History

The story of Nalders Solicitors begins in around 1783 when a young man called John James was in practice in Truro on King Street with a Mr Thomas.  If that year sounds familiar (to those knowledgeable in BBC period drama …), it is because 1783 is the same year Ross Poldark returned from fighting in the American Civil War to find his beloved Elizabeth has become engaged to his cousin.

Although he did not lead the tumultuous existence of Poldark, John James was a highly-respected member of the Truro community.  He and his wife Jane went on to have 12 children, and he died in 1819.  The Gazette said of his passing;

“He was a gentleman of high estimation in his profession and possessed a most amiable disposition, accompanied by suavity of manners, which justly endeared him to his friends and procured him the respect of all who knew him.”

Following John James’ death, the practice was continued successfully throughout the 1800s.

In 1890, Henry “Puffer” Hockin amalgamated the firm started by John James, nearly a century before, with a firm in Falmouth.  One of the partners was Frederick Nalder, whose name has been adopted by the firm ever since.  Frederick was born in 1845 and spent most of his working life practising law in Cornwall.  For many years, he was chairman of the governors of Falmouth Grammar School.  He was a man of remarkable vitality, who was once described as “…Cornwall’s oldest legal practitioner”.

Frederick’s son Gerald carried on the practice following his father’s death at age 83.

Those of us who work at Nalders Solicitors, as we are known today, are proud of our history and the part the firm has played in the shaping of Cornwall and the West Country.  We have always been progressive; Nalders was the first firm in the county to have a website.  But we draw strength, pride, and knowledge from those who have gone before us, who have shaped our firm into the lynchpin of the Cornish community it is today.