Wallside House, 12 Mount Ephraim Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1EE 01892 510 222 Mon to Fri, 09:00 to 17:30 SRA 8003986
Buss Murton Law Royal Tunbridge Wells · Wallside House · since 1713 Call Wallside House 01892 510 222
Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent · since 1713 · 313 years on Mount Ephraim

A Royal Tunbridge Wells solicitors, since 1713.

A 313-year Wealden practice, with offices at Wallside House on Mount Ephraim and at Clermont House on Cranbrook High Street. Eight partners (led by Andrew Linton as Managing Partner) and a full-service legal practice: private client and family, residential and commercial property, employment, dispute resolution and corporate-commercial, all taken from one Regency stuccoed townhouse two minutes from the Common.

Call Wallside House · 01892 510 222 What we do
Since 1713 313 years in continuous practice in Tunbridge Wells
Eight Partners Across Wallside House and Clermont House
SRA 8003986 Licensed body, all legal services
CQS accredited Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme
Wallside House at 12 Mount Ephraim Road, Tunbridge Wells: a three-storey Regency stuccoed townhouse in pale stone, with two wrought-iron juliet balconies on the first floor, a slate roof with two dormer windows, and two black iron lamp posts flanking the front door under the carved 12 Wallside House plate.
Wallside House · TN1 1EE 12 Mount Ephraim Road, two minutes from Tunbridge Wells Common.
313 years of continuous practice in Tunbridge Wells
2 offices: Wallside House and Clermont House
8 partners across the firm
1713 second year of Queen Anne, year of our first instructions
What we do

Six lines of work, taken under one Regency stuccoed roof.

A full-service legal practice for individuals, families and businesses across Tunbridge Wells, Cranbrook and the wider High Weald. Private Client and Family are the spine of the work taken from the residents of the town; Residential and Commercial Property, Employment, Dispute Resolution and Corporate-Commercial round out the practice for the businesses we act for.

Private Client

Will drafting, lasting powers of attorney (property-and-affairs and health-and-welfare), obtaining grants of probate, full administration of estates, deeds of variation, lifetime gifts, court of protection deputyships, contentious probate, inheritance-tax planning, trust work. The desk Sohret Haffenden heads is the same desk her predecessors have run from Wallside House for decades. Some of the wills under administration today were drafted at this same building twenty or thirty years ago.

Family and Divorce

Divorce and separation, financial settlements (including pension sharing), child arrangements, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, civil-partnership dissolution, second-family arrangements. Melanie den Brinker is collaboratively trained and also a Barrister, so the same partner who advises through mediation can take the matter to court if mediation is not the right route. A member of Resolution, the family-law association whose code of practice prioritises constructive resolution over confrontation.

Residential Property

Freehold and leasehold purchase, sale, re-mortgage and transfer of equity across Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks, Cranbrook and the wider High Weald. Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited. Helen Batt leads from Tunbridge Wells; Kerry Carter from Cranbrook. Listed-building and conservation-area work where the village knowledge matters as much as the title.

Employment

Settlement agreements, exit negotiations, employment contracts, service contracts, redundancy, disciplinary and grievance, Tribunal advocacy through to High Court action where the matter sits there. Both sides of the room: employers (handbooks, restructures, defended claims) and employees (compromise, unfair-dismissal, discrimination). Andrew Linton has chaired the desk since 1995.

Dispute Resolution

Commercial litigation, contract disputes, shareholder and partnership disputes (where they fall out, sometimes spectacularly, the firm has been there before), professional negligence, debt recovery, property disputes, contested probate. Acts both in mediation and at trial in the High Court and County Court. Jonathan Manser heads the desk.

Commercial Property

Commercial acquisitions and disposals, landlord and tenant work both sides, lease renewals under the 1954 Act, dilapidations, mixed-use development, secured-lending support for high-street banks and asset managers. Edward Walter leads, with corporate support from the company-commercial desk in the same building.

313 years on Mount Ephraim

1713, a Tunbridge Wells solicitors opens in the reign of Queen Anne. 1909, Edward VII grants the town the Royal prefix. 2026, the same practice is run from a Regency townhouse on the same hill.

When Buss Murton took its first instructions in 1713, Queen Anne was on the throne, the Acts of Union forming the United Kingdom were six years old, and Sir Robert Walpole was nine years from becoming the country's first Prime Minister. The town the firm was opening in had been a spa destination for the South-East nobility for a hundred years already, since the discovery of the chalybeate spring at the Pantiles in 1606. Tunbridge Wells would not receive its "Royal" prefix from Edward VII for another 196 years.

