Pettyfogging to respectability : a history of the development of the profession of solicitor in the Manchester area, 1800-1914

The thesis presents a social history of the development of solicitors as a professionalgroup in Manchester during the period 1800-1914. This is the first work on thehistory of Manchester solicitors and one of the few histories of the profession outsideLondon. It is based on primary source material which has not previously beensubject to investigation. The study explores the development of solicitors throughthe period by examining their reaction to the pressures imposed by an increasinglyindustrial and urbanizing society. It considers the importance of the role ofprovincial solicitors in the development of the profession nationally and the partManchester solicitors played in this development. The relationship between Manchestersolicitors and the community and their place in the local societal structure isalso examined