David Jackson, the fourth generation of the family to run Jackson Jewellers in The Parade, passed away on New Year’s Eve, aged 82.

David, of Loudwater Lane, Croxley Green, first worked alongside his mother in the shop after leaving the Marines and was part of the business for more than 60 years.

The jewellers has been in the Jackson family since 1876 and moved into its current shop – a building dating back to the 1480s – in the 1950s.

Dan Jackson, who worked alongside his father for 35 years, described him as a “widely read man” and “very knowledgeable”.

Dan said: “He would read absolutely anything. As a son giving him a birthday or Christmas present, my challenge was to find a book that he would find boring – and I never managed it.

“He was absolutely fascinated by everything. History was his big love and passion and obviously the shop, so with us selling antiques – that’s what we specialise in – he would find as much of the history as he could behind objects.”