Registration number:

Company name: David Evans & Co Ltd
Dates in business: 1900-1977

Type of business: Department store retailer

Type of company: Private limited liability company 1900-1977

Locations:

• Temple Street, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• Goat Street, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• Princess Way, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• 47 High Street, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• 75 Woodfield Street, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• 37 St Helens Way, Swansea, Swansea, Wales
• Cwmbran, Torfaen, Wales
• Port Talbot, Neath, Wales

Company history

David Evans & Co Ltd, Swansea was founded in 1900 by Soloman Andrews, a prominent Cardiff businessman, his son Francis Emile Andrews and well-known local draper David Evans. The business opened in premises on the site of the old Theatre Royal which were built by a company belonging to Soloman Andrews and leased to David Evans & Co Ltd. David Evans & Co Ltd bought the building in 1907 and extended the ground floor during 1908 and 1909. David Evans was the first Managing Director of the company, but after the difficult years during the First World War he became disillusioned with business and in 1919 he resigned his position and sold his shares.

The store was completely destroyed during an air raid on 21 February 1941and the company traded from temporary leased premises for the duration of the war. It was not until 1954 that the new building was opened on the same site as the old one. By this time Goat Street had been widened and modernised and renamed Princess Way. Temple Street was now a pedestrianised shopping street.

The company purchased W J Williams, a well-established shop in Port Talbot in 1951, and in 1961 they opened an entirely new store in the new town of Cwmbran Before the destruction of the store David Evans & Co Ltd employed 157 people, which was reduced to 83 at the time the store reopened. The store was expanded in 1958 with the addition of a new floor, and in 1959 a Food Hall was opened. The Andrews family remained heavily involved in the running of the company until David Evans & Co Ltd was sold to House of Fraser in 1977. Arthur Andrews took over from his father, Francis Emile Andrews, as Chairman in 1943. When Arthur Andrews eventually retired as chairman in 1976, when his son Edward took on the role. The store at Swansea was demolished in 2007 for the redevelopement of the site, but the medallions which adorned the side of the store and showed Fashion Through the Ages were preserved and can now be viewed at the Swansea Museum

Access points: Department stores - Retail trade