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[1]Field and Sons, is the oldest independent estate agency in London, established in Southwark[2] in 1802[3]. For over 200 years the firm, founded by John Field, has monitored and helped to guide some of the most dramatic changes in the history of the Borough's property market. Contents [hide] •	1 Field & Sons - The Firm •	2 Business •	3 History of the Field Family •	4 A Brief History of 54 Borough High Street •	5 References •	6 External links

[edit] Field & Sons - The Firm In 1802 a year before the Battle of Trafalgar, John Field broke away from the long established family undertaking business to found "Field & Sons, Chattells Auctioneers & Commercial Estate Agents[4]" in Union Street. Much later the funeral business moved to East Grinstead and became The Great Southern Cemetery & Crematorium[5] which was recently sold to an American company for tens of millions of pounds. In 1875 the Firm moved into 54 Borough High Street, renovating and refitting the interior; This restoration accounts for the Dickensian character of the present building. In the age when staff could be fired for not wearing a bowler hat (invented in 1849 by Thomas and William Bowler of Southwark Street, and used originally in the profession as a safety precaution on building sites). The notice at the entrance of No.54 still invites visitors to "kindly wipe your boots". In 1964, Charles Duncan Field joined his father in the Firm. Charles has been the sole principal at Field & Sons since 1969. For over a century the main office remains working at 54 Borough High Street; [edit] Business Field & Sons have witnessed the coming of the railway, the great Tooley Street fire of 1861, the slum clearance of thousands of artisan homes, two World Wars, the demise of the docks as "London's Larder" and now the Jubilee Line extension works and the regeneration of the Borough. [6]Throughout all of the events it has been the role of Field & Sons to assess damage of and fight for compensation on behalf of long suffering clients, to press for socially acceptable changes in the law, to reduce the burden of business rates, to relocate businesses and sometimes rehouse those who have lost their homes. When Britain joined the EEC, Field & Sons were asked to find new uses for defunct premises[7]. (This is how the old fat-lined bacon curing ovens became the indoor home of the Bermondsey Antiques Market). In 1987 when the Town & Country Planning Act (use classes order) was implemented, Field & Sons advised on the inevitable conversion of factories to offices. Today, attention has turned to the conversion of obseolete warehouses and offices to residential us. To keep pace with these changes and to ensure that commercial clients have a voice, Charles Duncan Field became a Parliamentary Agent, submitting petitions and making representations to the House of Lords and Commons. A watchful eye is also kept on the interests of the many individual clients whose one-off property investments Field & Sons still manage[8]. Field & Sons is a member of The Property Ombudsman [9] and are recommended commercial agents by Southwark Council[10]. [edit] History of the Field Family Because of the Field family's assiciation with the funeral business[11], John Field was a liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Coach & Harness makers and a Freeman of the City of London. A tradition that has continued through six generations, Charles Dyer Field was a Master of the Worshipful Company of Coach & Harness makers in 1879[12] followed by Charles Roland Field in 1920. The Field family were always active in their efforts to improve life for local people, whilst still living in the appalling conditions which Charles Dickens had experienced when he lodged in Lant Street in 1824[13], during his father's stay in the Marshalsea Prison. In the late 19th century, the Fields were directors of the Surrey Dispensary, thus supporting the work of the philanthropist Dr Alfred Salter, who dedicated his life to helping the poor in Bermondsey. This provided free medical help for the poor, until the arrival of the National Health Service, following which the premises were sold through Field & Sons and later re-aquired for the late Sam Wanamaker[14] as his first base in London. Charles and his son James F. Field (great grandfather of the present Principal, Charles Duncan Field) were wardens of the Newcomen Charity School, founded in the late 17th century by Mrs Elizabeth Newcomen[15]. Charles and James were also Wardens of the Great Account in Southwark Cathedral. A window was donated by public subscription to their memory for services to the Cathedral and the community. [edit] A Brief History of 54 Borough High Street [16]In 1599, when the first Globe Theatre was opened, the timber-framed building now occupied by Field & Sons was already 20 years old. Shakespeare himself was a regular visitor to Borough High Street, home of his friend John Harvard (founder of Harvard University). The premises overlooked what was then London’s busiest, most congested