History of Brock and Houlford
We have a long and honoured history of three generations of Mr Brocks! It all started in Brislington, Bristol in 1931 when G. Arthur Brock began part-time Ophthalmic Optics in addition to his work as a local pharmacist. His son, Anthony V. Brock, became partner in 1956. Arthur retired in 1971 and his grandson, Michael R. Brock, joined as a Qualified Dispensing Optician in 1982. A second practice was opened in Whitchurch in 1986, and sadly a year later in 1987 Arthur passed away. We moved from there to Chew magna in 1995 and Anthony retired in 1998 (and sadly passed away in 2012) .
Michael was joined by Optometrist Mark Houlford in 1997 who subsequently became a Partner. Hence the name change to Brock and Houlford. Dee (Nicola Deacon), also a qualified Dispensing Optician, became partner when Michael retired in 2019.
We are still proudly independent, and have continued the policy of reinvestment in equipment, training and facilities and we embrace the technologies that enable us to provide the best possible eyecare now and in the future. We have increased our service to include Eyeplan and have specialities in Sport Vision, School Vision, Myopia Management and much more! Mark gained an additional Diploma in Therapeutics and Prescribing in April 2022, which enables him to prescribe any medication necessary to treat eye conditions. This qualification is achieved only by a very small number of practitioners.
Partners
Optometrist Mark Houlford
B.Sc.,D.Opt. Dip SportV, Dip SchoolV, Dip TP/IP ,
Dispensing Optician
Nicola ‘Dee’ Deacon FBDO
Our current staff:
Optometrists: Mark Houlford and Ajmeen Ahmed
Dispensing Opticians: Nicola ‘Dee’ Deacon-Low and Katharine Townson
Reception/Support staff: Lisa, Karen, Margaret, Sara, Diane and Mike
Accounts: Karen