Cresswells notches up 125 years in business

ONE of Hebden Bridge’s longest-established firms is celebrating after notching up 125 years in business.

Cresswells accountants have been trading from premises on Market Street in Hebden Bridge since the 1880s, becoming an incorporated business in the summer of 1889 when Penny Farthings were still in use.

Since then, the firm has evolved from a provincial practice serving a handful of local traders to a 22-strong practice of chartered accountants with clients across the UK.

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Cresswells offers specialisms ranging from auditing and account management, taxation and payroll to equity extraction and succession planning.

Its client base includes farmers, property developers, retailers and standup comedians as well as renowned monster truck display team Big Pete, leading oil fuel suppliers Craggs Energy and the internationally recognised British documentary photographer and photojournalist Martin Parr.

Among Cresswells’ longest standing clients is Todmorden-based Bottoms Masonic Rooms Company which the firm has represented since its incorporation in 1925.

Over a history spanning in excess of 32,000 days of trading, the firm has witnessed many faces at its helm. Cresswells was founded in the 1880s by Richard Crabtree under the original name of R Crabtree & Sons.

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During the 20th century, the practice passed from his son, Cressweller, through a long line of family members, friends and associates.

The present team of partners comprises auditor Graham Roper, who joined the firm in 1996, taxation specialist Paul Vine (1998) and start-up expert John Dakin (2005). In recent years the firm has developed a growing reputation with clients in the medical sector.

Like many businesses, Cresswells fell victim to the devastating floods of 2012 but, after the clear up, the practice continued to thrive, joining other businesses in the town to welcome Stage 2 of the 2014 Tour de France earlier this year.

It is the only chartered accountants in Hebden Bridge.

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