DIXEY

Lewis Dixey (1814-1895)

Lewis (sometimes shown as Lewes) was a member of what can only be described as a dynasty of opticians that can be traced back to the 18^th-century. The company still exists. For most of that time, the term “optician” included not only people who tested as and made spectacles, but also those who made other optical and scientific equipment including telescopes and microscopes.

There had been a firm of opticians in New Bond Street under the name of William Fraser since 1777. When Charles Wastell Dixey (son of Edward, optician of Piccadilly) and his uncle George Dixey acquired the premises and business in 1824, the name changed to G&C Dixey, then to C. Dixey, and finally to C.W. Dixey (the name it bears today). The company prospered, eventually serving as opticians to the Monarchy and others including Winston Churchill. Through the 19^th century, branches run by other members of the Dixey family sprung up in other locations including Birmingham, Leamington, Norwich, and Brighton.

Lewis probably moved to Brighton in or just before 1841. The company seems to have prospered, despite having been burned out in 1852. According to his advertisement in 1889, they made spectacles and opera glasses, telescopes and binoculars, and mathematical instruments. By 1891, Lewis had retired and the company had been taken over by Morice Dixey who described himself as a “manufacturing optician”. His 1905 advertisement mentioned  “field glasses, barometers, etc” as well as “spectacle maker to the Sussex County Hospital and Surgical Aid Society”. By 1913, the company was advertising as “Dixey’s Ltd”.