Raworths LLP. Founded by Edwin Raworth in 1887 and trading at Eton House on Station Parade, opposite the Harrogate mainline station. Today led by Managing Partner Simon Morris, with Senior Partner Rachel Tunnicliffe at the head of Private Client Services. Four practice areas, eight department heads, one single Harrogate office by design. Band 1 in Chambers UK 2026 for Corporate & Commercial, Employment, Family, and Trusts, Wills & Estates. Band 1 in Chambers HNW 2026 and Band 1 in Legal 500 2026 for TWE, with 19 individual lawyers named across the Legal 500 guide.
Lit Fest13 years sponsoring Harrogate’s literature festival
Managing PartnerSimon MorrisManaging Partner · Corporate & CommercialQualified 1999 · Managing Partner since 1 April 2022
“Great client rapport. Measured, calm and authoritative.” Chambers UK 2026
139years in Harrogate, on Station Parade
Band 1 × 4Chambers UK 2026: Corporate, Employment, Family, TWE
19 namedLawyers in the Legal 500 UK 2026
HG1 1HFOpposite the mainline station, 4 min to Bettys
Four practice areas, eight department heads
Specialist commercial and private client lawyers, under one Harrogate roof.
The firm divides its work into four areas, each headed by a named partner. Specialist work that elsewhere would route between branches stays at Eton House. The Harrogate file moves with one partner from first meeting to engagement letter to completion, with the firm-wide bench available without the contact changing hands.
Headed by Managing Partner Simon Morris with Jon Healey leading day-to-day commercial work and Sally Togher heading Employment. Band 1 in Chambers UK 2026 for Corporate and Commercial, and Band 1 for Employment. The desk acts for privately owned Yorkshire businesses, entrepreneurs planning exits, and the families that own them. One partner on every engagement letter, from initial term sheet to completion.
Band 1Chambers UK 2026 · Corporate & Commercial and Employment Jon Healey · commercial · Sally Togher · employment
Trusts, Wills & Estates. The firm’s award-winning desk. Band 1 in both Chambers HNW 2026 and Legal 500 2026.
Jointly headed by partners Sam Jenner and Alison Walker, with senior partner Rachel Tunnicliffe leading Private Client Services. The TWE team holds the rare double of Band 1 in Chambers HNW 2026 AND Band 1 in Legal 500 2026, with 19 individual lawyers named across the Legal 500 guide. Wills, lasting powers of attorney, contentious and non-contentious probate, trusts, inheritance-tax planning, succession for Yorkshire estates. Carmelita Ardren heads Family.
Band 1 × 2Chambers HNW 2026 + Legal 500 2026 Sam Jenner + Alison Walker, joint heads · 19 lawyers named
Commercial sales, landlord & tenant, development, agricultural and rural.
Heather Roberts heads Commercial Property; Kelly Buckle-Fleming heads Residential. Recognised by Chambers in Commercial Property and in Agriculture & Rural. The desk acts on the rural-Yorkshire estate work the Vale of York and the Dales generate, alongside Harrogate town-centre commercial leases and a steady residential conveyancing practice for established Yorkshire clients.
ChambersCommercial Property and Agriculture & Rural Heather Roberts · commercial · Kelly Buckle-Fleming · residential
Matthew Hill heads Commercial Client Services and Dispute Resolution. Recognised by Chambers in Dispute Resolution and Property Litigation. The desk takes the contentious work the rest of the firm refers in: shareholder disputes, partnership separations, professional negligence, contested probate, commercial-lease disputes. Mediated resolutions preferred where they hold; courtroom work where they do not.
ChambersDispute Resolution and Property Litigation Matthew Hill · Head of Commercial Client Services
1887 to 2026 · A name above the door, four generations on
Since 1887, the same family name on the same Yorkshire street. Edwin Raworth opened the practice in James Street; his great-granddaughter Sophie Raworth headlined the firm’s 125th anniversary at the literature festival we have sponsored ever since.
In June 1885 Edwin Raworth, the son of Richard H Raworth, a Harrogate builder, qualified as a solicitor. In 1887 he opened his own office close to the present Yorkshire Bank in James Street, Harrogate, the same year the Jubilee Memorial went up on Station Square for Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee. Jabez Butterworth joined him soon after, qualifying in 1905 and becoming partner in 1911 as Raworth & Co.
The practice moved to Station Bridge in 1899, merged with Lomas, Walker & Wilkinson in 1926, and was at Westminster Chambers on Station Parade by 1939 before settling at Eton House, where it has been ever since. A substantial extension to Eton House opened in 1987, the centenary year. The firm converted to Raworths LLP at Companies House on 7 February 2006 (registered number OC317670). In 2022 Simon Morris was appointed Managing Partner.
