Helmores
Helmores is probably the oldest established firm of Estate Agents and Valuers in the country, having been in property for 300 years.
It all started in 1699 when one William Helmore handled the transaction of four properties near Exeter. It established a business that was handed down from father to son for the next three centuries.
It would appear that "William" was to become somewhat of a family name - there were at least eight since the original in 1699! Quite amazingly the business had been running some 160 years before this distinguished Victorian Gentleman had his photograph taken. William Helmore came into business in the mid 1800’s, handling the sale of properties, farms and land from his premises in Newton St Cyres. Perhaps the most prestigious of these properties was Cowley Place, Exeter, sold by William Helmore in 1866, follow the death of its owner, Joseph Sheppard.
For the past 120 years the business has been successfully run from Crediton. Probably the most famous of all the Helmores was Frederick John, a character in the true sense of the word, known locally as "The Pride of Kirton". Many stories are told of his pranks and practical jokes but he must be best remembered for the time he jumped out of Frank Bourne’s hansom cab going up White Hart Hill having been collected from the station after spending a day at Exeter Market. He ran up Park Road, along Dean Street, up Union Road and into his office. Frank arrived some minutes later only to find Frederick John standing in his doorway. "It can’t be you, maister" said Frank, "You’m in me cab".
Frederick John Helmore was joined in the business by his son Herbert Mark (Bert), just after the First World War. Bert, like his father, was also a character and many people remember having an old trinket or wash stand knocked down to them for a shilling at one of Bert’s famous furniture auctions.
Alan Stoyle snr joined the firm in 1928 until his retirement in 1975. He also was one of the areas best loved auctioneers but perhaps was best known for his hilarious after dinner speeches and Jan Stewer stories. Bert had no sons to take on the business when he passed away in 1965, and was run under the partnership of John Stoyle (joined the firm in 1957) and Alan jnr (in 1965) who have both now retired. In 1987 Helmores joined the "Team" network of Estate Agents and immediately benefited from the massive gain of computer listing properties across the country. There are now nearly 500 Team estate agents throughout the country plus offices in Spain, Cyprus, Florida, Portugal, and Turkey, all multi-listing each others properties in full colour at the touch of a button.
Today Helmores is run by Rob (Alan’s son) who joined the firm in 1990 together with business partner Phil Morgan. Rob & Phil have taken the firm to new heights, and using their expert IT skills, local knowledge and unrivalled experience Helmores continues to be the leading firm of estate agents in the area.
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