We are a family owned and run opticians founded in 1916.
We exist to provide the people of Norfolk with the finest eye care possible and are recognised as being among the top independent opticians in the UK.
We sell the highest quality frames and lenses because we understand that eye wear is incredibly important.
Dipple & Conway Opticians started as a partnership in 1916 between George William Dipple, jeweller of Swan Lane, Norwich and Thomas Conway. The prime Castle Street site had been acquired by GW Dipple as he wished to use the castle meadow access as a car park!
Early trading years were difficult during the First World War but business picked up thereafter and in 1923 the company extended to Cambridge, acquiring a town centre site in Petty Curies.
The advent of the National Health Service brought with it an unprecedented demand for eye examination and spectacles from all ages and sectors of society. The business grew rapidly during this time but the heavy workload took its toll on the partners.
On the death of the founding partners in the 1950s, the families’ interests diverged and George Dipple’s successors took over the running of the Cambridge business.
The Norwich business was taken over by Thomas Conway’s son, Dominic, who further expanded the group of practices until his retirement in 1990. Meanwhile, in the 1980s, Dominic’s three sons, Damian, Robert & James underwent professional training in optometry and dispensing optics and joined the business. Since then the optical world has changed beyond recognition. Developments in clinical practice, frame and lens technology, contact lens applications and laser eye assessments are among the leaps forward which the practice team have embraced.
During this period Dipple & Conway has grown into one of the most successful independent groups in the region with branches in Norwich, Swaffham and Diss.