In 2012, the 125th anniversary year, the firm began sponsoring the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival. BBC newsreader Sophie Raworth, Edwin’s great-granddaughter, headlined. The festival has run every year since, at The Crown Hotel a short walk west across the Stray. The 2025 edition was the 13th consecutive year of Raworths sponsorship.
“Very strong commercial awareness.”
Chambers UK 2024, on Simon Morris
Leadership at Eton House
Two partners lead the firm. Eight more lead the desks.
Managing Partner Simon Morris and Senior Partner Rachel Tunnicliffe lead the firm. Eight further partners head the practice desks: Carmelita Ardren (Family), Jon Healey (Corporate & Commercial), Matthew Hill (Commercial Client Services and Dispute Resolution), Sam Jenner and Alison Walker (joint heads of Trusts, Wills & Estates), Kelly Buckle-Fleming (Residential Property), Heather Roberts (Commercial Property), Sally Togher (Employment). Every partner has a direct dial; there is no general info@ inbox.
Simon MorrisManaging Partner · Corporate & CommercialQualified 1999 · Managing Partner since 1 April 2022
Heads the firm. Corporate and commercial practice, advising privately owned businesses, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals on M&A, structuring, succession planning and finance documentation. Ranked in Chambers UK and the Legal 500. Before Raworths: Norton Rose, DLA Piper, Tillinghast Towers Perrin. St Peter’s School, York.
Rachel TunnicliffeSenior Partner · Head of Private Client ServicesJoined Raworths 2014 · Senior Partner
Senior Partner and Head of Private Client Services. Leads the firm’s award-winning Trusts, Wills & Estates desk, jointly run today by partners Sam Jenner and Alison Walker. Recognised by Chambers HNW and the Legal 500. The TWE team retained its Band 1 ranking in Chambers HNW 2026.
RAWORTHS PEOPLE · 2025A team of roughly fifty across four practice areas, all at Eton House on Station Parade. 14 lawyers ranked across Chambers UK 2026 and Chambers HNW 2026.
A name above the door, also above the festival
The Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, 13 years in.
In 2012, in the firm’s 125th year, we began sponsoring the Harrogate Literature Festival. Sophie Raworth, Edwin Raworth’s great-granddaughter and a BBC newsreader, headlined the inaugural year. The festival has run every October since, at The Crown Hotel a short walk west across The Stray. The 2025 edition was the 13th consecutive Raworths-sponsored year. The 2026 lineup will be announced in spring.
October 2025 · The Crown Hotel · 9 to 19 October · 11 days, 30+ author events
Patron family · Sophie Raworth headlined the 125th-anniversary edition in 2012
Format · Author conversations, panel events, book signings, Salon North evenings
The sponsorship is the firm’s most visible commitment to Harrogate as a town. A 139-year practice supporting a 250-year-old spa town’s literary calendar feels like exactly the right ratio.
The specialism, in detail
What Band 1 in Chambers HNW means for a Yorkshire Trusts, Wills & Estates file.
The Trusts, Wills & Estates desk is the firm’s strongest single discipline. Band 1 in both Chambers HNW 2026 and the Legal 500 UK 2026 is a rare double for a regional practice. Three things that the ranking actually reflects:
Joint-head model · rural-Yorkshire estates · single-office continuity
Why this desk operates above the regional comparator.
The Trusts, Wills & Estates team sits under Rachel Tunnicliffe (Senior Partner, Head of Private Client Services), with day-to-day leadership shared by partners Sam Jenner and Alison Walker. Most regional firms have a single department head; the joint-head model spreads succession risk for clients planning over 20-year horizons. The desk acts on the rural-Yorkshire farming and entrepreneurial-exit work the Vale of York, the Dales and the Harrogate-Ripon corridor generate.
01
Two named partners on the file, every time.
Sam Jenner and Alison Walker are joint heads. A 20-year trust file never sits with a single partner whose retirement would re-route the whole engagement. The continuity is structural, not promised.
02
Rural-estate and entrepreneurial-exit expertise as a desk specialty.
Inheritance-tax planning for working farms, share-class restructuring on the run-up to a business sale, lasting powers of attorney that hold across multiple operating companies, multi-generational trust planning across the Dales. Specialist work that elsewhere routes between branches stays at Eton House.
03
A single Harrogate office for the life of the engagement.
