Owen Owen (Q63629)

Owen Owen, draper and property developer, was born on 13 October 1847 at Cwmrhaeadr near Machynlleth, the son of a tenant farmer. He was educated at the Wesleyan College, Taunton, and in 1860 was placed as apprentice at his uncle Samuel Evans's linen drapery business in Bath. In 1868 he moved to Liverpool to set up his own drapery business in London Road. By 1873 he had over one hundred and twenty employees - most of whom were from Wales - and a quarter of an acre of floor space. Owen's was one of the first major retailers to introduce a weekly half day holiday for staff and by 1900 he had set up the Owen Owen Trust to help retired employees. During the 1880s Owen began investing in other enterprises, including the North American railways. He also helped his own family members to establish their own businesses. In 1889 he became director of Evans & Owen Ltd in Bath, the business at which he had started out. Following his marriage in 1891 Owen moved to London while continuing to supervise his Liverpool store, which, by the early twentieth century, was to become one of the largest of its kind in northern England. Around this time he became involved in numerous property transactions in London, particularly concerning other department stores; he was eventually to become director of both Bon Marché and John Barnes & Co. Owen purchased Plas Mariandir in Penmaenmawr, Caernarvonshire, in 1896, the Tan-y-foel estate, Penmaenmawr, in 1902 and the Garthgwynion estate near Machynlleth in 1906. Throughout his life Owen was supportive of Welsh causes, particularly in the field of education and the arts. He was influential in both Liverpool and London Welsh societies and was a member of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion from 1886. Owen died of cancer at his London home on 27 March 1910; his ashes were scattered on the family grave in Machynlleth.