Brightwells Department Store was started in the 19th century by John Rumbelow Brightwell in

Southend-on-Sea 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, east of central London. It is bordered ...

High Street as a

drapery Drapery is a general word referring to cloths or textiles (Old French , from Late Latin ). It may refer to cloth used for decorative purposes – such as around windows – or to the trade of retailing cloth, originally mostly for clothin ...

. This became a department store which was incorporated in 1909 as J.R. Brightwell Ltd. Its direct competitors were

Keddies Keddies was a small chain of department stores in Essex, England, with its flagship store in a prime location in Southend High Street (originally called the Broadway). The business had a national reputation, being recognised in The Fashion Handbo ...

and

J L Dixons J L Dixons department store opened in Southend, England, in 1913 and shut its doors in 1973. Background The store was located on the corner of London Road and what was called The Broadway, now known as the High Street with its main competitors ...

. John Brightwell had been an alderman of the

county borough of Southend-on-Sea Southend-on-Sea was a local government district from 1866 to 1974 around the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea in Essex, England. Its origin was a local board formed for the parish of St John the Baptist, which had been split off from Prittlewell f ...

and twice the Mayor of Southend. The store closed in the early 1970s and was replaced by Ketts Electrical in the landmark building. Ketts Electrical closed in the 1980s after it was purchased by Rumberlows. 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 a flats development called the Drapery in reference to Brightwells.

References

Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom Department stores in Southend-On-Sea (town) Buildings and structures in Southend-on-Sea Department store buildings in the United Kingdom Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom {{UK-retail-company-stub