Christopher Young Opticians turns 40: Chris reflects on four decades in Shepton Mallet
10 October 2026
From buying the practice at just 23 to building an independent opticians focused on exceptional eye care, individual eyewear and long-term relationships with clients, Chris reflects on 40 years in Shepton Mallet.
To mark the 40th anniversary, Christopher Young Opticians is offering customers their second pair of lenses free when they buy two complete pairs of glasses. Offer valid until 31st October 2026. Find out more.
1. You started working at the practice in October 1986 and bought it 18 months later. What do you remember about those early days, and what made you decide to buy the practice?
When I opened the practice as manager, we weren’t allowed to advertise. Window displays were rare, so we kept blinds across the window.
I used to work 2.5 days in Shepton and 2.5 days in Robert Frith’s practice in Yeovil. I was a locum at the time, but I only worked for Robert, albeit in two different practices. However, HMRC frowns on that arrangement, so I told Robert I should either become a salaried optometrist or work for someone else for half the week.
We had this discussion at an optical trade fair called Optrafair in Birmingham, and he just said, ‘Do you want to buy the practice?’ I bit his hand off.
Arranging finance for the purchase was a bit different then. I was in Shepton Round Table with an employee from Barclays. He put me in touch with his manager in Glastonbury, who came across, looked at the business and offered me the money. It was very simple, and I haven’t looked back.
I was only 23 at the time and fairly fresh out of university, so learning how to run a business was an experience. I’ve made a few mistakes along the way, and still do sometimes, but I’ve learnt that I can’t go far wrong if I stick to my principles.
The early years of Christopher Young Opticians
2. What kind of practice did you want Christopher Young Opticians to become?
When Doug and Mary Perkins launched their Specsavers franchise model in the 80s they really opened up the market and broke new ground with their advertising, low prices and mass-market appeal. However, because of the conveyor-belt approach of the high street multiples, I decided to go in the opposite direction.
Ask pretty much anyone which sense they are most scared of losing, and 99% would say their sight. Ask the same people what optometrists do, and most would say we test eyes to see if people need glasses. There is often no mention of the healthcare benefits and tests we can use to help preserve sight, the one thing most people fear losing most.
I decided that I wanted to provide the highest quality eye care and eyewear whilst also educating my clients about how their visual system works. I wanted to try to take the fear of the unknown out of the eye examination experience: share the anatomy of the eye, show what can go wrong, and explain how we can prevent or fix it.
I also wanted to offer the latest products to protect people’s eyes and their health, alongside individual eyewear that makes a statement, gives our clients confidence and helps them define and project their character.
3. Are there any particular clients or stories from the last 40 years that have really stayed with you?
We are very lucky to have amazing clients. The clients that stand out are the ones who share their appreciation for how we have changed their lives, whether by providing vision or lifesaving advice, or by encouraging them to wear incredible eyewear they wouldn’t normally have the courage to try.
Several of our first clients are still regular visitors today, and they bring along their children and grandchildren.
My desire to treat the whole visual system rather than just sell glasses took me down the Behavioural Optometry route. One in five children has some form of learning difficulty. There are many reasons for this, but I can often improve the efficiency of the visual system using both whole-body and eye exercises.
This is both the hardest and most rewarding aspect of my work. I get emails from parents years after I have discharged their child telling me of their incredible achievements, unachievable prior to visiting me:
“Our son flourished, reaching his sporting potential and beyond, leading his house to victory in school sports cup. Within a short period of time, his coordination just ‘clicked’ into place and he began swimming at a high level, winning the school trophy and competing at county level. He became an accomplished sailor, basketball- and rugby player. Having always struggled at school, after therapy our son aced his SATs, achieving one of the year’s highest marks in the reading & comprehension papers. The headaches that plagued him previously also disappeared.”
“Her physical abilities, coordination was drastically improved in a very short timescale. She went from not being able to catch a ball to first team pitcher in six weeks!”
4. What have been some milestone moments over this 40-year journey?
Every time we invest in new technology to upgrade our eye care service, it is a milestone for the practice.
I have always been an early adopter of technology to aid disease detection and diagnosis. We had the first camera to photograph the back of the eye in the area. This was later replaced by an Optical Coherence Tomographer (OCT), which takes detailed scans of the back of the eyes.
It is excellent for detecting early glaucoma as well as macular disease, conditions I go to great lengths to explain to my clients. We are now on our second OCT instrument, and I am using it with the latest Dr Noon AI software to detect cardiovascular disease years before it can cause a problem.
Other investments over the years have included iCare, a much more comfortable way to measure eye pressure than the air puff machine, and Intense Pulsed Light and Low-Level Light Therapy for dry eye treatment.
We also get excited when we find a new eyewear brand that ticks all our boxes: individual, good-quality frames with excellent supplier support. There aren’t many out there.
5. Looking back, what are you most proud of?
I am incredibly proud of the awards we have achieved over the years, at local, regional and national levels.
I will never forget the pride in my father’s voice when I told him we had won the Somerset Business Award for customer service. Unfortunately, he died before we won the National Award.
6. Who has helped you along the way?
None of what I have achieved could have been done alone. I have been extremely lucky to have worked with some amazing people.
Sue Voisey helped me get off the ground. The wonderful Mary Bailey brought her energy, enthusiasm and business acumen to the practice. We shared the same vision, goals and sense of humour.
My current team, managed by Tracy who keeps me sane and makes me see the lighter side of life when things get tough.
And, of course, there is my incredible wife, Rosenn. Her eye for detail, pursuit of perfection, great interior design skills and French flair have helped create the practice as it is now. Her imagination somehow constructs the amazing window displays every five or six weeks.
7. Any final thoughts as you reflect on 40 years on Shepton High Street?
I count myself very lucky that I have been able to spend forty years working in a much underrated town with wonderful people.