thoroughfare, where shops, ale houses and brothels served and entertained a transient population of many thousand grid locked travellers and merchants waiting to cross into the City. By 1600, the present “No.54” had become a minor “stew” catering for the rejects from the nearby Madame Britannica Hollandia’s royally patronised establishment which claimed to be “The best run whorehouse in “England”. In 1676, the building was one of the few to escape the fire which destroyed most of North Southwark[17] Some time during the 18th century it became “The Hen & Chickens”, a coffee house, familiar to such celebrated locals as Mrs Thrale, Dr Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith. Poet John Keats was also a student at Guy’s and a regular visitor. [18]In 1875,Henry Wainwright, brother of the then tenant Thomas Wainwright ironmonger, brought the dismembered body of his mistress from Whitechapel[19] by cab, to bury it in the cellar of the recently vacated property[20]. He was arrested whilst attempting to break-in and was later hanged at Newgate Prison. Perhaps this affected the price at which the Field Family bought the building in 1875! It is speculation whether the grey lady, who appears on the stairway from time to time, is the dead girl or another unhappy spirit. In the years that followed, the office has remained largely unchanged whilst witnessing the metamorphis of Borough High Street from a predominantly working class enclave supporting the Docklands industry, to a thriving community recently identified, with the emergence of The Shard, as London’s third business quarter. Although the company now boasts four offices, Borough High Street remains its flagship office housing not only Residential Sales and Lettings teams, but also Property Management, Accounts and its original occupier, Field & Sons Commercial." [edit] References 2.	^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~genmaps/genfiles/COU_files/ENG/LON/creighton_southwark_1830.html 4.	^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fpc3AQAAIAAJ&q=%22Field+%26+Sons+auctioneers%22&dq=%22Field+%26+Sons+auctioneers%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=P6U7T46iKcbM0QWe5vhs&sqi=2&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAA "Law and practice of rating and assessment: a handbook for overseers, members of assessment committees, surveyors, valuers, and other interested in rating and valuation, Crosby Lockwood and Son, 1923 5.	^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=tkLPAAAAIAAJ&q=southern+crematoriums+east+grinstead&dq=southern+crematoriums+east+grinstead&hl=en&sa=X&ei=gYw7T-3VK8Gn0QX4tqVs&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAg "Who owns whom: United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland, Dun & Bradstreet Ltd., 1984, page 262" 6.	^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=7ZxDT8SQKM7A8QOaiMSmCA&id=VsUyAAAAIAAJ&dq=54+borough+high+street&q=charles+roland+field see "exceprt from 1929 Estates Gazette" 7.	^ http://www.ideal-homes.org.uk/southwark/assets/galleries/borough/borough-high-street-1926 8.	^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=9LJLAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Field+and+Sons%22&dq=%22Field+and+Sons%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=wOc7T4D2K-TT0QWb04Vt&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAzhQ The Investors Review, Volume 1, Morecross, 1898 9.	^ http://www.tpos.co.uk/ see "The Property Ombudsman" 10.	^ http://www.southwark.gov.uk/info/200006/arts_in_southwark/2229/project_support see "Find Premises" 11.	^ http://www.cpjfield.co.uk/index.php/about_us/ 12.	^ http://www.coachmakers.co.uk/court-committees/masters-of-the-company/ 13.	^ http://www.londoncabtours.co.uk/dickens-london-homes.htm see "1824" 14.	^ http://globe-theatre.org.uk/sam-wanamaker.htm 15.	^ http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/a2a/records.aspx?cat=074-anwc&cid=0#0 17.	^ http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_bafTMlsMNoC&pg=PA359&lpg=PA359&dq=1676+fire+which+destroyed+most+of+North+Southwark&source=bl&ots=b0iNJ7zvzb&sig=CUwjCXDBYstygaNmiQwsuS8cwKc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KkU4T8DfIeXK0QWZr8ykAg&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=The%20Fire%20of%20Southwark%20in%201676&f=false The Gentleman's magazine, Volume 168, page 359 18.	^ http://www.victorianlondon.org/crime/harrietlane.htm 19.	^ http://www.jtrforums.com/showthread.php?t=12939 20.	^ http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/browse.jsp?id=t18751122-1&div=t18751122-1&terms=Uterus#highlight [edit] External links •	http://www.tpos.co.uk/ •	http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_bafTMlsMNoC&pg=PA359&lpg=PA359&dq=1676+fire+which+destroyed+most+of+North+Southwark&source=bl&ots=b0iNJ7zvzb&sig=CUwjCXDBYstygaNmiQwsuS8cwKc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KkU4T8DfIeXK0QWZr8ykAg&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBQ#v=onepage&q=The%20Fire%20of%20Southwark%20in%201676&f=false http://www.victorianlondon.org/crime/harrietlane.htm