| Description | The collection consists of major and minor client papers from Lee Crowder & Co. and its antecedent organisations (Messrs. Lee & Corrie, Lee, Son & Hunt, Lee, Pinson & Best, Griffiths & Bloxham, Bloxham, Smythe Etches & Co.). It includes deeds, wills, correspondence and other papers.
There is no extant information about the original order of the collection so it is arranged in six artificial series which reflect different accessions.
MS 3375/1 includes early deposits and is subdivided into MS 3375/1/1, miscellaneous bundles of minor client papers, and MS 3375/1/2-55, papers of various major clients. Material in MS 3375/1 was originally listed as the Lee Crowder collection (part) and has finding numbers beginning LEE CROWDER.
MS 3375/2 contains deeds and other papers from Smythe Etches & Co. Material in MS 3375/2 was originally catalogued as part of the deeds volume sequence of the Reference Library and has finding numbers beginning DV.
MS 3375/3 consists of a small accession of deeds relating to property in Ashted Row. Material in MS 3375/3 was originally catalogued as part of the deeds volume sequence of the Reference Library and has finding numbers beginning DV.
MS 3375/4 consists of deeds and other documents relating to Yardley and Birmingham. Material in MS 3375/4 was originally catalogued as part of the deeds volume sequence of the Reference Library and has finding numbers beginning DV.
MS 3375/5 consists of a small accession of plans and documents relating to Birmingham (mainly Handsworth). The original 6-figure accession numbers are used as finding numbers for the plans in this series.
MS 3375/6 consists of a small accession of material relating to the Colmore Estate. It was listed as the Lee Crowder collection (part) and has finding numbers beginning LEE CROWDER. |
| AdminHistory | The solicitor's practice Lee Crowder & Co. was formed in 1934 through the merger of Lee & Arthur Smith (a firm which had originated with Thomas Eyre Lee in 1760) and Smythe Etches & Co. (which was then owned by John Crowder and had previously been owned by his father and grandfather).
Lee Crowder merged with Cobbetts in 2004. The company went into administration in 2013 and the bulk of its assets were acquired by Manchester-based law firm DWF. |