Upchurch Jewellers is one of Colchester’s most recognised and highly-regarded businesses, but this Christmas will be its last in the town. Rebecca Drake shares the tale of this unique retail outlet
Sadly, Adrian Batchelor, the current owner of Upchurch Jewellers, recently announced that he plans to close the store and the final few weeks of trading have been heralded by a spectacular closing down sale, which started in October.
Reginald Upchurch, the original member of the Upchurch family to run the popular jewellers, trained to be a watchmaker in Aylesbury and later in London. He met and married his wife Katie in 1939 and the couple moved to Colchester, where Reginald began to work for the County Jeweller. Fast forward several years and the young Reginald returned late from the war after serving in Burma. To establish himself once again as a skilled watchmaker, Reginald began to work freelance, offering his expert services to many jewellers throughout the area, one of which was HJ Lamb.
This story is from the December 2017 edition of Essex Life.
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This story is from the December 2017 edition of Essex Life.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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