History
Our roots go back to the 18th century. One of the founders, in 1770, of the Bristol Law Society (the oldest in the country) was Daniel Burges, and his son went on to become City Solicitor (from 1822) and Town Clerk, practising in partnership with William Brice. His grandson, Edward Burges, qualified as solicitor in 1837 and founded the firm as sole practitioner in 1841, in a building a few streets away from our current site.
On our Founder's death in 1890 the practice was continued by his son W.E Parry Burges, and a partnership resulting in the name becoming Burges & Sloan. Mr Sloan was infamously anti-feminist, writing "..ladies are not desirable or business like on committees…shirking the necessity of decision on critical social questions." He would have been appalled at the thought of female partners!
Between 1897 and 1962 the firm was based in Marsh Street, and changed name several times. In the twenties, new partner Wilfred Scammell wrote The Law of Agricultural Holdings  and brought national recognition for the firm's agricultural practice. Now a work bearing the names Scammell and Densham, its ninth edition was published in 2007, written by current partner Peter Williams.
Mr Densham received a warning from the Law Society when his book was mentioned in an episode of The Archers, in a time when advertising was forbidden.
In 1946 the firm lost its longest-serving member of staff, Edwin Light Wyatt, who served for an unbroken record of 80 years. A letter from King George VI congratulating him on his record hangs in our reception.
In 1947 the partnership was joined by Stuart Evans, who was then practising alone as Salmon, Cumberland and Evans. The firm's move to Narrow Quay House in 1982 saw the shortening of the name to "Burges Salmon".
Many think our pink notepaper is a pun on "Salmon", but that name did not become part of the firm's title until 1947. The tradition is much older: we have examples of pink notepaper being used since 1878.