Past recovery: staff clear out Ye Oldest Chymist Shoppe in England, which was founded in Knaresborough in 1720 and closed last week. 'We just have too many chemists in a small town,' said owner Stewart Newsome. Knaresborough's chamber of trade hopes a museum might be set up on the ground floor of the shop, which contains a blood-letting couch and a dog-powered pestle and mortar.