◆ Independent opticians · High Street · Wells

Two practices,
one bench in Wells.

Millicans Eye Centre and Mansfield Opticians, two of the city’s longest-standing practices, joined together at 65 High Street. Today the practice is run by Sam, Rebecca and Lee, with the enhanced examinations, specialist clinics and hand-picked eyewear of a much larger practice, kept on the High Street a few doors from the cathedral green.

Book an eye test See what we do

OCTand Optos imaging

2023two practices merged

Awards2025 Optician finalist

WellsNHS and private care

Choosing frames from the eyewear wall at Millicans and Mansfield Opticians in Wells

THE FRAME WALL · 65 HIGH STREET Frames chosen by hand, fitted and adjusted in person.

THE ENHANCED EYE EXAMINATION

An eye test that does more than read a chart.

A sight test tells you which lenses you need. An enhanced examination looks past that, at the health of the eye itself. We scan a cross-section of the layers beneath your retina with OCT, and photograph the back of the eye in a single wide pass with Optos, so the things that matter, glaucoma, macular change, diabetic signs, can be seen early and watched over time.

“We have successfully traded alongside each other for many years serving the people of Wells, collaborating and not competing.” David Millican, on bringing the two practices together

An optometrist at the consulting-room desk at Millicans and Mansfield, Wells — The consulting room, where the imaging and the conversation happen together.

01 A full eye examination, with time on the chair.
02 OCT and Optos imaging, shown to you on the screen.
03 Frames and lenses chosen and fitted in person.

WHAT WE DO

The clinics of a hospital eye unit, on the High Street.

Enhanced eye examination

More than a sight test. An OCT scan reads a cross-section of the layers beneath the retina, so glaucoma and macular change can be caught years before you would notice them, and Optos ultra-wide imaging photographs the back of the eye in a single pass. Time on the chair, and the imaging to back it up.

Children's eyecare and myopia

NHS-funded sight tests for under-sixteens, and a myopia-management programme that works to slow short-sight from progressing rather than handing over a stronger lens every year. A calm first eye test, explained to the child as much as the parent.

Specialist clinics

A dry-eye clinic, a visual-stress and colorimetry clinic with coloured overlays and precision tints, and complex contact-lens fitting for conditions like keratoconus. The kind of work most high-street chains refer away, kept here on the High Street.

Eyewear, lenses and hearing

Frames chosen by hand rather than bought by the pallet, including Stepper, Flexon, Tom Ford and William Morris. Daily disposable, toric and varifocal contact lenses fitted and reviewed. Hearing care alongside, so one practice covers more of the family.

INSIDE THE PRACTICE

A few corners of 65 High Street.

THE FRAME WALL Frames chosen by hand, fitted and adjusted in person.

THE CONSULTING ROOM The enhanced eye examination, with OCT and Optos imaging.

AT THE PRACTICE One team across two long-standing Wells practices.

OUR STORY

Fifty years of Wells eyes, under one roof.

David Millican was in his fiftieth year as an optometrist when, in 2023, he brought Millicans Eye Centre together with Richard Mansfield’s practice a few doors away. The two had served the city alongside each other for decades. Today the bench runs through his daughter Sam, our founding director, with Rebecca as clinical director and Lee, who started in optics in 1998 working with David, as operational director.

We are a few minutes’ walk from the cathedral green, the market place and Vicars’ Close, the oldest purely residential street in Europe. It is a small city, and we have looked after a good deal of it.

A director of Millicans and Mansfield in front of the practice sign in Wells — One team, across two long-standing Wells practices.

1990David Millican moves Millicans Eye Centre to its long-standing building on the High Street in Wells.
1995Richard Mansfield, qualified in 1984, opens Mansfield Opticians a few doors away in the city.
2013Sam, David Millican’s daughter, joins the family practice and begins training on the bench.
2023Two of Wells’ most established practices merge under one roof at 65 High Street, taking in the former Scribbles shop next door.
2025Named a finalist in The Optician Awards, with the practice now run by Sam, Rebecca and Lee.
TodayOne independent practice in the smallest city in England, with the bench continuity that started with David Millican still running through it.

A dispensing optician at the frame wall at Millicans and Mansfield, Wells

THE WORK WE ARE KNOWN FOR

The complex cases other opticians refer away.

Rebecca, our clinical director, came to Wells from the glaucoma and corneal departments at Bristol Eye Hospital. That hospital background is why a small high-street practice can take on work most chains send elsewhere.

Keratoconus and complex lenses. Specialist contact-lens fitting for irregular corneas, not just a standard trial pair.
A dedicated dry-eye clinic. Assessment and a managed plan, rather than a bottle of drops over the counter.
Colorimetry and visual stress. Coloured overlays and precision-tinted lenses for reading difficulty, run by Lee.

BOOK AN EYE TEST

Tell us a good time, and we will call you back.

Leave your details and what you need, and the practice will phone to fix an appointment that suits you. Or call us directly on 01749 673991 during opening hours, Monday to Friday and Saturday morning.

NHS and private examinations, including children under sixteen.
Tell us if it is an enhanced exam, contact lenses, or a specialist clinic.
We will confirm by phone before anything is booked.

FIND US

On the High Street, between the market place and the cathedral.

THE PRACTICE

65 High Street
Wells, Somerset BA5 2AG

Phone · 01749 673991

Email · info@millicansmansfield.co.uk

We are on the High Street as it runs up toward the market place and the cathedral green, taking in the building next door that was once the Scribbles shop. The car parks off Princes Road and the Union Street multi-storey are a short walk away.

OPENING HOURS

Monday09:00 to 17:30
Tuesday09:00 to 17:30
Wednesday09:00 to 17:30
Thursday09:00 to 17:30
Friday09:00 to 17:30
Saturday09:00 to 13:00
SundayClosed

Saturday morning only, closed Sundays. Appointments are arranged by phone or through the form above.

65 High Street, Wells, between the market place and the cathedral green. Open in Google Maps ↗

QUESTIONS WE ARE ASKED MOST

A few quick answers.

Do you do NHS eye tests, including for children?

Yes. Sight tests for children under sixteen are funded by the NHS, as are tests for several other groups. We will tell you whether you qualify when you book. We also run a myopia-management programme for children whose short-sight is changing quickly.

What is an OCT scan, and do I need one?

An OCT scan photographs the layers beneath the surface of the retina, a little like an ultrasound for the eye. It can show early signs of glaucoma and macular conditions long before they affect your sight. It is part of our enhanced eye examination, and we will talk you through your own scan on the screen.

I have keratoconus or dry eye. Can you help?

Yes. Rebecca, our clinical director, came to us from the glaucoma and corneal departments at Bristol Eye Hospital, so we are set up for complex contact-lens fitting, keratoconus and a dedicated dry-eye clinic. Phone the practice on 01749 673991 and we will arrange the right appointment.

I was a patient of Millicans or Mansfield before the merger. What happens to my records?

Nothing is lost. The two practices joined together at 65 High Street in 2023, and your records came with you. You will see familiar faces, in one place, with more clinics and equipment under one roof than either practice had alone.

How do I book an appointment?

Use the form on this page and we will call you back to fix a time, or phone the practice directly on 01749 673991. We are open Monday to Friday nine to half past five, and Saturday morning until one.

Two practices,one bench in Wells.