Wartski Trail
Generously funded by Bangor City Council and Wartski of London
Introduction:
As with many other immigrants across Britain, the Wartski family did much to help shape their home city. They provided the entrepreneurial energy, ambition, financial acumen, willingness to take risks, and vision essential to building modern businesses. It has even been said that prominent businesses like the Wartskis prevented the relocation of the City’s main thoroughfare because they wanted traffic to continue passing by their emporia. The Wartskis’ legacy lives on in their continuing connections with the City of Bangor and its university. This trail is a tribute to that history.
The origins of the Wartski business in the UK are rich in anecdotal family history passed down through the generations. However, these sometimes conflict with the available records. The following narrative cites original primary source materials to provide the most likely inference.
Morris Wartski’s Family Tree
Morris (Moritz) Wartski was born in Turek, near Kalisz, Poland (then part of the Russian Empire) in 1855. According to Wartski historian, Geoffrey Munn, Morris was the son of Shemaya (Schmeye) Wartski and Rosa Darlski. Although in the Ostrow Wielkopolski (Ostrowo) Births, Marriages, and Deaths registers, she is named Reuse Wiener. Morris and Flora (Frommet) née Callomon were married on 20 February 1877 in Ostrow Wielkopolski in present-day Poland. The couple had seven children, with their first three being born in Poland before they emigrated to North Wales.
Morris and Flora Wartski with their seven children, circa 1894. Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Isidore was the eldest, born in 1878. This trail will tell his story.
Charles (Carl) was born in January 1880. This trail will tell his story.
Gertrude (Auguste) was born in 1881. In April 1903, Gertrude married Joseph Sions, who was a boot merchant from London. The couple married in Bangor but relocated to England, and by 1921, they were living in Middlesex with their children. Gertrude died in Kent in 1923 at the age of forty-two. She and her husband are buried next to each other at Willesden United Synagogue Cemetery in London.
Harry (Henry) was the first child born in Bangor, circa 1884. Although we could not find an official record of his birth, each census record lists him thus. This trail will tell his story.
Rosa was born in Bangor in 1887. She married Samuel Snowman in London in March 1906. The couple settled in London and raised a family. The census describes Samuel as an estate agent and later, an insurance broker when the couple lived in Bognor Regis in 1939. Rosa died in London in 1975. Rosa and Samuel were buried in Willesden Cemetery.
Harriette was born in Bangor in 1890. She married Emanuel Snowman in 1909. The couple had their first child in Llandudno before moving to London. Emanuel was a dealer in precious stones, and he established the London branch of Wartski. It was through Emanuel that the firm began its long association with Carl Fabergé's work. This relationship continued through their son Kenneth, who published his well-received book, The Art of Carl Fabergé, in 1953. Kenneth remained involved in the business until he died in 2002. Harriette (referred to in some documentation as Harriet) died in 1985 , and they were both buried in Willesden Cemetery. Harriette and Emanuel’s grandson, Nicholas, and great-grandson, Hector, have continued the family business into the 21st century.
Sara was born in Bangor in 1892. She married Stanley Benjamin in London in 1913, but settled in Llandudno with their children. Stanley became the manager of C & H Wartski Jewelers at 33 Mostyn Street, Llandudno. He was still managing the store in 1939. The couple spent their later years moving between Llandudno and Hampstead in London. Sara died in London in February 1992 and is buried with Benjamin at Willesden Cemetery.
A Note on Jewish Burials in North Wales:
As can be read throughout the trail, every member of the Wartski family is buried outside of Wales. While the family felt truly connected to its Welsh home, there was no consecrated Jewish burial ground in North Wales. Small Jewish communities existed throughout the area, but their populations fluctuated and were never large enough to warrant the expense of establishing and maintaining a burial ground. The idea of a burial ground was explored, but not realised until a section of Llanrhos Lawn Cemetery in Llandudno was made available for Jewish burial from 2010
Morris Wartski’s Arrival in Bangor
Suggested dates for Morris’s arrival in Bangor vary, and there is no single definitive source. His obituary in The Jewish Chronicle in 1946 states that he settled in Bangor ‘66 years ago’, which indicates 1880. It is unlikely that he arrived this early, however, as he does not appear on the 1881 census in Bangor or elsewhere in the UK. The birth of his daughter in Poland in December 1881 also suggests that Morris had not arrived in Wales until after the 1881 census was taken in April that year, or in early 1882 if he travelled together with Flora and their children.