Simon Morris on record: no plans to merge or open offices in Leeds or elsewhere. For a private-client file, that means the same set of hands, the same diary, the same town, for the life of the engagement.
Scenes from Station Parade
A short walk between the mainline station and Eton House.
STATION PARADE · HARROGATEThe full Edwardian parade in winter light. Eton House sits a short walk east, opposite the mainline station.Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Station Parade, Harrogate, CC BY-SA 2.0
SHOPS IN STATION PARADEThe Edwardian shopfronts that have framed Raworths’ frontage since the firm moved to Eton House in 1939.Photo: Michael Dibb, Geograph 5022917, CC BY-SA 2.0
STATION PARADE, WIDE VIEWLooking down the parade towards Harrogate station. The Jubilee Memorial commemorates Queen Victoria’s 1887 golden jubilee, the year Edwin Raworth opened his practice.Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Station Parade, Harrogate, CC BY-SA 2.0
Contact a partner
Tell us briefly what you need a conversation on. The right partner replies the same working day.
The form below reaches Eton House. The right named partner replies in writing, usually within one working day, with a sensible next step (a 30-minute call, an in-person meeting at Eton House, a written scoping note). Every Raworths file moves with one named partner from first contact to engagement letter to completion.
Walking · opposite the mainline station, 4 minutes to Bettys Tea Rooms, 8 minutes to the Royal Pump Room, 6 minutes to The Crown Hotel
Visitor parking. A car park sits between Eton House and Waitrose, accessed from Station Parade. Easy access for clients arriving by car; the office is also a 90-second walk from the mainline station for clients arriving by train from York, Leeds or Ripon.
Office hours
When we are at the desk
Monday09:00 to 17:30
Tuesday09:00 to 17:30
Wednesday09:00 to 17:30
Thursday09:00 to 17:30
Friday09:00 to 17:30
SaturdayBy appointment only
SundayClosed
Partner diaries. Most partner conversations are by appointment. Initial calls on private-client matters are typically a 30 to 45 minute conversation, in person at Eton House or on Teams or Zoom. Use the form on this page or ring the main office to book.
Eton House, 89 Station Parade, Harrogate HG1 1HF. Opposite the mainline station, on the parade with Bettys and the Royal Pump Room a short walk west.Open in Google Maps ↗
FAQ · five questions clients ask first
Quick answers, then pick up the phone or write to a partner for the rest.
Why do partners not publish info@ or enquiries@ addresses, and is it deliberate?
Yes, deliberate. Every Raworths partner has a direct dial and a firstname.lastname@raworths.co.uk address listed on the people page. There is no firm-wide info@ or enquiries@ inbox. The reason is straightforward: a Raworths file moves with a named partner from the first call to the engagement letter to the bill at the end. Routing through a generic inbox would slow that down and break the model. If you do not yet know which partner to write to, the contact form below or the main office number reaches the right desk inside one working day.
Are you connected to Sophie Raworth, the BBC newsreader?
Sophie Raworth is Edwin Raworth’s great-granddaughter. Edwin opened the practice in 1887. In 2012 Sophie headlined the inaugural Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, which the firm has sponsored every year since. Beyond that family connection the firm has no editorial relationship with the BBC; the name above the door is the same one her great-grandfather put there.
Why is Raworths a single Harrogate office, and will that change?
A deliberate choice, set out by the firm’s own positioning: a centre of legal excellence for business and individuals, dedicated to Harrogate and North Yorkshire, with no plans to merge or open offices in Leeds or elsewhere. Practically it means every file stays in one set of hands and within one diary. Specialist work that elsewhere would route between branches stays at Eton House.
What does Band 1 in Chambers HNW 2026 actually mean for a Trusts, Wills & Estates client?
Chambers High Net Worth Guide is the independently-researched ranking for private client work. Band 1 is the top tier. Raworths’ Trusts, Wills & Estates team retained Band 1 in the 2026 guide, alongside a Band 1 in the Legal 500 UK 2026. In practice it means three things: the team operates at a level Chambers ranks above almost every regional comparator, the work is jointly led by two partners (Sam Jenner and Alison Walker) so succession risk on a 20-year file is spread, and 19 individual Raworths lawyers are named across the Legal 500 guide, including across TWE.
Do you offer video meetings, or do partners only meet in person at Eton House?
Either. Since 2022 every partner offers in-person at Eton House or video on Teams or Zoom. The first meeting on a private-client matter (wills, LPAs, estate administration) is typically a 30 to 45 minute conversation at no cost. Commercial work is usually scoped on a no-charge initial call, with a written engagement letter setting out fees before any chargeable time begins.
