Morgan Squire was a British department store based in several locations in the City of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. The business was formed in 1846 as a drapery, before going onto be owned by

House of Fraser House of Fraser (rebranding to Frasers) is a British department store chain with 23 locations across the United Kingdom and 2 in Ireland, part of Frasers Group. It was established in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849 as Arthur and Fraser. By 1891, it ...

and eventually being rebranded as

Rackhams Rackhams was a British department store that opened in Birmingham, England in 1881. The business became part of the Harrods group in 1955, before Harrods was purchased by House of Fraser in 1959. As part of the Harrods grouping in House of Fraser ...

as per House of Fraser's grouping of business in the 1970s.

History

In 1813, Henry Morgan, a draper based in Syston, on the outskirts of Leicester, recruited a young apprentice called William Squire from

Heckington Heckington is a village and civil parish in the North Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated between Sleaford and Swineshead, Lincolnshire, Swineshead Bridge, and south of the A17 road (England), A17 road. Heckington, with 1 ...

in Lincolnshire. By 1846 Morgan and Squire went into partnership and Morgan Squire & Co was created. The main store was located at the corner of Hotel Street and Millstone Lane, and sold a mixture of clothing and furniture with an upperclass feel like city rivals Adderlys and Joseph Johnson. The business remained in the Squire family, with Williams son Samuel taking over. His son Alfred Morgan Squire eventually took over the business before retiring early and selling it in 1928 to Standard Industrial Trust, an industrial conglomerate who had also purchased Cavendish House,

Cheltenham Cheltenham () is a historic spa town and borough adjacent to the Cotswolds in Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort following the discovery of mineral springs in 1716, and claims to be the mo ...

's oldest department store in the same year. In 1961, a controlling interest in both Cavendish House Co Ltd and Morgan Squire Ltd was acquired by Swears & Wells Ltd (1926), a London-based company specialising in the development and sale of retail space, however a year later

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

based retail chain J J Allen took control adding it to their other three department stores. In 1970 J J Allen were themselves purchased by

, and in 1971 J J Allen's store group was split, with Dingles gaining the West Country department stores, while Morgan Squire was transferred to the Harrods grouping, and rebranded under the grouping name brand name of

Family History

Samuel Squire, son of founder William, built his family home at 1 Salisbury Road in

where he had 17 children with his wife, Anne Marie Starkey Gimson, daughter of renown industrial designer Ernest Gimson and part of the family that ran Gimson & Son, a Leicester-based engineering firm. 1 Salisbury Road has been part of the University of Leicester since 1948 when the building was purchased after the death of Anne Marie Squire, one of Samuels children. Samuel's brother Charles was a prominent lawyer and a member of the Leicester establishment, becoming a city councillor in 1908 and becoming the chairman of the Leicester Libraries and Museum committee, where he helped develop the UK's first Museum school service and saved historical buildings and made them into new museums. Alfred Squire, who had sold the business in 1928, was the father of the British intelligence officer and Cambridge Don Peter Squire.

References

{{Reflist Defunct retail companies of the United Kingdom Defunct department stores of the United Kingdom House of Fraser Retail companies established in 1846 Buildings and structures in Leicester