Newport has been a place of mixed fortunes for British monarchs. In the 1800s, Queen Victoria used the principal town as a rural retreat, spending her summers on the private beach of Osborne House with her family. Contrastingly, Charles I saw very little of the town when he was a resident, spending a year under lock and key at Carisbrooke House after losing the Civil War.
Although there are no royal residents on the island today, kings and queens of the music industry visit Newport each year for the world-famous Isle of Wight Festival which has its 50th anniversary this year.
‘The island is a beautiful place to work and has a very friendly atmosphere,’ says Alan Rutherford, one of four partners at Rutherford Eye Care. Founded by his father, David, 55 years ago, the independent opticians started life as a single practice in Sandown. Today, the group has four practices in Newport, Lake, Ventnor and Freshwater.
Rutherford, a dispensing optician, describes what separates his business from others on the island. ‘The way we work – everything is about the patient,’ he says. ‘We are more interested in the quality of things rather than making a fortune. We pride ourselves on good service and quality optics.’
Despite serving a small community, the partner reveals his practice attracts customers from all corners of the globe, with one travelling from the Caribbean.
Like Rutherford, Mike Tye of Eyeland Opticians knows the value of patient recommendations. Having left his job on the mainland to open a practice in Newport, Tye says a close-knit community is a blessing for local businesses, wanting to establish a good reputation. ‘But, it can also break one very easily at the same time,’ he interjects.
The practice stocks designer frames, such as Hugo Boss and Nina Ricci, while Escenbach designs are ‘disappearing like they’re going out of fashion’.
Despite describing Newport as a ‘very, very friendly’ community, Tye admits there is one problem about owning a practice on the Isle of Wight. ‘We don’t see reps that often,’ he says. ‘They don’t tend to show their noses [because] it’s too damn expensive to come over to the island unless they’re going to see several people,’ he adds.
With 40 staff, Specsavers Newport is the town’s largest practice. The store located in the centre of town has five test rooms and two audiology departments – not to mention a contact lens department, call centre and an on-site lab.
Optometrist Gary Riggs says there is a lot to be admired about Newport. ‘As an English seaside destination and the main town in Isle of Wight, Newport is definitely a fun place to work. It’s busy, lively and the locals are a friendly bunch,’ says the optometrist.
Who’s in town
Total: 6
Independents: 3
Multiples: 3
Average costs
The price of an eye exam in Newport (IoW) ranged from £21.00 to £32.00, producing an average cost of £21.17.
Population - see pie chart
Isle of Wight population 139,798 (ONS 2017)
Community eye care
According to the Locsu Atlas Map of Optical Variation, Hampshire Local Optical Committee has secured a contract for Isle of Wight CCG in Glaucoma Repeat Readings.
Health and affluence
- The average house price in Newport is £221,996 (Zoopla) compared with a UK average of £223,257 (Land Registry, 2017)
- Newport has an average salary of £20,090 (PayScale, 2017)
- In 2015, there were 2,830 people living with diabetic retinopathy in the Isle of Wight (RNIB Sight Loss Data Tool 2015)
- There were an estimated 1,940 people living with late stage age-related macular degeneration in 2016 (RNIB)
- It is estimated that, by 2025, there will be 2,640 people living with cataract in the Isle of Wight (RNIB)
Fact file
The Mew Langton Brewery in Newport made history by developing the first screw-top beer can in the late 1800s. Supplying British troops in India with pale ale (IPA), factory owners replaced fragile glass bottles with screw-top cans that kept the ale fresh.
In 1970, Jimi Hendrix, the Who, the Doors, Joni Mitchell and Procol Harum played to more than 600,000 people at the Isle of Wight Festival.
Charles Dickens and Karl Marx were two notable residents of the island.
Despite being a county capital, Newport does not have a train station. The Isle of Wight train network was mostly closed in the mid-20th century, with Newport station closing in 1966.
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