It was the end of an era when Cardiff's House of Fraser store in the iconic Howell's building closed its doors for the final time at the weekend. The department store in the heart of the city centre had been open since 1865 and served generations of shoppers with everything from the latest fashions and beauty products to luxury Welsh food produce and gift cards.
Staff bid farewell to the building that some had worked in for decades on Sunday with plenty of cake and dancing before shutting up shop. Many were left in tears as they recalled memories of working in the building while customers picked up the bargains that remained after prices were slashed.
The historic building is set to be transformed following its closure, with plans put forward to replace it with bars, restaurants and even a hotel, with a glamorous roof terrace also proposed. You can read more about those plans here.
READ MORE: Dancing and tears as staff who've worked together for decades say goodbye to House of Fraser
While many will miss the Howell's building, which has been a staple of the Cardiff shopping scene for over 150 years, it is certainly not the first iconic store to be lost in the city. Several huge names have come and gone over the decades, before being replaced by a number of high street brands.
Shoppers used to flock in their droves to these Cardiff institutions, but are now left with only memories, with the stores being taken over, closed down and some even demolished.
Here we look back at some of the city centre stores which we have loved and lost over the years:
David Morgan
A rival to Howells, David Morgan was one of Cardiff's oldest and most-loved department stores, trading for 125 years before closing its doors for the final time in January 2005.
What started as a small drapers shop on the Hayes in 1879 soon expanded into a six-storey department store, which covered 170,000 square foot of trading space and sold a variety of goods, from souvenirs to bridal wear. At the time of its closure, it was the largest independent department store in Wales.
Today, the Morgan Quarter, which covers the Victorian-built Morgan and Royal Arcades, as well as the site of the former department store, is one of the most popular shopping areas in Cardiff. The building itself is now home to other stores including Urban Outfitters, Fred Perry and Molton Brown.
Woolworths
The truly iconic store was on every high street in the UK for decades, with more than 800 stores operating across the country at its peak. But they vanished on our high streets at the end of 2008, with the loss of 27,000 jobs.
In 1913, Queen Street branch became the 25th Woolworths to open in the UK but it was the second in Wales after the first opened in Swansea the previous year. It initially had a billiards room above it, but was rebuilt and extended in the 1960s, with a cafe overlooking the huge sales floor.
Today, the massive building is home to Primark. Meanwhile, another former Woolworths branch on Albany Road in Roath is now a Home Bargains.
BHS
British Home Stores - to give it its full name - was another much-loved department store which primarily sold clothes and household items. It was initially housed in the Queens West building, but later moved to another unit on Queen Street. That flagship store employed up to 200 staff but closed in early 2013 after decades on the busy shopping street.
When the closure was announced, workers were told a new smaller store may open in Cardiff about six months later. The branch in Cardiff Bay was initially not affected by the closure, but also shut in 2016 when liquidators were called in to wind up the high street giant after a rescue deal failed to work.
Today, the site of the original BHS building is occupied by Superdrug, while upstairs has recently been taken over by Roxy Lanes bowling alley. You can read more about that here.
Littlewoods
The retailer had branches right across the UK during its 65 years in business, including on Cardiff's Queen Street. Selling a variety of low-cost clothing and household goods, it was one of the most popular shopping spots in the city during its prime.
While the chain still operates online, however, we haven't seen it lining up on the high street since 2005, when it was wound up, with nearly 120 stores closing down.
The site has since been taken over by Next.
Chelsea Girl
Alongside Dorothy Perkins and Burtons, Chelsea Girl was one of the go-to places to shop for teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s. The store was known for its eclectic styles, eye-popping colours and new age attitudes to women's fashion, with branches opened up across the UK.
Started by clothing retailer Bernard Lewis in 1948 with just groceries and wool, it has since rebranded as River Island, merging into the company in the 1990s and continuing to trade quite happily.
The former Cardiff branch on the corner of Queen Street and Park Place is now home to a Costa Coffee.
Evan Roberts
Like James Howell and David Morgan, Evan Roberts was a farmers son and came to Cardiff in 1890, after already making a small fortune in Swansea. His shop on the corner of Kingsway went after “the carriage trade” – the wives of coal and shipping tycoons, their carriages rolling down from Park Place or Cathedral Road.
Known by many in the city as the place to buy your school uniform, the department store served Cardiff for decades, before closing in 1983. It was demolished a couple of years later.
