David Morgan was an independent

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

that ceased operating in January 2005 after 125 years of trading. It opened on 31 October 1879 and closed its doors for the final time on Saturday 30 January 2005.

History

The David Morgan department store was founded by David Morgan who was born near Brecon in 1833. He traded in the South wales valley areas of

Abertillery Abertillery (; cy, Abertyleri) is a town and a community of the Ebbw Fach valley in the historic county of Monmouthshire, Wales. Following local government reorganisation it became part of the Blaenau Gwent County Borough administrative area ...

, Monmouthshire and

Pontlottyn Pontlottyn ( cy, Pontlotyn) is a village located in the county borough of Caerphilly, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River. History Pontlottyn, ...

in the

Rhymney Valley The Rhymney Valley () is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (one ...

for 21 years, before opening a small drapers shop on

The Hayes The Hayes ( cy, Yr Ais) is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Centred on the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised and is the location ...

in 1879. From this small shop the store steadily expanded along The Hayes, to become a six storey department store, rivalling nearby

Howells Howells may refer to: People *Howells (surname) Places in the United States * Howells, Colorado, a place in Colorado *Howells, Nebraska *Howells, New York *Howells Junction, New York, a place in New York Business establishments * Howells (depa ...

. The David Morgan department store consisted of three buildings; the south building was built by James & Morgan in 1891/2 along with additions made in 1904, the middle building was designed by architect

Edwin Seward Edwin Seward (1853–1924) was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Biography Born in Somerset, Seward came to Cardiff aged 16 and studied at the School of Art. He began work as an assistant to architect G. E. Robinson. Seward was one of th ...

in 1899 with the north building being built in 1912. In 1896, the company added the

Morgan Arcade The Morgan Arcade is a shopping arcade in Cardiff, South Wales. Started in 1896, it was built to connect the main entrance of David Morgan's department store on St Mary's Street, with his other store on The Hayes. It opened in 1899 as the New ...

under the shop, to better connect the various buildings. The company also had a branch in

Windsor Road Windsor Road is a notable road in the Hills District of Sydney. It starts from Windsor, New South Wales and ends at Northmead, New South Wales. However, Windsor Road is not continuous. The northern section of Windsor Road (Windsor to Kellyvil ...

, Penarth, with two shops a few doors apart from each other. When the store closed in 2005, it was the largest independent department store in Wales. Throughout its time, it was owned and operated by the Morgan family, through the holding company Deymel Investments, and the Cardiff Arcade Company which owned and operated the Royal and Morgan arcades, which run underneath the store. David Morgan Limited, Deymel Investments Limited and the Cardiff Arcade Company Limited are now all in liquidation.

Redevelopment

The site was sold in late 2004 to Helical Bar plc for £29 million. Between 2007 and 2008 the whole site was refurbished and 65 apartments were built on the floors. New stores include T.K. Maxx, Rossiters of Bath and clothing stores Moss and White Stuff.

Borders A border is a geographical boundary. Border, borders, The Border or The Borders may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * ''Border'' (1997 film), an Indian Hindi-language war film * ''Border'' (2018 Swedish film), ...

opened in 2008 however ceased trading in December 2009 following Borders UK entering administration. Luxury apartments, called the David Morgan Apartments, have been built on the upper floors of the six storey store.Historic store sold off as flats
/ref> Since the opening of St Davids Shopping Centre there has been a greater demand for the stores which were once David Morgan, in particular the stores fronting onto the Hayes.

References

{{reflist Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Morgan David Edwin Seward buildings Grade II listed buildings in Cardiff Retail buildings in Wales Shopping in Cardiff Grade II listed retail buildings Department store buildings in the United Kingdom Castle, Cardiff