The years since have run through the firm's records as a continuous thread. From the Regency rebuilding of Mount Ephraim under the architect Decimus Burton in the 1830s, through the railway's arrival at Royal Tunbridge Wells in 1845, through both World Wars and the firm's continued service of Wealden estates, residential conveyancing and probate work, the practice has stayed on the hill. Wallside House at 12 Mount Ephraim Road is a Regency stuccoed townhouse with its original first-floor wrought-iron juliet balconies and the pair of iron lamp posts at the door, and it is the address the firm trades from today.

The modern legal envelope (Buss Murton Law LLP, Companies House OC345994, the limited company 14106070, and the SRA licensed-body authorisation 8003986 granted on 30 June 2023 for all reserved legal activities) sits around a practice that has been taking instructions in this town for 313 years. A partnership of eight today, two offices, one Regency roof in Tunbridge Wells and one Georgian roof in Cranbrook.

1713 A Tunbridge Wells solicitors practice opens in the High Weald spa town, in the reign of Queen Anne. The practice that will become Buss Murton Law begins its first instructions twelve years before the death of the queen and twenty-five years before George III is born.
1832 John Britton publishes "Bath and Bristol, with the counties of Somerset and Gloucester", which describes Mount Ephraim as "the very crown of the town", referring to Royal Tunbridge Wells. The firm is by then 119 years old.
1909 King Edward VII grants Tunbridge Wells the "Royal" prefix on 7 March 1909. The firm has been practising on the same hill for 196 years at this point. Only three towns in England carry the Royal prefix.
1990s The firm acquires Wallside House at 12 Mount Ephraim Road, a Regency stuccoed townhouse with the original wrought-iron juliet balconies and lamp posts at the door. The Tunbridge Wells head office is established at the address it still occupies today.
2009 Buss Murton Law LLP is incorporated at Companies House on 28 May 2009 under number OC345994, a modern legal envelope around a 296-year practice.
2022 Buss Murton Law Limited is incorporated at Companies House on 4 May 2022 under number 14106070, the trading limited company for the firm.
2023 The Solicitors Regulation Authority authorises Buss Murton Law as a licensed body on 30 June 2023 under SRA number 8003986, authorised for all reserved legal activities.
2026 313 years since Buss Murton first took instructions in Tunbridge Wells. A partnership of eight (Andrew Linton, Helen Batt, Kerry Carter, Melanie den Brinker, Daldeep Jaswal, Alex Lee, Alex Smith, Edward Walter) practising from Wallside House and Clermont House under one roof per town.
The partnership

Eight partners and senior associates. Each named with the work that crosses their desk.

The firm is run by Andrew Linton as Managing Partner, with seven further partners covering the practice lines and three senior associates heading Private Client, Dispute Resolution and Conveyancing. Continuity of character means the partner you spoke to in March is the partner who reads the file in October.

Andrew Linton

Managing Partner, Head of Employment Tunbridge Wells · alinton@bussmurton.co.uk

Joined Buss Murton in 1995 and runs the firm from Wallside House. Acts for employers and employees on exit negotiations, employment contracts, settlement agreements, redundancy and Tribunal work, with High Court action and mediation where the matter calls for it. Authors firm commentary on gig-economy and zero-hour contract developments.

Sohret Haffenden

Senior Associate, Head of Private Client Tunbridge Wells · shaffenden@bussmurton.co.uk

Heads the Private Client desk. Will drafting, lasting powers of attorney, obtaining probate, full administration of estates, court of protection deputyships, inheritance disputes and trust work. Mrs Whitaker, in a recent client review: "Sohret was professional, helpful and made the experience a pleasant one."

Melanie den Brinker

Partner, Barrister and Collaborative Lawyer Tunbridge Wells · mdenbrinker@bussmurton.co.uk

Family and divorce. Collaboratively trained, also a Barrister of England and Wales, so the same partner who advises through mediation can take the matter to court if mediation is not the right route. Financial settlements, child arrangements, civil-partnership dissolution, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements.

Jonathan Manser

Senior Associate, Head of Dispute Resolution Tunbridge Wells · jmanser@bussmurton.co.uk

Heads Dispute Resolution. Commercial litigation, contract disputes, shareholder and partnership disputes, professional negligence, property disputes, debt recovery, contested probate. Acts both in mediation and at trial in the High Court and County Court.

