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History
Gross & Co traces its origins back to 1848 when Woolnough Gross was admitted to the roll of solicitors. In 1886 Woolnough's son, Charles was admitted to the roll, and Woolnough Gross & Son set up in partnership, in Bury St Edmunds.
In 1917 Arthur Chamberlayne joined the partnership, and the firm changed its name to Woolnough Gross Son & Chamberlayne.
From 1929, the firm had offices at 50 Abbeygate Street, Bury St Edmunds.
In 1965, the firm's name was shortened to Gross & Co.
In October 1981 Gross & Co moved to its present home, 83-84 Guildhall Street, Bury St Edmunds. The senior partner of Gross & Co at that time was John Knight; twice Mayor of Bury St Edmunds, who was a well known local personality.
Probate Manager, Alan Day, retired on 18 August 2005 after working at Gross & Co for 47 years.
Gross & Co In the Local Community
Our senior partner Graeme Kirk, was President of the Suffolk and North Essex Law Society in 2004-2005, and as a member of Bury St Edmunds Rotary Club, he plays an active role in the local community, particularly with charitable fund raising.
Managing Partner Nick Amor has a special interest in the medieval history of Suffolk and as a result, Gross & Co provides sponsorship to archaeological societies, and the history prize at the County Upper School in Bury St Edmunds.
Partner Elizabeth Hodder was formerly a member of the Management Committee of Bury St Edmunds Citizens' Advice Bureau. Elizabeth also previously sat on the Management Committee of the Women's Aid Refuge in Bury St Edmunds and been a Trustee of Relate (formerly Marriage Guidance Counselling).
Partner Gary De'Ath is a Director of Commissions East, which sponsors arts across the East of England. Gary donates his time to this organisation entirely free of charge and is strongly committed to the project.
The firm has maintained strong links within the local community throughout its existence. The partners' ethos is to contribute to the development of the local community in a number of ways, a few examples of which are:
Gross & Co participate in the rota operated by the Bury St Edmunds Citizens' Advice Bureau, under which clients can receive advice on certain areas of their legal affairs, entirely without charge.
We have strong links with the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds (www.theatreroyal.org) owned by the National Trust. We have agreed to make significant contributions to the capital refurbishment project of the Theatre. In order to continue to provide local theatre-goers with a wide variety of plays and musical evenings, often performed by local artistes, the Theatre Royal relies upon sponsorship. Gross & Co also sponsor a box in the Theatre itself.
We are very proud to provide significant financial support to the Theatre by sponsoring the Guildhall Lunchtime Concerts. We have sponsored the concerts for the last 5 years. These afford young and talented musicians (often from local backgrounds and schools) the opportunity to perform to appreciative audiences. They are extremely popular, and there is rarely an empty seat in the house.
We have provided additional sponsorship and financial support for a wide range of charities in recent years, including Cancer Research UK, Women's Aid, Bury St Edmunds Contact Centre and AYME (the Association of Young People suffering with ME).
Partners and staff have raised large sums of money over the years for their own chosen charities. In 2004 Elizabeth Hodder and Frances Cobbold raised over £1,000.00 for St Nicholas Hospice in Bury St Edmunds, when they undertook a sponsored skydive. In 2005 Elizabeth Hodder raised over £500 for Suffolk Family Carers by abseiling 145ft down a building in Ipswich. Every year since 2002, staff and partners have entered the Race for Life in support of Cancer Research UK. Other members of staff have taken part in the Great North Run in aid of charities of their own choosing. One member of staff ran the London Marathon in 2003, in aid of St Nicholas Hospice.
We support several local villages and parishes, by contributing valuable advertising revenue to their village magazines.
In 2005 and 2007 our Probate Department supported the St Nicholas Hospice Wills Week, preparing a large number of Wills for members of the public, provided entirely free of charge by Gross & Co. Wills Week 2005 generated a bequest to the Hospice of some £6,000.00 as a result.
We are currently devoting our front window space to supporting various local initiatives including Bury in Bloom and the refurbished Theatre Royal.
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