Origins of Widdows Mason

Widdows Mason was established in Leigh, Lancashire in 1878 by Henry James Widdows.

Henry Widdows continued in practice with his son as H J Widdows & Son until the 1930s when he was joined by Eric Davis. In the 1940s the practice became known as 'Widdows Davis & Clegg' and in the 1960s 'Widdows Davis & Frankland'. The final change of name, to Widdows Mason, occurred in 1987 following a merger with Masons Solicitors of Bolton.

In the days of Henry Widdows the firm had operated from Bradshawgate Chambers in Leigh, subsequently moving to a suite of offices at Turnpike House in Market Street.

In 1996 the firm moved into a new half a million pound head office opposite the Bus Station at 18-20 King Street, Leigh. This building (which many will remember as the 'Leigh Stores') dates from 1840 and was originally the Police Station and Magistrates' Court, being used as Leigh's Town Hall from 1875 until the present Town Hall building was constructed in Market Street between 1904 and 1907.

The official opening of the new building was carried out by Robert Taylor of Taylor's Confectioners of Leigh, Widdows Mason's oldest clients, who had been with the firm since the 1920s.

Expansion and Growth

Over the years the firm grew in size, with the acquisition of several long-established local firms.  Bolton firm Masons joined in 1987, followed by Farnworth practice Martin and Co in 2000. Wigan and Hindley firm Campbells was acquired in 2001, Warrington and Runcorn firm Linakers in 2002, D Hampson & Co of Shevington in 2005 and E J Bamforth Solicitors of Chester in 2011.

The Future

We now operate from six offices across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, in Leigh, Wigan, Warrington, Chester, Westhoughton and Hindley.

While we are proud of our history and traditions, we believe our business has to be modern, innovative and forward-thinking to meet the needs of 21st Century clients, and have made substantial investments in state of the art computer and telephone equipment.

Widdows Mason are committed to helping people, committed to Legal Aid, and retaining a local presence.