Morris Wartski was not the first of his family to settle in Bangor. He also had two older brothers, Joseph and Philip, who emigrated from Poland to Liverpool, then settled in Bangor a few years before Morris arrived. It is here that we begin their story.
Addresses in chronological order:
© OpenStreetMap contributors. Vector tiles from OpenMapTiles hosted by MapTiler. Website and API terms
72 High Street, Bangor
By the time Morris arrived in Bangor, his two older brothers had already settled there after moving from Liverpool in the late 1870s. While living in Liverpool, they traded as travelling jewellers under the name Wartski and Co. of 70 Bamber Street.
In 1881, Joseph was living at 5 Mount Pleasant Terrace, Bangor, with his wife, Sarah Sinayberger. He was earning enough from his work to employ a general servant. Philip was living on Park Terrace with his wife, Elizabeth Lazarus, and their three-year-old son, Harold. Philip was a commercial travelling jeweller. Some sources refer to Parry’s Terrace; however, there is no evidence of such a place in Bangor at this time.
In 1883, Joseph was trading in ‘Watches, jewellery, and optics in great variety’ from his shop at 72 High Street, Bangor. He also cleaned and repaired watches, clocks, and jewellery.
Joseph was achieving public recognition both socially and in business. As early as 1883, he was nominating candidates for a seat on Bangor Town Council, and in 1885, he was involved with the local Freemasons. He had businesses in both Bangor and Colwyn Bay.
By 1886, he was renting Bradford House (renamed Birmingham House during Joseph’s tenure), a large ten-bedroom property with a ‘commodious’ shop attached in Colwyn Bay. He had relocated his business here from Lancashire House, Colwyn Bay.
Lancashire House was stocked with furniture and managed by Joseph and his father-in-law, Adolph S. Berger (Sinayberger). Adolph also ran another furniture shop at Pendref, High Street, Bangor, between 1885 and his retirement in 1888, when he returned to Liverpool.
Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 30 June 1886, p. 16.
The Abergele Visitor, 22 May 1886, p. 2.
Articles and directories do not mention Philip in relation to the business, consistent with his role as a commercial travelling jeweller. By 1891, Philip and his family had emigrated to Durban, South Africa, where he set up a furniture dealership.
Joseph also left North Wales for a new life in South Africa, but he had returned by 1891 and was staying with the Dawes family in Salford, Lancashire. By 1895, the census lists him as a jeweller at 8 Herbert Street, Manchester. In 1897, Joseph was in financial difficulty, having run up large debts and was now bankrupt. He returned to Bangor, trading from Caernarvon Road as a draper. Later that year, Joseph, Sarah, and their son, Julius, returned to South Africa.
Joseph and Philip lived out the remainder of their lives with their families in South Africa. Both are buried in Stellawood Cemetery in Durban. Philip’s gravestone inscription notes him as the founder and leader of the Durban Hebrew Congregation.
Image courtesy of Ancestor Research South Africa.
8 Eldon Place, Glanadda, Bangor (exact location unknown - not indicated on map)
When Morris and Flora first arrived in Bangor with their three children, it is believed they moved in with his brother Philip on Park Terrace.
Within a decade, Morris’s brothers had departed Bangor, leaving Morris to rebuild his life and that of his growing family alone. Although his brothers had established businesses in the area, they likely required all their money for their planned emigration to South Africa. Morris did not take over any previous business premises; instead, he started as a peddler, selling his stock of silver watches, jewellery, and haberdashery ‘to gentry and local farmers’. The 1891 census describes him as a jeweller fluent in English, Welsh, and German.
Morris and his family were living in one of the poorer districts on the outskirts of Bangor. Their earliest known address was 8 Eldon Place, Glanadda, which is no longer standing. The family thus lived very close to the Bangor and Beaumaris Workhouse.
Little is known about Morris’s early life; however, Geoffrey Munn describes him as ‘intelligent and charming. At 6’2’ in height, broadly built with piercing blue eyes, ruddy complexion and a small beard, Morris Wartski was an extrovert, and keeping his volatile nature in check was one of the greatest challenges of his lifetime. Thankfully, he had many attributes that served him well, and perhaps the most valuable was a remarkable aptitude for languages. He never lost his Polish accent, but, undeterred, he learned a number of different tongues, including Welsh.’
The life of a travelling merchant could be challenging, sometimes downright hazardous. In September 1879, while still living at Russell St., Liverpool, Joseph was assaulted by a farmer called Irvine Brown in a dispute over a watch he had sold to an employee of the Torr Estate at Eastham. Wartski was not only verbally abused but also partially throttled, and the timepiece ended up in a dung heap. In the course of the fracas, Wartski defended himself by biting Brown, and consequently, the case came before the courts. The magistrates found Brown at fault and fined him 2 shillings and 6 pence, plus costs. A cross-summon against Wartski was dismissed.
