David Morgan was an independent department store in Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

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

The history of David Morgan Limited

The David Morgan department store was founded by David Morgan who was born near Brecon in 1833. He traded in Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn |Caerphilly]], within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, United Kingdom. It is sited just to the south of Rhymney, and to the west of the Rhymney River.-History:...

 in the Rhymney Valley

Rhymney Valley

The Rhymney Valley is a valley encompassing the villages of Abertysswg, Fochriw, Pontlottyn, Tirphil, New Tredegar, Aberbargoed, Rhymney, and Ystrad Mynach, and the towns of Bargoed and Caerphilly, in south-east Wales, formerly famous for its coal mining and iron industries.-Geography:Created as a...

 for 21 years, before opening a small drapers shop on The Hayes

The Hayes

The Hayes is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Based around the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised....

 in 1879.

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

Edwin Seward was an architect based in Cardiff, Wales. Born in Somerset, Seward trained in Yeovil before moving to Cardiff to work as an assistant to G. E. Robinson...

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

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 Central Arcade, running east/west from the Hayes to St...

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

Penarth

Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...

, 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.

The redevelopment of the site and David Morgan Apartments

The site was sold in late 2004 for £25 million and between 2007 and 2008 the whole site was refurbished. New stores include T.K. Maxx, Rossiters of Bath and clothing stores Moss and White Stuff

White Stuff Clothing

White Stuff is a chain of fashion retailers selling own-branded products for women and men.-History:The company was founded by Sean Thomas and George Treves, as a venture to sell ‘Boys from the White Stuff’ sweatshirts in bars around the French Alpine ski resort town of Val d'Isère in 1985...

. Borders 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.

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. As we stand in January 2011, all units facing onto the Hayes are occupied, with new and exclusive fashion retailers taking stores in the prime location such as Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters

Urban Outfitters, Inc. is a publicly traded American company that owns and operates five retail brands: Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Free People, Terrain, and BHLDN....

, Joules, Dr Martens, White Stuff

White Stuff Clothing

White Stuff is a chain of fashion retailers selling own-branded products for women and men.-History:The company was founded by Sean Thomas and George Treves, as a venture to sell ‘Boys from the White Stuff’ sweatshirts in bars around the French Alpine ski resort town of Val d'Isère in 1985...

, Azendi, TK Maxx, Moss Bros, Molton Brown and Shoon