CHARLES HART .....JEWELLERS..............

This little business grew from a small workshop in Birmingham at the start of the 19th century, with the present owners ancestor George Hart. He worked for a watchmaker in the Aston part of the city and then after some years he started his own business.
He had three sons one was called Charles, he moved from Birmingham to Wiltshire with his wife Jane, and took over a small jewellery shop in Bradford on Avon. The original jewellery shop had been started in 1820, and Charles had a small shop in Paul Street Frome from around 1900. In 1920 he purchased Ballard & Sons in Bath Street . He lived over the shop with his wife and three sons.

The Grandfather (George Hart), and father, (Philip Hart)
of the present owner, taken in 1942

The business then expanded, and his sons ran the new shops, one in Bruton, and one in Castle Cary, George Hart (the present owner's grandfather) opened a shop in Princes Street, Yeovil.
The 2nd World War put paid to many small businesses, and only Frome & Yeovil shops remained, but another shop, in Melksham had been added in the mid 30's. George expanded to Weston Super Mare, but on his death in 1962, his sons, Michael and Philip (the present owners father) had to pay death duties, and this led to the closure of the Weston shop. Michael left the business in Yeovil, and this was closed down, whilst Philip kept the expansion theme going by opening Chippenham, and Warminster (where the present owner, Christopher, first worked in 1968). We sadly have to announce that Philip passed away suddenly on March 1st 2007.

We are proud to announce that Alex Hart has now joined the business. At 31 years old, Alex has already obtained several jewellery qualifications and has worked at Goldsmiths Jewellers in Bath. He becomes the ninth generation of Harts since 1820 and will bring a new and fresh approach to this, one of Britains longest established family jewellers.

A procession in the early 20's passing our first shop in Bath Street, Frome.

The business in Frome moved in 1972 to Cheap Street, then a wool shop, as Bath Street had become very much out of the centre, Philip felt the move was needed, HJ White, another jewellers in Frome, moved from The Bridge also to Cheap Street, and therefore the three well known jewellers, Charles Hart (then called Chas Hart & Sons), HJ White, and the oldest jeweller in Frome, Vincents, were all in the same street.
In 1978, Philip decided to retire, and Chistopher, his son had bought the Melksham shop in 1976, then bought out his father in 1978, adding to this, he also opened a shop in Street, Weymouth, Warminster, and Trowbridge.
Christopher then saw an opportunity to purchase a shop opposite, then a tobacconists, and in 1983 the business moved a few yards across the road.

Our present shop, once Home & Colonial Stores, c 1912.  Click the link below to see an image of this area in 1830

The present owner has over those years sold off all the other shops, and now only has the one in Frome.
The underlying theme of Charles Hart Jewellers has always been one of service, care and quality. Those principles have never altered, and those same standards apply today just as they did almost 200 years ago.

Frome has seen many changes, and many old established retailers have now gone. The wonderful shops that were Lees, in Catherine Street, a department store right up to the late 60's, Date Brothers, a real general hardware store, now Boots, Woodmancy on The Bridge, where one could buy the latest 78rpm records, and a whole host of other lovely shops that are gone forever. However, Charles Hart have remained throughout! The other jewellers have gone, the famous names are gone too, but in 2006 Charles Hart have been in Frome for exactly 80 years.

Its always hard to know how long a business can survive in these modern days with so many different ways of trading. This web site is testament of just how Charles Hart are grasping the modern ways of retailing but still offering the traditional values that are the hallmark of its business. We often say about businesses, use it or lose it, and this cannot be a more true statement about all the shops and businesses in Frome.

We hope you will find this web site useful, informative and worthwhile. Please enjoy using it, and please send any comments to enquiry@charleshart.co.uk  oh, by the way, its still just as much fun to come into our shop, and do real shopping!

SOME BRANDS WE CURRENTLY STOCK
WATCHES: ROTARY,CITIZEN,SWATCH,SEKONDA,SEKSY,LORUS,ROYAL,CANNIBAL. OTHER BRANDS: FIORELLI, GABYS,CROSS PENS, KIT HEATH,GECKO,CHARMLINKS,SOS TALISMAN + much much more.
ROLEX- we are able to obtain excellent re-furbished Rolex watches, plus many other top makes. Please give us a call on 01373 462090

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