# Brightwells

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{{Short description|Former department store in Southend}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}
thumb|Former Brightwells Store in 2012

'''Brightwells''' was a department store in [Southend-on-Sea](/source/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](/source/drapery).<ref>1874 Post Office Directory of Essex</ref> This became a department store which was incorporated in 1909 as J.R. Brightwell Ltd.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=https://secureweb1.essexcc.gov.uk/SeaxPAM/ViewCatalogue.aspx?ID=837976 |title=Seax - Browse Catalogue D/DGS B268-286 |access-date=23 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305132640/https://secureweb1.essexcc.gov.uk/SeaxPAM/ViewCatalogue.aspx?ID=837976 |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Its direct competitors were [Keddies](/source/Keddies), [J F Dixons](/source/J_F_Dixons) and Thomas Brothers.<ref>{{cite book|title=Southend Memories|author=Dee Gordon|date=2006|isbn=9780750953283}}</ref>

John Brightwell had been an alderman of the [county borough of Southend-on-Sea](/source/County_Borough_of_Southend_on_Sea) and twice the Mayor of Southend.<ref name="auto"/> The business was sold to Percy & Francis Barnes in 1925.<ref name="auto"/><ref>{{cite book|title=THE DIRECTORY OF DIRECTORS|page=84|date=1927}}</ref> A year later John Brightwell died, at the age of 78.<ref>{{cite periodical|title=Obituary|periodical=Justice of the Peace|volume=90|date=1926|page=9}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Purchases|journal=The Estate Gazette|volume=251|page=1194|date=1979}}</ref> Ketts Electrical closed in the 1980s after it was purchased by [Rumbelows](/source/Rumbelows). The Store remained empty in 1980s, however a gym opened on the 2nd floor.

The store was home to the [British Heart Foundation](/source/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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/14125005.60_new_flats_above_Southend_High_Street_shops/|title=60 new flats above High Street shops - Evening Echo p.5/12/2015|accessdate=12 September 2015}}</ref>

==References==
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Category:Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom
Category:Department stores in Southend-on-Sea (town)
Category:Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea
Category:Department store buildings in the United Kingdom
Category:Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Companies based in Southend-on-Sea

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Brightwells](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightwells) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brightwells?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.