ben evans & co ltd in swansea any info please

COOLTRIKERCHICK

i have a old coat which was from ben evans & co ltd in swansea....

i know that they were. situated where castle gardens are now.... and the premises got bombed in 1941.... and demolised the grand building.....

as i am trying to date this coat.. i need to know if after they got bombed did they re-locate near by..and carried on trading into the 50's ?

or was that the end of the shop in 1941..?


oh ye.... does anyone know or remember a ladies boutique shop in swnasea somewhere called..... nancy rosser...

again possibly 50's 60's..

i know its a long shot.. but i love researching where the old clohtes i get ...come from....

Backbiter

Do you mean Dan Evans? That was the department store near the castle that became a House of Fraser store. It closed a few years ago, I think.

alison99_2

http://www.swanseaheritage.net/swanseathroughtheyears/building.asp?BUILDING_ID=1
I found these old pictures of Ben Evans&co, but there doesn't seem to be any after 1941, so I assume it probably never relocated.
I can't find any info on Nancy Rossers though, but I'll keep searching.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

alison99 wrote: »

http://www.swanseaheritage.net/swanseathroughtheyears/building.asp?BUILDING_ID=1
I found these old pictures of Ben Evans&co, but there doesn't seem to be any after 1941, so I assume it probably never relocated.
I can't find any info on Nancy Rossers though, but I'll keep searching.

thanks alison.... i have seen those photos.... excellent bit of history.... but as you say nothing after they got bombed in 1941, so just wanted to check that they ceased trading then....

i cant find anything on the internet about nancy rosser either.... but someone seems to think it might have been down by joe's ice cream parlour somewhere.. . and possibly trade well into the 60's ....

i think its the case of asking people's granny's if they remember the shop...lol...

backbitter...dan evans ? would that be david evans .... no its not the same ...shop....

i know that there were a few big department type stores in swansea... going back to 1900's to the 50's .. and then they sort of got dated and not trendy/fashionable.. as this is when the high street with chain stores started to appear......

there was david evans...

ben evans

sidney heath....

that i know of.. if anyone knows of anymore ....lol..

i collect vintage clothing, and now i think i am going to try and collect noes which were sold in swansea ( which has a specific label of a swnasea shop )

so it will also be keeping swansea fashion/shops remembered too...

Backbiter

My mistake - I did mean David Evans. Dan Evans was in Barry and also shut down recently!

luxor4t

Hi there!
Ben Evans did cease trading after the wartime bombing. It was a great place to shop and very popular. It was seen as selling very good quality clothes.
A new shop, built on more or less the same site, was taken by his son(?) David Evans. This flourished until the building of Debenhams / the Quadrant centre moved the focus away from the High Street area. Even though David Evans was in the House of Fraser group it lost its place as THE Swansea department store and closed. The building was knocked down earlier this year.

Re Nancy Rosser. My mother thinks it was a very expensive ladies outfitters on Walters Road. She is getting together with 'the girls' (average age 78) on Monday and they will try to remember.

Hope this helps in your search.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

luxor4t wrote: »

Hi there!
Ben Evans did cease trading after the wartime bombing. It was a great place to shop and very popular. It was seen as selling very good quality clothes.
A new shop, built on more or less the same site, was taken by his son(?) David Evans. This flourished until the building of Debenhams / the Quadrant centre moved the focus away from the High Street area. Even though David Evans was in the House of Fraser group it lost its place as THE Swansea department store and closed. The building was knocked down earlier this year.

Re Nancy Rosser. My mother thinks it was a very expensive ladies outfitters on Walters Road. She is getting together with 'the girls' (average age 78) on Monday and they will try to remember.

Hope this helps in your search.

THANK YOU....:T :beer: :T

this info is really usefull...a only have a few items with shop labels from swansea.... but i really do want to try and find more, and find out the history of these shops....as i feel they are a 'hands on' connection in to our social history....so if they can remember anything about these shops ( and sidney heath) i would be extremely gratefull..
i will take some photos of the labels later and post them here for you to see... might ring a bell with some peeps...

luxor4t

Just a quick post to confirm the Nancy Rosser location.
Mum's friend remembers the Nancy Rosser shop as she treated herself to a suit after her son (now over 50) was born. It was on the section of Walter Road across from the Tenby Hotel, going towards town. Not sure when it closed, but lots of 'the girls' are on the case!
I remember a posh jewellers around there until the mid 1970s, so maybe it was one of those smart areas that slipped out of style.

COOLTRIKERCHICK

thank you.......as you say walters road.... was 'posh' as thats where all the fur shops were as well...... i have also got a fur wrap which was from one of the swansea stores.... i musty admit i dont like furs.. but it was of its time....my youngest son wants to give it a funeral...lol.....but its all part of fashion and local history....

say thanks to the 'girls' for me and to keep up the good work..... and any other stores/ shops they remember in and around swansea for me to keep an eye out for.....

Backbiter

luxor4t wrote: »

on the section of Walter Road across from the Tenby Hotel

COOLTRIKERCHICK wrote:

as you say walters road

It's always amused me how everyone refers to it as Walters Rd when it is, in fact, Walter Rd.
I suppose it's like calling the place 'Bazeleg' when it's spelt Bassaleg.
Local knowledge, innit?

COOLTRIKERCHICK

Backbiter wrote: »

It's always amused me how everyone refers to it as Walters Rd when it is, in fact, Walter Rd.
I suppose it's like calling the place 'Bazeleg' when it's spelt Bassaleg.
Local knowledge, innit?

i allways thought it was called walters road....:rolleyes:

oh well maybe its becuase i am not a towny ...never mind mush..... i will called it walter road from now on....:D