Leekes is a Welsh based

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesal ...

of home furnishings, home improvement goods and related items. The company was established in the

Rhondda Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'large') and t ...

in 1897 and has six department stores in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of the nine official regions of England, regions of England in the United Kingdom. Additionally, it is one of four regions that altogether make up Southern England. South West England con ...

and the

Midlands The Midlands is the central region of England, to the south of Northern England, to the north of southern England, to the east of Wales, and to the west of the North Sea. The Midlands comprises the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire, Herefor ...

. The company also owns the Vale Resort in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

and the adjacent

Hensol Castle Hensol Castle (previously Hensol House) is a castellated mansion in the Gothic Revival style dating from the late 17th century or early 18th century, now a wedding and conference venue for The Vale Resort. It is located north of Clawdd Coch and ...

, a conference and wedding venue.

History

James Henry Leeke established Leekes as a

blacksmith A blacksmith is a metalsmith who creates objects primarily from wrought iron or steel, but sometimes from #Other metals, other metals, by forging the metal, using tools to hammer, bend, and cut (cf. tinsmith). Blacksmiths produce objects such ...

Tonypandy Tonypandy (, ) is a town, community and electoral ward located in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying in the Rhondda Fawr Valley. A former industrial coal mining town, the to ...

in the

Rhondda Valley Rhondda , or the Rhondda Valley ( ), is a former coal mining, coalmining area in South Wales, historically in the county of Glamorgan. It takes its name from the River Rhondda, and embraces two valleys – the larger Rhondda Fawr valley (, 'la ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1897. He operated a smithy for sharpening tools at the rear of the family home, a small terraced house in

Clydach Vale Clydach Vale ( and adjoining ''Blaenclydach'') is a village in the Community (Wales), community of Cwm Clydach, northwest of Tonypandy in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, within the Rhondda Valley, Wales. It is named for its situation on ...

, and then opened a small ironmongery business in the front room. The Leekes business survived the following two decades intact and James' son Llewellyn took over the business from his father in 1933 at the age of 22. In 1948, Llewellyn bought a larger shop in Dunraven Street, Tonypandy; at this time the ironmonger and builders merchant was operated almost entirely by the family. In the late 1960s, Llewellyn’s son Gerald joined the business full-time, extended the range at Dunraven Street and added kitchen and bathrooms displays, taking over the shop next door for an additional showroom. In 1965, the company turnover had reached £38,000 and the former goods station in

Trealaw Trealaw is a long village, also a Community (Wales), community and electoral ward in the Rhondda, Rhondda Valley, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It stretches over from the junction of Cemetery Road and Brithweunydd Road in the east, to the junction o ...

, Rhondda was acquired for expansion, combining the retail premises and builders yard with some car parking. Leekes bought another Rhondda site in

Talbot Green Talbot Green ( "lea of the barns") is a town (and electoral ward) just north of the M4 motorway, in the County Borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales in the United Kingdom. The town is part of Llantrisant Community Council. Geography Talbot Gree ...

near

Llantrisant Llantrisant (; "Parish of the Three Saints") is a town and community in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales. It lies within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, on the River Ely and the Afon Clun. The three saints of the t ...

and opened a store in 1977, described as a "DIY superstore". In 2007, the eldest son of Llewellyn, David Leeke, wrote an account of the development of the Welsh business from the boom in the coal industry, through the Depression and two World Wars to the 21st century. In 2009, Leekes bought out Midlands-based Cole's Home Furnishing, adding three stores in England: at

Bilston Bilston is a market town in the City of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands County, West Midlands, England. It is in the Black Country, south east of Wolverhampton city centre and close to the borders of Sandwell Metropolitan Borough, Sandwell ...

near Wolverhampton,

Bedworth Bedworth ( or locally ) is a market town in the borough of Nuneaton and Bedworth, Warwickshire, England.OS Explorer Map 232 : Nuneaton & Tamworth: (1:25 000) : It is situated between Coventry, 6 miles (9.5 km) to the south, and Nuneaton, to th ...

near Coventry, and Fenton in Stoke-on-Trent. The Coventry store was sold in 2018. Leekes bought Park Furnishers (Bristol) Limited in 2016, a family-run business with a furniture store in

Bedminster, Bristol Bedminster, colloquially known as Bemmy, is a district of Bristol, England, on the south side of the city. It is also the name of a council ward which includes the central part of the district. The eastern part of Bedminster is known as Wind ...

Operations

Leekes remains a family business with many family members from the fourth generation. There are department stores in Wales at

Cross Hands Cross Hands is a village in Carmarthenshire, Wales, approximately from Carmarthen. Cross Hands is notable for its Public Hall, erected in 1920 and designed by an unknown Italian designer in the classic Art Deco Style. Fully restored, the Publ ...

and Llantrisant, and a builders' merchant at Tonypandy. Stores in England are at Bilston,

Hereford Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...

and

Melksham Melksham () is a town and civil parish on the Bristol Avon, River Avon in Wiltshire, England, about northeast of Trowbridge and south of Chippenham. The parish population was 18,113 at the 2021 census. History Early history Excavations in ...

(Wiltshire), together with showrooms for conservatories and windows at

Thornbury Thornbury may refer to: Places ;Australia *Thornbury, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Thornbury railway station, Melbourne ;Canada * Thornbury, Ontario ;England *Thornbury, Devon * Thornbury, Herefordshire *Thornbury, Gloucestershire **Thornbury ...

(Gloucestershire) and

Swindon Swindon () is a town in Wiltshire, England. At the time of the 2021 Census the population of the built-up area was 183,638, making it the largest settlement in the county. Located at the northeastern edge of the South West England region, Swi ...

. In addition, the Park Furnishers store in Bedminster continues to trade under its own name. Each Leekes department store is divided into the following departments: Cabinet Furniture, Upholstery, Bedroom Furniture, Kitchen Furniture, Sound and Vision, Kitchen Appliances, Kitchen and Tableware, Home Accessories, Gifts, Fitted Bathrooms, Bathroom Accessories, Fitted Kitchens, Conservatories, Interior Design Studio, Fire Studio, Fitness Equipment & Leisure, DIY, Garden Living, Building Centre, Fitted Carpets, Decorating and Home Textiles.

Structure

The business was restructured in 2005 as a

group of companies A corporate group, company group or business group, also formally known as a group of companies, is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. These types of gr ...

. Each of the trading companies, including the retailer Leekes Limited, is a wholly owned subsidiary of J.H. Leeke and Sons Limited.

The Vale Resort

In 1994, Leekes Retail and Leisure Group took ownership of a golf club in Hensol in the

. This marked the start of diversification of the business into the

leisure industry The leisure industry is the segment of business focused on recreation, entertainment, sports, and tourism (REST)-related products and services. The field has developed to the point of having university degrees and disciplines focused on it, such ...

. The company then built and developed The Vale Resort, trading since 1999 as Vale of Glamorgan Hotel Limited. The site has a four-star hotel, a leisure club, Wales' largest spa and two championship golf courses set in over of parkland.

Hensol Castle

In 2003, the company purchased the

estate that adjoins the Vale resort. The estate includes a 17th-century stately home, an historically important mid-18th century landscaped park, a lake and serpentine pond. The castle is operated by Leekes Group Property Developments Limited as a conference centre and wedding venue.

References

*Leeke, David (2007). ''An Iron Monger's Tale''. Llandysul: Gomer Press.

External links

*{{Official website
Leekes windows & conservatories
Retail companies established in 1897 Retail companies of Wales Furniture retailers of the United Kingdom 1897 establishments in Wales Companies based in Rhondda Cynon Taf