywood where Ian Mann became an additional Partner; he left the firm in 2016. 

In 2008 Andrew Berkley joined the firm and became a Partner in 2010.  He specialised also in children work and left the firm in 2012 to become a District Judge and in recent years has been elevated to a Circuit Judge based at the Civil Justice Centre in Manchester.

The current Partners of the firm are Alan Cryne and Rachel Early.  Rachel joined the firm as a child care specialist in 2008 and became a Partner in 2014.  She now Heads the Family Department.

Relocated our Manchester office to its present location, central to the Civil Justice Centre, to accommodate our expanding Family Law team.

Ian Mann left the firm.

Debbie Swientozielskyj joined the firm bringing her extensive experience and expertise in Family & Childcare Law to our Heywood office.

Invested extensively in our IT provision, migrating to a cloud-based server infrastructure and in doing so facilitated improved IT function and security.

Achieved Cyber Essentials + accreditation, the highest level of certification offered under the government backed Cyber Essentials scheme.