Eye examinations
Forty minutes. Refraction, slit lamp, intraocular pressure, visual fields where indicated, plus OCT and retinal photography in the full examination. You leave with your prescription in writing.
Eyecare & fees
Every fee we charge, on one page.
Fees held from 1 April 2026. If the NHS pays for yours, it says so on the line.
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Fees
Examinations and clinics
Every fee we charge is on this page. If you are entitled to a free test we will tell you before we book you, not after.
- NHS sight testFor anyone in the list opposite. Forty minutes, same examination as the private one.No chargeNHS funded
- Private eye examinationRefraction, slit lamp, tonometry, fields where indicated. 40 minutes.£4640 min
- Stanhope full examinationThe above plus OCT and retinal photography, with the images kept and compared at every visit.£7855 min
- OCT added to an NHS testThe scan on its own, alongside a funded sight test.£38add-on
- Contact lens fittingNew wearer £62, existing wearer £42. Includes the teach and a trial pair.£42–62per fitting
- Dry eye assessmentFirst appointment £70, six-week review £34.£70first visit
- Myopia managementAssessment £95, then a monitored plan including lenses and six-monthly reviews.£28per month
- Urgent eyecare (CUES)Flashes, floaters, red eye, foreign body. Telephone first.No chargeNHS funded
- Stanhope Eyecare PlanAnnual full examination, OCT, unlimited adjustments and repairs, 15% off a second pair.£13.50per month
Your sight test is free if you
- are under 16
- are 16, 17 or 18 and in full-time education
- are 60 or over
- have been diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma
- are 40 or over with a close relative who has glaucoma
- have been told you are at risk of glaucoma
- are registered sight impaired or severely sight impaired
- receive a qualifying benefit and meet the criteria
- hold a valid HC2 certificate
- are eligible for a complex lens voucher
Not sure? Ring and read us the first line of your benefit letter — we would rather check than charge you.
The clinics
Six clinics, one practice
NHS or £46
Contact lenses
Daily disposables through to toric, multifocal and rigid gas permeable. Keratoconus and post-graft fitting by Tomasz Bielak, who holds the BCLA fitting certificate.
Children & myopia management
Free NHS examinations for under-16s, annually. Cycloplegic refraction where needed, axial length monitoring, and myopia control with MiSight or MiYOSMART on a monitored plan.
Dry eye clinic
Tear film break-up time, meibography and lid assessment for blepharitis and MGD. A management plan you can actually keep up, reviewed at six weeks.
Urgent eyecare
Flashes, floaters, red eye, foreign body and sudden change. Commissioned locally as CUES, so it is free at the point of use. Ruth Ellery prescribes independently, which means most cases finish here.
Dispensing & glazing
Measured on the frame you have chosen, not off a photograph. We glaze single vision on site, usually inside three working days; varifocals take five to seven.
What we do in the forty minutes
1 · History and symptoms
What you have noticed, what you do all day, what your family has been treated for. The part that decides what the rest of the examination looks for.
2 · Refraction
The lenses, one at a time, until the chart is as sharp as it goes. Unhurried, because a rushed refraction is a wrong prescription.
3 · Eye health
Slit lamp, intraocular pressure, and visual fields where they are indicated — the internal and external examination the regulations require.
4 · Imaging
OCT and retinal photography in the full examination, so this year can be compared against next year rather than remembered.
5 · Explanation
What we found, in plain words, with the images on the screen in front of you. Questions answered in the room, not in a follow-up.
6 · Your prescription
Signed, written, and handed to you before you leave — with your pupillary distance if you ask for it.
Four hundred frames, and time to try them
Nobody is going to stand behind you with a tablet. We will measure your bridge and temple length, pull the drawers that actually fit, and tell you when a frame is wrong for your prescription.
Frames & lenses
Priced separately, so you can see what you are changing
Frame price and lens price, separately, so you can see which one you are changing. Anti-reflection coating and a scratch warranty are included on every lens we glaze.
Micklegate
Our own range. British-made acetate and stainless steel, ten shapes. The frame most vouchers cover outright.
From £69
Independent designers
Small European and Japanese workshops — hand-cut acetate, beta-titanium, sprung hinges.
£139–279
Lenses
Single vision from £45. Varifocals in three grades. High index for stronger prescriptions.
From £45
If you qualify for an optical voucher
The voucher is a fixed amount set nationally and it comes off the total, whatever you choose.
- Voucher A
- £42.40
- Voucher B
- £64.26
- Voucher C
- £94.14
- Voucher D
- £212.40
- Voucher E
- £73.10
- Voucher J
- £61.77
Your prescription
How to read the piece of paper we give you
| Eye | SPH | CYL | AXIS | ADD | PRISM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Right (R) | −2.25 | −0.75 | 175 | +2.00 | — |
| Left (L) | −2.00 | −0.50 | 010 | +2.00 | — |
- SPHSphere — how short- or long-sighted you are. Minus is short-sighted.
- CYLCylinder — the amount of astigmatism, if you have any.
- AXISThe orientation of that astigmatism, in degrees from 1 to 180.
- ADDThe extra reading power added for close work.
- PRISMCorrection for how the two eyes work together. Usually blank.
- PDPupillary distance — the gap between your pupils, in millimetres.
The law, in one sentence
Whoever tests your sight must give you — immediately after the test — either a signed written prescription or a signed written statement that you do not need one. It is your property, and you may take it anywhere.
We will also give you your pupillary distance if you ask for it. Some practices will not. There is no good reason for that.
The ones we are actually asked
Expandable content blocks for FAQs, services, product details, and more.
It is free if you are under 16, in full-time education at 16 to 18, 60 or over, diabetic or glaucomatous, 40 or over with a close relative who has glaucoma, registered sight impaired, on a qualifying benefit, or holding a valid HC2 certificate. Ring and read us the first line of your benefit letter — we would rather check than charge you.
Forty minutes for a full examination. That is the whole point of the practice: refraction, slit lamp, pressures, fields where indicated, OCT and retinal photography, and time to explain what we found.
Yes, always. Under section 26 of the Opticians Act 1989 whoever tests your sight must hand you a signed written prescription immediately after the test. It is your property. We will give you your pupillary distance too, if you ask.
No. Flashes, new floaters, sudden loss of vision, a red painful eye, something in the eye or sudden double vision — ring us directly. Telephone triage first, then normally a face-to-face appointment within 24 hours, and no charge.
Yes, annually, for everyone under 16 and for 16 to 18 year olds in full-time education. Cycloplegic refraction where it is needed, and axial length monitoring if we are watching a prescription move.
A fixed amount set nationally, from £42.40 for a voucher A to £212.40 for a voucher D, plus £73.10 and £61.77 for the complex lens vouchers. It comes off the total whatever you choose — most of our own range is covered outright.
Single vision is glazed on our own bench, usually inside three working days. Varifocals and high-index lenses come from the laboratory and take about a week.
No. The examination is a clinical appointment that happens to take place in a shop, and we keep those two things separate. Dispensing is a conversation you have afterwards, with the prices already published on this website.
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