On Wellington Street, Woolwich in 1904, Coton & Hamblin Optometrists was established.  Originally, the practice was called Hamblin's and part of the company that developed optical instruments.

Around the time of the First World War, we believe the practice became Hamblin & Coton, later changing to Coton & Hamblin.

The Coton brothers passed on the practice onto their nephew Stanley Packman, who in turn passed the practice to his daughter Margaret.  Margaret sadly passed away in July 2007 and the practices were purchased by Jo Cashell in September 2008, who still runs them today.

There are 2 practices - the original Coton & Hamblin on Wellington Street, Woolwich and a second practice at 178 Westcombe Hill, Blackheath Standard. The Blackheath site was previously part of the Banks Optician Family.

Coton & Hamblin has always focused on excellence in eyecare and in eyewear, which is part of its success story, along with the fantastic staff and patients who make the practices what they are today.

We welcome all patients and treat them like old friends and many are like family.  When we offer our advice and recommendations, we give our expert clinical opinions yet also think about each person as an individual and how we would advise our family members if they had an eye condition.

Our team of Optometrists have over 100 years of experience between them.  We are very proud of our Optom team - they are great with all patients from babies to our centurians and they are constantly upskilling as Optometry advances with new research and technology.  

They all have their own special areas of interest within Optometry, from Paedeatric Vision, Glaucoma, Medical Retina, Myopia control and the Minor Eye Conditions Service which runs across SE London.

Our owner, Jo, is one of the Clinical Leads for SE London MECS.  This additional role has improved eye care services for patients registered with a GP in SE London.  

We are one of a handful of practices in SE London who are an Essilor Bespoke Spectacle Lens Supplier - we have the latest digital measuring technology to optimise your spectacle lenses to enhance your vision.

Our new dry eye clinic is one of only two practices in SE London offering a new treatment of Intensed Pulsed Light IPL and Low Level Light Therapy.  This new treatment works at a cellular level and helps treat the root cause of dry eyes.

This is just a snapshop of who we are and what we do and we would love to look after your eyes and vision.