ONE of the oldest chartered accountant firms in Cumbria is marking a major milestone this month with an appeal to former employees.

John Jackson Saint was just 22 when he qualified as a chartered accountant in April 1884 and he set up his own business in Carlisle shortly afterwards.

Since those small beginnings in Bank Street 130 years ago, hundreds of local people have worked for Saint & Co in offices across the region, including Ambleside and Penrith.

To mark the landmark anniversary, the partners who run the business are compiling a history of the firm, its staff and the Saint family behind the long-standing enterprise.

They are appealing to former employees, and their families, for photographs and stories about life at the firm over the last 130 years.

Senior partner Marion Nolan said: “We have already uncovered some old photographs, a few dusty old ledgers and a particularly interesting ‘little black book’ of employees dating back to the First World War.

“We are really keen to find stories of the people who made Saint & Co what we are today, not just about working life, but about their achievements outside the office as well.”

In the early 1900s, John Jackson Saint’s sons, John and Roland, followed their father into the business. Roland had a son, Oliver Jackson Saint, who was born in 1936. It is believed he trained as an accountant but he never worked at Saint & Co. The firm is particularly keen to trace him or his descendants.

If you have information that could be of interest to the company, please contact Helen Little on Helen.Little@saint.co.uk, or telephone 01768 865189.