Helen Batt

Partner, Chartered Legal Executive Tunbridge Wells · hbatt@bussmurton.co.uk

Residential conveyancing across Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Sevenoaks and the wider High Weald. Freehold and leasehold sales, purchases, re-mortgages and transfers of equity. Conveyancing Quality Scheme accredited.

Kerry Carter

Partner, Chartered Legal Executive Cranbrook · kcarter@bussmurton.co.uk

Leads residential conveyancing from the Cranbrook desk. Village and rural sales across the Weald of Kent, listed buildings, equestrian properties, smallholdings, Cranbrook conservation-area work where local knowledge of the conservation officer matters as much as the title itself.

Edward Walter

Partner, Solicitor Tunbridge Wells · ewalter@bussmurton.co.uk

Commercial property and corporate-commercial. Acquisitions and disposals of commercial premises, landlord and tenant work, business sales and purchases, shareholder agreements, commercial contracts.

Alex Lee

Partner, Director Tunbridge Wells · alee@bussmurton.co.uk

Employment, working alongside Andrew Linton on the firm-wide employment desk. Warren, in a recent client review: "Employment Settlement Work, Alex provided a high level of support and guidance."

Two offices, one practice

Wallside House on Mount Ephraim. Clermont House on Cranbrook High Street. One file follows one matter.

Tunbridge Wells and Cranbrook sit twelve miles apart, divided by the High Weald and connected by the A21 and the A229. Buss Murton has been on both High Streets long enough that most rural-Weald families know whichever office is closer. The two offices are not branches of an identikit chain; they are two doors into the same partnership. A Cranbrook conveyancing matter is supervised by Kerry Carter at Clermont House, an employment matter is taken by Andrew Linton at Wallside House, and the file follows the matter, not the office.

  • Wallside House, Tunbridge Wells. The Regency stuccoed head office, two minutes from the Common. Houses the Managing Partner, six further partners and the senior associates on Private Client, Dispute Resolution and Conveyancing. Most family, employment, dispute resolution and commercial work originates here.
  • Clermont House, Cranbrook. The Georgian townhouse on the High Street, opposite the Cranbrook Union Mill windmill that still turns. Houses the Cranbrook conveyancing and private-client desks, and takes most of the listed-building, equestrian, smallholding and Weald-rural work.
  • One file, one partner. Whichever office takes the call, the matter is allocated to the right partner and the file stays with them. We do not pass the same matter between partners as it progresses, and we do not hand it to a different paralegal each time you ring.
Clermont House on the High Street, Cranbrook: a Georgian three-storey cream-stuccoed townhouse, with a pillared classical doorcase, green front door, four-light sash windows in symmetrical pairs, and black wrought-iron railings at the pavement carrying a green Buss Murton plaque.
Clermont House · TN17 3DN High Street, Cranbrook, opposite the Cranbrook Union Mill.
The Pantiles colonnade in Royal Tunbridge Wells: red brick Georgian shopfronts with white pilasters, a delicate wrought-iron Regency balcony above the central shopfront, and the worn-paved pedestrian street running along its length.
The town the firm has practised in for 313 years

"The very crown of the town." John Britton on Mount Ephraim, 1832.

Tunbridge Wells gained its character as a spa town after a single discovery: in 1606 the chalybeate spring was found by Lord North at the spot the Pantiles colonnade was later laid out around. By 1713, when Buss Murton took its first instructions, the town was the seasonal home of the South-East nobility and the spa visitors who came down the road from London. The Pantiles brick, the Mount Ephraim wrought-iron, and the Regency stuccoed townhouses on the hill were the town's signature streetscape long before the railway arrived in 1845 or the Royal prefix was granted in 1909.

Make an enquiry · one working day

Tell us what you need. We will respond within one working day.

A short enquiry form for an initial response by telephone or email. Once we understand the matter we can quote a fixed fee where the work supports it (probate, residential conveyancing) or hourly with an estimated total where it does not (litigation, complex private client). The first conversation with the supervising partner is at no charge and no engagement letter is signed until you say so.

  • Initial response within one working day from receipt
  • First conversation with the supervising partner at no charge
  • Written engagement letter and fee quote before any chargeable work begins
  • Visit either Wallside House (Mon to Fri 09:00 to 17:30) or Clermont House by appointment

Send an enquiry

We reply within one working day on weekdays. Alternatively, telephone Wallside House on 01892 510 222, telephone Clermont House on 01580 712 215, or email info@bussmurton.co.uk directly.

