In 1837, Queen Victoria’s long reign had just begun, a patent was filed for the electric telegraph, London’s first mainline station, Euston, was opened and a new colony in Australia was named after the UK Prime Minister, Melbourne.

People were beginning to hear about child poverty in Charles Dickens’ acclaimed Oliver Twist. Like so many accountants, Begbie’s work was often concerned with the Court of Bankruptcy.

In the practice, Begbie was later joined by the stepson of a business friend, George Robinson, who became a partner in 1855. George was a founder member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England which was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1880.

The firm has had a number of prominent, progressive clients including The Illustrated London News, The Illustrated Times and the Penny Illustrated Paper. Begbies began working with a firm of solicitors in Gray’s Inn, London in the mid-1850’s and is still with them today.

The firm has changed greatly over the years and whilst many similarly sized practices have been taken over, Begbies has remained firmly independent and the name of the founder has been retained through all the partnership changes.

We are immensely proud of our heritage but are also focused on the challenges and opportunities of the future.

For a detailed history of Begbies first 100 years we have made available a PDF download of the book ‘A Hundred Years of Accountancy’ which was published to mark the firm’s centenary in 1937.