Marlborough Jewellers has stood on the wide High Street of Marlborough, Wiltshire since the year of American independence. Through Georgian Britain, the Industrial Revolution, two World Wars, and everything since. Today the shop is held by the Warr family, second generation of David Christopher Jewellers of Ross-on-Wye, who took the keys from Mrs Deacon on her retirement in 2000 and kept the historic name. The goldsmith\u2019s bench is at the back, as it has always been.
A goldsmith works on the premises at 19 High Street, not at a head-office repair centre out of town. Resize a ring while you wait if the work allows. Re-tip worn claws on an heirloom solitaire. Re-shank a band that has worn paper-thin. Solder a broken chain, re-string a strand of pearls. Bench standards held to CMJ guidelines.
A written valuation document prepared at the bench. Insurance scheduling, probate, divorce settlement, or simply knowing whether a piece you inherited is worth two hundred pounds or twenty thousand. Tell us what the valuation is for and we will write to that purpose, with photographs and clear methodology.
Quartz and mechanical watches assessed at the bench, written estimate before any work begins. For makers we are not authorised to service in-house (some modern Swiss in particular) we arrange manufacturer repairs through their UK service centres. Clocks too. Long-case, mantle, wall.
Bring unwanted gold or a watch in for a free, no-obligation valuation against the day’s market. We pay on the day. Wednesdays and Saturdays are busiest because of the twice-weekly Marlborough market on the High Street, so a quieter midweek visit usually gets more time at the counter.
Resizing a ring while you wait, where the work allows. Re-tipping the worn claws on a solitaire that has been worn daily for fifty years. Re-shanking a wedding band that has gone paper-thin at the bottom. Soldering a broken chain so it sits the way it used to. Re-stringing a strand of pearls with proper silk between each stone. The work that needs eyes and time and a vice, not a postal van to head office.
Most chain jewellers stopped offering repair on the premises when it became cheaper to send pieces away. We did not. The customer who walks in on a Wednesday market day with a damaged piece and a half hour to spare leaves the same day with the work done, or with a written estimate and a date.
“Bring it in. The bench is where this trade started, and where it still works best.” The Warr family, custodians since 2000
The High Street it opens on is itself young. Twenty-three decades earlier, the Great Fire of Marlborough on 28 April 1653 had burned the Guildhall, St Mary\u2019s Church and two hundred and forty-four houses to the ground. The town was rebuilt in brick and timber with one of the widest high streets in England. By 1776 a jeweller takes the lease at number 19 and starts trading. The shop has been trading on that address ever since.
Several owners across the centuries. The most recent transition: in 2000, Mrs Deacon, the long-standing owner, retired. The Warr family of Ross-on-Wye, second generation of David Christopher Jewellers, bought the business and kept the name. Today the shop is run by Mark and Andrew Warr, brothers, as part of the ten-store David Christopher group and a member of the Company of Master Jewellers.
The pitch is not a fairy tale about a single family holding the keys for two and a half centuries. It is the more honest claim: the longest-standing jewellery shop in Marlborough, in trusted family hands across the centuries, with a goldsmith\u2019s bench still working at the back.
The CMJ is the UK trade body whose membership is open only to independent retail jewellers held to a published code of practice. The badge over the door means valuations, repair work and sales here are held to the same standards a customer would expect of a fellow CMJ member three counties away. The trade keeps its own house in order; the membership is how we say so.
A short form for an enquiry by email. We respond inside two working days, usually faster. For a valuation, a repair, a sale, or a commission, an honest assessment at the bench is always free, and always quicker in person. Bring the piece into 19 High Street any opening day.
19 High Street
Marlborough
Wiltshire SN8 1AA
Phone · 01672 512229
Email · info@marlboroughjewellers.co.uk
Parking · High Street short-stay; The Common and George Lane car parks within a few minutes' walk
Market days · Wednesday and Saturday. The High Street is busiest then. Midweek mornings outside market hours are quieter for a longer conversation about a valuation or a commission.
Yes. The shop has stood on Marlborough High Street since 1776, the year of American independence, on what is widely held to be one of the widest high streets in England. The streetscape itself is older still, rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1653. There have been several owners across the centuries. The current custodians, since 2000, are the Warr family of Ross-on-Wye, second generation of David Christopher Jewellers.
Yes. The goldsmith’s bench is at the back of the shop at 19 High Street. Resizing, re-tipping claws, re-shanking, soldering, pearl re-stringing, repair on inherited and damaged pieces, bespoke commissions on stones you bring in. Most jewellers stopped offering this when they outsourced repairs to head office. We did not.
Bring it in. We will give an honest assessment over the counter, free of charge, before any decision about valuation, sale or insurance. If it is worth scheduling on a household policy, we will write the valuation. If it is sentimental rather than valuable, we will say so. If you would prefer to sell, we will quote against the day’s market with no obligation.
Where we are authorised and equipped, the work stays at the Marlborough bench. For modern Swiss makers whose movements we are not authorised to open in-house, we arrange manufacturer repairs through their UK service centres and keep you informed at every step. The written estimate makes clear which route the piece will take.
Monday to Saturday, 9.30 in the morning to 4.30 in the afternoon. Closed Sundays. The Marlborough markets run on Wednesdays and Saturdays so those tend to be the busiest days at the counter. For a longer conversation about a valuation or a commission, midweek mornings outside market hours are quieter.