A PORTRAIT of Howes Percival’s founder Richard Howes has been gifted to the law firm by his great, great, great grandson,
Australian filmmaker Oliver Howes.
The portrait, which is thought to be around 250 years old, was shipped to the firm’s Norwich office last year from Sydney,
Australia, where it had been taken by Oliver’s father, John Howes, when he emigrated over 50 years ago.
Since its return to the UK, the painting has been cleaned by Michael Savage of Savage Fine Arts, a specialist restoration firm
based in Northamptonshire.
A PORTRAIT of Howes Percival’s founder Richard Howes has been gifted to the law firm by his great, great, great grandson,
Australian filmmaker Oliver Howes.
The portrait, which is thought to be around 250 years old, was shipped to the firm’s Norwich office last year from Sydney,
Australia, where it had been taken by Oliver’s father, John Howes, when he emigrated over 50 years ago.
Since its return to the UK, the painting has been cleaned by Michael Savage of Savage Fine Arts, a specialist restoration firm
based in Northamptonshire. After a long journey around the world, Richard Howes’ portrait has now found its final resting place
in the boardroom of Howes Percival’s Northampton office.
Richard Howes founded the law firm in Towcester in 1790. Although the Percival name did not feature in the name of the firm
for the first century or so, it was Richard’s granddaughter Mary Howes’ marriage to Dr. William Percival that first brought the
two families together. Mary and William’s son, Thomas Miers Percival joined the law practice founded by his great grandfather
and successive members of the Howes and Percival families remained partners in the firm until 2005 when Michael Percival, the
seventh generation of the two families to be a partner, retired.
Howes Percival’s senior partner, Andrew Barnes said: “At Howes Percival we are very proud of our long history and we are
truly thankful to Oliver Howes and his wife, Pat, for their generous gift. After careful consideration we have decided to hang the
restored portrait in Northampton, which is our nearest office to where Richard Howes established the firm at Towcester.
“In addition to receiving the portrait, we have been delighted to find out more about our founding father. By all accounts, Richard Howes was a fascinating character. As well as establishing a thriving law firm, he is believed to have written a book on the history of Northamptonshire and to have been actively involved in local politics and good works. He died at the age of 70 while visiting a poorhouse.
“Looking down from his position in our Northampton board room, I hope Richard Howes, like me, will be very proud of the firm today. Over the centuries, Howes Percival has grown from its historic base in Towcester into a full service commercial law firm with five offices in the UK, working across a wide range of sectors including energy, agriculture, leisure and tourism, development and construction, and retail. Our clients range from individuals and families to global businesses and government departments. While we remain very proud of our heritage, our sights are set firmly on the future and on continuing to develop our business on both the regional and national stage.”
Michael Percival, who retired as senior partner from Howes Percival in 2005 after 40 years with the firm said: “The Howes and Percival families have a rich heritage, between our two lines we can trace the succession of the firm through seven generations.
The gift of Richard Howes’ portrait to Howes Percival has really helped to bring this long history to life – I had previously seen a small photocopy of this painting, but to see the original is absolutely fantastic. And, I would like to echo Andrew’s thanks to Oliver and Pat Howes for their most generous gift, which I know the firm will cherish.”