Today, the site is home to a handful of businesses including Santander and Pizza Hut.
C&A
The German chain was a giant for generations and it was hard to miss it with that lurid rainbow logo. The international fashion retailer was once on almost every major high street across the UK, having had a presence in the country since 1922.
Renowned for its fashions and ski wear, it announced plans to withdraw from the UK in 2000, and the last stores closed in 2001 - although you will still find stores on the continent.
Shoppers won't find C&A on Queen Street anymore, with the site now home to Matalan.
Marments
Instantly recognisable from its "distinctive facade, imposing pillars and commanding height", the huge building on Queen Street was once home to Marments fashion emporium. Originally housed in Duke Street, it moved to its new home on the busy shopping street in the 1920s, with a whopping 15 departments and 140 staff on the shop floor.
The business also had a men’s shop on the street which had been part of the Carlton Restaurant. During the war, it took a direct hit by a Nazi bomber, with the blast so great it also took the roof off the main shop as well as shattering windows and fixtures and damaging the lifts.
Today, it is home to a branch of Poundland.
Allders
Formerly Mackross, the Queen Street department store was another must-visit place for keen shoppers in the city.
The store has long since closed, with Queen's Arcade built on the site in 1994. The opening of the arcade was heralded as a momentous affair, with the centre linking Queen Street with Working Street and St David's and promising to offer shoppers a whole new experience
However, nearly 30 years on the arcade faces an uncertain future, with it being announced in February that it had been put in property receivership with the centre now being run at a "substantial loss" to the owners.
Calders
The menswear store opposite Cardiff Castle was the place to be in the 1980s, stocking the latest fashions and styles.
A Cardiff institution, the business was owned by Gerald Baron Cohen, the father of actor Sacha Baron Cohen, after the comedy star's grandfather purchased it in the 1960s, when it was already over 50 years old.
However, the shop on Duke Street closed down suddenly just days before Christmas in 2013, shutting its doors for the final time on December 22. The shock move left nine staff out of work, with liquidators turning up at the store and making staff hand over their keys and go home.
Today, the site houses the Historical Wales gift shop.
Habitat
Long before we were wrestling with flatpacks from Ikea, we were picking up trendy household furnishings from Habitat. The company which was founded by Sir Terrence Conran back in 1964 expanded quickly in the UK and its Cardiff branch on the Hayes was one of the most popular stores in the city.
However, that branch is long since closed. The retailer who owned the brand was taken over by Sainsbury's in 2016, with all Habitat branches within Homebase stores subsequently closing.
Today, the former home furnishing store is now a branch of Waterstones.
Virgin Megastore
The retail chain, established by Sir Richard Branson, started life as a small record shop in 1971 but decades later had hundreds of stores worldwide. However, it closed down in the UK in the late 2000s.
The Cardiff branch in the Capitol Centre was well known for being one of the best places in Wales to get your favourite artists' autographs, with numerous signing sessions taking place over the years and at all times of the day.
The crown in their jewel was the midnight signing session, which the Stereophonics would hold on more than one occasion. Hundreds of fans queued outside the store one day to be the first to lay their hands on the Welsh rockers’ new album.
The 'Phonics weren't alone, however, with Steps, Slipknot, Cerys Matthews and Victoria Beckham among those signing CDs at the store. It wasn't just musicians either, with fans also gathering to meet Little Britain stars David Walliams and Matt Lucas, as well as rugby legend Shane Williams.
Fast forward to 2023, and the store that once welcomed some of the biggest names in pop is now home to a Tesco Express.
Borders
It wasn't here for as long as some of the other stores mentioned here, but Borders made a big impression on Cardiff's shoppers during its short stay in the city. With other stores in Swansea and Llantrisant, the bookstore stocked thousands of titles and magazines, as well as cards, CDs, DVDs, foreign papers and games.
The huge Cardiff branch in the old David Morgan complex in The Hayes was officially opened in September 2007 and had something for everybody, with customers browsing the aisles full of hundreds of books and even getting to meet high profile authors and other celebrities.
Jacqueline Wilson, former Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Gavin and Stacey stars James Corden and Ruth Jones were among the visitors to the store as they popped in to sign books and meet their fans.
However, by the end of December 2009, all the UK stores had closed for good as the company went into administration, with the Cardiff branch shutting down on Christmas Eve that year. These days, the former bookstore is home to a branch of Urban Outfitters.
READ NEXT:
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