Morris had better luck when he was offered a lift by the driver of a pony and cart in a chance encounter as he carried his wares across the Menai Suspension Bridge. In an unpublished biography of the Bolton- and Manchester-based jeweler, Charles Gilbert, his son Harold described the meeting.
One very hot summer’s day towards the end of the nineteenth century Morris Wartski was trudging along the road with his pack of small wares on his back, somewhere near Llangefni. He had just called at a small farm in the vicinity and was now on his way back from the Menai Bridge. As he stopped at the wayside to mop his sweating brow before carrying on to the nearest bus stop, a dog cart with a pony stopped at his side and the occupant, a gentleman asked him would he like a lift along the way. Morris Wartski thanked the man and entered the dogcart with his pack, which he put on the floor between them. It was this chance meeting that was to alter his life forevermore. The pony jogged along, the man broached the conversation with Wartski to pass the time away, which led from one subject to another, finally settling on the scriptures from the Old Testament. Wartski, who happened to be a very learned and educated youth with regards to the Bible, found that this man was also a master of hermeneutics and the man was amazed, as they went along, to find that every shrewd question he asked Wartski with regards to the Exegesis was answered promptly by the peddler. Surprised at the intellectual calibre of this young man, it intrigued him to find trekking on foot as a packman-peddler the roads of Anglesea [sic]. He asked him whether he had no further ambition in life than to be a peddler. Morris Wartski said he had but owing to his impoverished status he could not do anything about it. When asked what he would like to do to fulfil his potentials and his ambition Wartski said he would like to be a shopkeeper but in his position it was just impossible for him to become the tenant of a shop, as he cannot find anyone who would give him a reference to obtain one. The man said he would take Wartski all the way to Menai Bridge. When they arrived, as Wartski retrieved his pack from the floor of the dogcart now stopped for him to alight it, the man before saying farewell asked him to wait a moment while he gave him something. Wartski thinking the man was going to give him a tip when he put his hand in his pocket, said he didn’t want any money and started to move away. The man called back and said, ‘wait a moment please young man, I’m not going to give you any money.’ With that, he took a visiting card out of his wallet and with pencil wrote something on the back of it. Handing it back to Wartski, he told him to go to the address written on the back of it, and the person it was addressed to would see that he got a shop in Bangor. Wartski was flabbergasted at the offer and allowed the man, after thanking him, to drive away waving him farewell at the same time with the card in his hand. The dogcart drew away; he looked at the name printed on the front of the visiting card. It read ‘the Marquess of Anglesey’. The address on the back of the card was the agent dealing with the Marquess’s property in Bangor.
Assuming the chronicler is accurate, then this was the carriage of Henry Paget, the 4th Marquess of Anglesey (1835-1898).
Paget offered Wartski premises at a room in the old Dublin House near Bangor’s railway station, the location of which is unknown. Soon, it was not big enough to contain him, and it was time to find new premises, marking the beginning of Morris’ business empire and a long-standing friendship with the Marquess and his son, the flamboyant Henry Cyril Paget, 5th Marquess of Anglesey (1875-1905).
These were not the only influential friendships Morris would develop. Morris became a confidant of the Chief Rabbi, Herman Adler, and his successor Joseph Hertz, as well as the Liberal MP and future PM, David Lloyd George, who became Morris’s legal advisor. The Wartski clan backed him in his campaign to win a seat in Parliament, which was successful when he entered the House of Commons as a Liberal candidate for Caernarvon Boroughs on 12 April 1890. His majority was a mere eighteen, and no doubt a good many of those were Wartskis!
21 High Street, Bangor
Morris moved his family from 8 Eldon Place to above his shop at 21 High Street when he took over the tenancy there on 1 May 1891. Interestingly, the Wartski website for its London premises states that the business was established in 1865. Morris would have been only ten years old at this time, suggesting that the family brought knowledge of the jewellery trade with them from Poland. This was transferred to England, then Wales, by Morris’s brothers, and grown into the successful business we know today by Morris and his descendants.
North Wales Chronicle, 23 September 1893, p. 4.
21 High Street was just a two-minute walk from the station, and the attached living quarters were spacious, with three entertaining rooms, five bedrooms, a kitchen, and a pantry. In October 1893, he purchased the property at auction for £235.
