Brightwells

Last updated

Former Brightwells Store in 2012 Charity shop, High St - geograph.org.uk - 2955501.jpg
Former Brightwells Store in 2012

Brightwells was a department store in Southend-on-Sea, England. The store was founded by John Rumbelow Brightwell and opened on the city's High Street in the 19th century as a drapery. [1] This became a department store which was incorporated in 1909 as J.R. Brightwell Ltd. [2] Its direct competitors were Keddies, J F Dixons and Thomas Brothers. [3]

John Brightwell had been an alderman of the county borough of Southend-on-Sea and twice the Mayor of Southend. [2] The business was sold to Percy & Francis Barnes in 1925. [2] [4] A year later John Brightwell died, at the age of 78. [5]

The store closed in the late 1970s and the building, which had 12,200 square foot of space over four floors, was purchased for £250,000 by Ketts Electrical in 1979. [6] Ketts Electrical closed in the 1980s after it was purchased by Rumbelows. The Store remained empty in 1980s, however a gym opened on the 2nd floor.

The store was home to the British Heart Foundation until 2015, when both the gym and store were vacated to make way for an apartment development called the Drapery, named in reference to Brightwells. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southend-on-Sea</span> City and unitary authority in Essex, England

Southend-on-Sea, commonly referred to as Southend, is a coastal city and unitary authority area with borough status in southeastern Essex, England. It lies on the north side of the Thames Estuary, 40 miles (64 km) east of central London. It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest pleasure pier in the world, Southend Pier. London Southend Airport is located north of the city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whiteleys</span> Former department store and shopping centre in London

Whiteleys was a shopping centre in Bayswater, London. It was built in the retail space of the former William Whiteley Limited department store, which opened in 1911 as one of London's first department stores, and was one of the main department stores, alongside Selfridge's, Liberty's and Harrods. The centre's main entrance was located on Queensway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allders</span> British department store

Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cavendish House</span>

Cavendish House was Cheltenham's oldest department store, located on The Promenade. Its establishment was of great significance for Cheltenham's future reputation as a leading shopping centre. Known as 'Cavendish House' from its early days, its name was officially adopted with the registration of a limited liability company in 1883. The store became part of the House of Fraser group in 1970. The store closed in April 2024, after 201 years.

Owen Owen was a Liverpool-based operator of department stores in the United Kingdom and Canada. Beginning with a drapery shop in Liverpool, a chain of department stores was built up, often by taking over rival retailers. The company remained under Owen / Norman family control until the 1980s, and the brand ceased to be used in 2007.

Army & Navy Stores was a department store group in the United Kingdom, which originated as a co-operative society for military officers and their families during the nineteenth century. The society became a limited liability company in the 1930s and purchased multiple independent department stores during the 1950s and 1960s. In 1973, the Army and Navy Stores group was acquired by House of Fraser. In 2005, the remaining Army & Navy stores were refurbished and re-branded under the House of Fraser nameplate. House of Fraser itself was acquired by Icelandic investment company, Baugur Group, in late 2006, and then by Sports Direct on the 10 August 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">H & J Smith</span>

H & J Smith Holdings Ltd, branded as H & J Smith was a company which operated in the lower South Island of New Zealand. The company was founded in 1900 and closed in 2023. It operates a network of franchises. The company previously operated department stores around the South Island with the flagship store in Invercargill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southend Victoria railway station</span> Railway station in Essex, England

Southend Victoria railway station is the eastern terminus of the Shenfield to Southend Line in the East of England, a branch off the Great Eastern Main Line, and is one of the primary stations serving the resort city of Southend-on-Sea, Essex. It is 41 miles 42 chains (66.83 km) down the line from London Liverpool Street; the preceding station on the line is Prittlewell. The Engineer's Line Reference for the line is SSV; the station's three-letter station code is SOV. The station has four platforms each with an operational length for 10-car Class 720 trains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swan & Edgar</span> Former department store in London

Swan & Edgar Ltd was a department store, located at Piccadilly Circus on the western side between Piccadilly and Regent Street established in the early 19th century and closed in 1982.

Lion Store was a Toledo, Ohio department store chain. Mercantile Stores operated the chain from 1914 until its 1998 acquisition by Dillard's, which retired the Lion nameplate in 1999.

United Drapery Stores, or UDS, was a British retail group that dominated the British high street from the 1950s to the early 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Derry & Toms</span> Former department store in London

Derry & Toms was a London department store that was founded in 1860 in Kensington High Street and was famous for its Roof Garden which opened in 1938. In 1973 the store was closed and became home to Big Biba, which closed in 1975. The site was developed into smaller stores and offices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fenwick Colchester</span> Large high street department store situated in Colchester, Essex, England

Fenwick Colchester is a large high street department store situated in Colchester, Essex, England, formerly known as Williams & Griffin (1963–2016).

Southend-on-Sea Corporation Tramways served the town of Southend-on-Sea in Essex from 19 July 1901 until 8 April 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bourne & Hollingsworth</span> Former department store in London

Bourne & Hollingsworth, known also in its latter days as Bournes was a large department store on the corner of Oxford Street and Berners Street. It was named after its founders, Walter William Bourne and Howard E Hollingsworth, brothers in law, who started the store in Westbourne Grove as a drapery store in 1894. The store then moved to the Oxford Street site (pictured) in 1902 due to competition with Whiteleys, and by 1928 the store had been remodelled in the Art Deco style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barkers of Kensington</span> Former department store in London

Barkers of Kensington was a department store in Kensington High Street, Kensington, London. It began as a small drapery business, John Barker & Company, founded by John Barker and James Whitehead in 1870. Barkers grew rapidly to become one of London's largest and most well-known department stores.

Keddies was a small chain of department stores in Essex, England, with its flagship store in a prime location in Southend High Street. The business had a national reputation, being recognised in The Fashion Handbook, appearing on the side of a Matchbox model 17C bus and being one of the retailers that fought to remove Retail Price Maintenance. Keddies closed for business on 26 February 1996 after going into administration.

Dixons was an independent department store that opened it's doors in Southend, England, during 1913 and closed for good 60 years later in 1973.

J R Roberts Stores was a small department store chain operating in the South East of England, before the business was purchased by a larger department store company, Hide & Co in 1950. The Stratford store was sold off, and the Southend store continued to trade under the J R Roberts Stores name until Hide & Co were purchased by House of Fraser in 1975, and the store was rebranded.

Pontings was a department store based in Kensington High Street, London and operated from 1863 to 1970.

References

  1. 1874 Post Office Directory of Essex
  2. 1 2 3 "Seax - Browse Catalogue D/DGS B268-286". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2014.
  3. Dee Gordon (2006). Southend Memories. ISBN   9780750953283.
  4. THE DIRECTORY OF DIRECTORS. 1927. p. 84.
  5. "Obituary". Justice of the Peace. Vol. 90. 1926. p. 9.
  6. "Purchases". The Estate Gazette. 251: 1194. 1979.
  7. "60 new flats above High Street shops - Evening Echo p.5/12/2015" . Retrieved 12 September 2015.

51°32′05″N0°42′49″E / 51.5346°N 0.7137°E / 51.5346; 0.7137