Hodges Men’s Wear Limited. The business was founded by William Hodges, originally from Shepton Mallet, Somerset. He moved to Aberdare in 1847, at the age of 26, and in 1858 opened his first store in Victoria Square in the town. There were eight stores in Glamorgan by 1900, and in the following year the first outlet outside the county was opened, at Newport, in the county of Monmouthshire. William Hodges died in 1901, but expansion continued, and in 1905 the business was converted into a private limited liability company, Hodges and Sons (Clothiers) Limited, with three of William’s sons, Frank, Gilbert and James, as principal shareholders. The tradition of family control would be maintained until the 1960s. New branches appeared following the end of the First World War, including in Neath in 1921, and a presence in England was established with stores in Bristol and Gloucester in 1926. The business continued to grow, from 29 shops in 1939, to 39 in 1962, and 73 in 1979, and these were located throughout South Wales and the West of England. The souvenir brochure lists over 90 branches and notes ‘we feel it can fairly be said that the 100th branch of the Company cannot be far away.’ The name of the Company had by this time been changed to Hodges Men’s Wear Limited, but the brochure declares that ‘the business has always continued along the same lines…good quality merchandise at reasonable prices should be provided for our customers in a courteous manner’.

This material is held atNeath Antiquarian Society Archives