Howells (department store)

James Howell was the son of a Pembrokeshire farmer.[1] On 21 October 1865, he opened a shop in The Hayes, Cardiff,[1] in a building called Stuart Hall. In August 1867, the drapery shop moved to St Mary Street.[2] By 1892, he had a shop which extended from Trinity Street in the east, to St Mary Street in the west.[1] The first part of the current store was built in the late 19th century and includes an ornate facade on St Mary Street. In the 1920s, a large and well-proportioned neoclassical extension was built up to the corner of St Mary Street and Heol-y-Cawl. A unique result of this extension was that Bethany Chapel, built on the site of an earlier chapel in 1865, was absorbed into the fabric of the building and its frontage was incorporated into the interior and is still visible in the store today, fronting onto the men's Aquascutum department.[3]

Howells Department Store was a family-run business, owned and managed by the family of James Howell. After Howell's death in 1909, his 11 children formed a private limited company, James Howell & Co Ltd.[2] Further extensions were added throughout the 1930s, 1950s and 1960s, causing the building to show the architectural trends of the Late Victorian era to the Modernism of the 1960s.

The James Howell empire extended across Wharton Street, connected by a bridge, where a car showroom was built (now Cotswold Outdoor Ltd), and a funeral home was also established by the family on the St Mary Street side of the store. Both these businesses were short-lived; the car showroom was bought by rival David Morgan, who extended his store, and the premises of the funeral home became part of the department store.

In 1963, by which time it was owned by a Bournemouth company, Howells was bought for £3 million by Welsh banker Sir Julian Hodge, who promised the ownership would never again leave Wales.[1] The store was extensively refurbished. In April 1972, Hodge and the Howells directors sold the shop to the House of Fraser chain, in a deal worth £5 million, meaning the store ceased to be an independent department store (or with Welsh ownership). [4][1]

While under the ownership of Mohamed Al-Fayed, the House of Fraser chain prompted controversy with its sale of animal fur. In the late 1980s, activists petrol bombed the Howells store, along with the flagship Harrods store and the store's Plymouth branch. The company subsequently sought to resolve the issue with an ethical sourcing policy including not using fur products in its clothing.

The store continued to be a major destination for shoppers, being the second-largest department store in Wales and even more so after the demise of its long-term rival David Morgan in January 2005. The store had around 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m²) of selling space, making it one of the largest stores in the House of Fraser chain. In late 2009, it underwent a multi-million-pound refurbishment to bring it in line with the new John Lewis store which had opened nearby. The department store itself was also rebranded from 'Howells' to the core marque 'House of Fraser'; however, due to the store's status as a listed building, the 'James Howell & Co' signs remained. In August 2010, banners referring to the store as 'Howells' appeared above the main entrances and the House of Fraser signage.

On 7 June 2018, it was announced that the store would close along with 30 other House of Fraser stores.[5] However, on 27 September 2018 the landlord Naissance Capital Real Estate declared they were working with the House of Fraser to keep the store open.[6]

The building was then bought by Thackeray Group in January 2022, with the intention of converting it into a mixed-use scheme.[7] including an aparthotel, restaurants, shops, leisure facilities and offices.[8]The store closed permanently on 26 March 2023.[9][10]

The building is Grade II* listed.[11] The twelve bays northern bays fronting onto St Mary Street te from 1875-6. The classical corner block on the corner of St Mary Street and Wharton Street dates from 1928-30, designed by architect Percy Thomas.[11] In the 1990s, the Victorian frontage on St Mary Street, neglected for the best part of 50 years, was cleaned and restored, greatly enhancing the building's appearance.

The large Bethany Particular Baptist Chapel was located behind the Percy Thomas extension, off Wharton Street. The chapel closed in 1965 and Howells was expanded, incorporating the chapel into its structure. The chapel's original features - upper front windows, columns, ceiling arch and a memorial plaque - all remained visible inside the shop.[12] In 2023, the developers announced plans to uncover the façade of the chapel, and create a publicly-accessible space around it.[13][14]

In 2005, the store was used as a set both inside and outside in the revived BBC series Doctor Who. In the opening episode called "Rose", the store was blown up. The shop is used as the set for Rose Tyler's workplace, "Henrik's".[15]

• Williams, Stewart, ed. (1973). The Cardiff Book. Vol. 1. Stewart Williams Publishers. ISBN 0-900807-05-9.
• Williams, Stewart, ed. (1974). The Cardiff Book. Vol. 2. Stewart Williams Publishers. ISBN 0-900807-09-1.
• Finch, Peter (2004). Real Cardiff. Vol. 2: The Greater City. Seren. pp. 50, 83. ISBN 1-85411-384-4.

• Media related to Howells at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website