An independent Bristol opticians has moved to new premises in Bedminster after nearly three decades based in the old city.
Bramley Pope first opened on St Stephens Street, in the city centre, in 1997, catering for office workers and people visiting and working in the centre. But following a tough few years of trading post-pandemic, owner and dispensing optician Mark Ilett said he decided to take the “massive risk” to move the business to North Street.
“For years we looked after people that worked in the centre and in nearby offices and people that were happy to travel to us for the service and the specs we offer,” he said.
“Unfortunately, fewer people come to the offices now and the changes to the local area have meant that travelling to us has become very difficult for a lot of people and impossible for people that needed to get door to door and we got to a point where it really looked like our time was up.”
Bramley Pope was established by Philippa Bramley and her college friend Roger Pope, whose London-based optician was granted two Royal Warrants and supplied glasses to Queen Elizabeth II and to King Charles III when he was Prince of Wales.
Mr Ilett joined the business in 2015 and took over the running of the company in 2020 when Ms Bramley retired. He believes the opticians will do “very well” on North Street and “hopefully we will add something to the area”.
“I used to live down here so I have a bit of an affinity for the area and I like the feel of this end of North Street, particularly,” he said. “It’s amazing for me to see the difference down here since I lived here about nine or 10 years ago. Some of the same places I used to use and a load of really cool little indies doing things ethically and with pride in their work.”
Mr Ilett has signed a seven-year lease on the new premises. He said he had “thought for a while” about moving the practice somewhere else, but when the North Street site became available he decided it was the right place.
“It feels like a really nice place to be doing business and if the reception and interest we’ve had in the couple of weeks since we opened is anything to go by, then our little business will be a fine addition to the community and look after people’s eyes for another 20 odd years,” he added.