Visit us

Two offices in the High Weald. Whichever is closer takes the call.

Wallside House sits at the top of Mount Ephraim two minutes from the Common, six minutes on foot from Royal Tunbridge Wells station. Clermont House sits in central Cranbrook on the High Street, opposite the Union Mill windmill. Either office takes the file.

Wallside House, Tunbridge Wells

12 Mount Ephraim Road
Royal Tunbridge Wells
TN1 1EE

  • Telephone01892 510 222
  • Emailinfo@bussmurton.co.uk
  • HoursMon to Fri, 09:00 to 17:30. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
  • ParkingShort-stay on Mount Ephraim Road; long-stay at Civic Centre car park, four minutes east.
  • NearestTunbridge Wells Common (2 min); Royal Tunbridge Wells station (6 min); the Pantiles colonnade (10 min).
Wallside House, 12 Mount Ephraim Road, TN1 1EE. Open in Google Maps ↗

Clermont House, Cranbrook

High Street
Cranbrook
TN17 3DN

  • Telephone01580 712 215
  • Emailinfo@bussmurton.co.uk
  • HoursMon to Fri, 09:00 to 17:30. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
  • ParkingWilkes Field car park (TN17 3DN), two minutes from the office.
  • NearestCranbrook Union Mill (opposite); the parish church of St Dunstan (3 min); the High Weald AONB (1 min).
Clermont House, High Street, TN17 3DN. Open in Google Maps ↗
Frequently asked

Five questions we hear most at reception.

Is the firm really founded in 1713? That feels older than most solicitors I know.

Yes. Buss Murton has practised continuously in Tunbridge Wells since 1713, the second year of the reign of Queen Anne, twelve years before her death in 1714. To put that in context: the firm is older than the United Kingdom itself, which was formed by the Acts of Union in 1707 only six years earlier; older than the title "Royal" applied to Tunbridge Wells (granted by Edward VII in 1909); and 294 years older than the Solicitors Regulation Authority, which was only formed in 2007. The modern legal envelopes (Buss Murton Law LLP since 2009, the limited company since 2022, the SRA licensed-body status since 2023) sit around a practice that has been taking instructions in this town for 313 years.

You have two offices. Which one do I go to?

Wallside House, 12 Mount Ephraim Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 1EE, is the head office and houses Andrew Linton (Managing Partner), Helen Batt, Melanie den Brinker, Daldeep Jaswal, Alex Lee, Alex Smith and Edward Walter, plus the senior associates on Private Client (Sohret Haffenden), Dispute Resolution (Jonathan Manser) and Conveyancing (Gail Anthony). Clermont House, High Street, Cranbrook, TN17 3DN, houses Kerry Carter, Margaret Sculpher and Annelise Tyler, and takes most of the Weald-of-Kent rural conveyancing, listed-buildings, and Cranbrook private-client work. For most matters either office takes the file and the partner travels to you if a meeting matters. Telephone Tunbridge Wells on 01892 510 222 or Cranbrook on 01580 712 215, or email info@bussmurton.co.uk and we route the enquiry.

Can you give a fixed fee for probate, or for a house move?

For straightforward estates a fixed probate fee is available; published prices for both probate and conveyancing are on the firm cost-information pages. For more complex estates (foreign assets, contested wills, deeds of variation, agricultural-property relief, business-property relief) a fixed-fee quote is provided after a no-charge initial conversation with the supervising partner. For residential conveyancing every quote names the legal fee, the searches, the Land Registry fee, the SDLT fee, the CHAPS charge and any leasehold-management charges in writing on day one. No hidden disbursements.

I am not sure I have decided to commit yet. Can we just have an initial conversation?

Yes. The first conversation with the supervising partner is at no charge, either at Wallside House, at Clermont House, by video call or by telephone, whichever is easiest for you. We use that conversation to understand the matter, give you a feel for the right partner and the right approach, and tell you in writing what the work will cost before any chargeable time begins. No engagement letter is signed at that first conversation.

Where do I park, and what is nearby?

Wallside House sits at the top of Mount Ephraim, two minutes from the Common, six minutes on foot from Royal Tunbridge Wells station, and ten minutes from the Pantiles colonnade. Short-stay parking is available on Mount Ephraim Road and the long-stay Civic Centre car park is four minutes east. Clermont House is on the High Street in central Cranbrook with parking in the Wilkes Field car park (TN17 3DN) two minutes away, opposite the Cranbrook Union Mill windmill that still works.