Henderson Opticians were originally W.B Carr, Jeweller Optician, at the turn of the last century. The practice was then bought by Mr Brian Durkin, who owned several practices in the Teesside area. The Stockton premises were being managed by the late Mr James Henderson when Mr Durkin decided to sell most of his branches, so Mr Henderson bought the practice. In the 1980s a further branch was opened
in Yarm, and as Mr Henderson was nearing retirement, he formed a partnership. Robert Stokeld and Francis Stephens are the remaining Partners in the Practices, and the Marton premises, which are known as "Stokeld & Stephens" are part of the group of three. In February 2008 the Marton premises relocated from a first floor position to new premises downstairs, to make the premises more accessible to those with disabilities or who find climbing stairs difficult. We have always been independent, and, at a time when big business seems to want to take over every avenue of our lives, we maintain a strong ethos of being trustworthy and honest with people, a reputation that we have worked hard to maintain. All the professional staff have a say in how the practices are run, which helps make sure that we continue to innovate and perform as professional a job as possible. We have many loyal patients who travel a long way for our services, some from overseas, so we hope that our professionalism will continue to attract people. Our strongest advertising is word of mouth, so we want to maintain our reputation and go from strength to strength.