Morris standing outside his shop at 21 High Street.
Image courtesy of Wartski, London.
21 High Street – The First Synagogue in Bangor
Morris took advantage of the additional space at 21 High Street, facilitating the earliest Jewish community worship there. The founding of the Bangor Hebrew Congregation is credited to Morris and Flora Wartski and Mr. L. H. Aaronson. Lewis Henry Aaronson was a long standing resident of Bangor, having been born there in 1841.
One of the earliest recorded services took place in 1893. The Jewish Chronicle reports: ‘A service was held at Bangor, North Wales, on 21 January, on the occasion of the Barmitzvah of Charles, the second son of Mr M. Wartski, of High Street. The service was read by the Rev. A. Rutkowski, of the Hope Place Synagogue, Liverpool, which lent the Scroll of the Law. The Jewish inhabitants of Bangor, writes a correspondent, hope that this will not be the last time they will have the pleasure of meeting to hear the Law of God read, and that in the future the congregation may be large enough to allow of their assembling in a recognised place of worship.’
By May 1894, the growing congregation was advertising for a kosher butcher and teacher (salary: £40 per annum). That same month, they celebrated Passover above Morris’s shop: ‘The Bangor Jewish community held services during Passover at the residence of Mr Morris Wartski, 21 High Street. Mr Wartski officiated and was assisted by Mr Isidor Heiman. Mr Joseph Bolloton read the Law. Mr Wartski and Mr Aaronson [sic] are the founders of the first congregation in North Wales.’
These premises were only temporary as the community was already beginning to outgrow them, and you can follow the community's next steps on the trail at 76 High Street.
21 High Street – Wartski & Bolloten
Morris spent the next decade building his business. In 1895, he entered a brief partnership with Joseph Bolloten. Joseph was born in Gluchov (Hlukhiv), near Chernigov (Chernihiv), then part of the Russian Empire, but now in present-day Ukraine. He was two decades younger than Morris, unmarried and living in Bangor with his parents and siblings. Joseph had become involved with the small synagogue above Morris’s shop, where he performed readings.
Slater’s Directory from 1895 shows that Morris was trading from 21 High Street, individually as a ‘watchmaker etc.’, and also as ‘Wartski & Bolloten, drapers & Clothiers.’ This joint venture was short-lived, and the partnership dissolved in February 1896. Joseph Bolloten continued trading in watchmaking and jewellery in both Bangor and Conwy. He later opened a successful piano and organ dealership in Bangor.
21 High Street – The Dancing Marquess
After 1896, Morris focused on his status as a watchmaker, and gold and diamond merchant and left the drapery business to be run by his son Isidore. Regular bilingual advertisements in The Herald in 1897 and 1898, plus articles describing his ‘magnificent stock’, began to cement his reputation as a dealer in high-end, quality items.
When Henry Cyril Paget became the 5th Marquess of Anglesey in 1898, he became a significant patron of Wartski’s business. He was a colourful character whose passion for extravagant parties and theatricals, women’s clothes, finery, scent, and jewellery led him to be known as ‘The Dancing Marquess’, an epithet that uniquely described his penchant for dramatics, reckless ostentation, audacious personality, eccentricity, and joie de vivre. His lavish and luxurious lifestyle was funded in part by a vast annual income of £110,000 (the equivalent of £18 million today). It was his predilection for jewellery, bordering on a fetish, as the highest form of dress, that was to contribute to the huge success of Morris Wartski.
Morris’s adverts state that the business was established in 1876. This is once again most likely utilising the familiar name of Wartski in the jewellery trade, as established by his brothers in Liverpool, and then Bangor during the mid to late 1870s.
Herald, 15 June 1897, p. 4.
Herald, 31 May 1898, p. 4.
In 1901, Morris and six of his children were still living at 21 High Street. Isidore was now trading from his own premises.
76 High Street, Bangor – The New Synagogue
The building that formerly stood on this site was known as Arvonia Buildings. As the Jewish community grew, Morris Wartski’s home at 21 High Street became too small to host services. In 1894, appeals were made to the wider Jewish community to help them fund suitable and permanent premises for a synagogue.
The Jewish Chronicle, 25 May 1894, p. 2.
At this time, there were fourteen Jewish families in the town. When sufficient funds had been secured, two rooms in the Arvonia Buildings were rented, furnished as a synagogue, and consecrated on 8 July 1894.
Morris Wartski was instrumental in the community in his role as treasurer, and he remained active until he left for Llandudno in 1909. He also presented the synagogue with its only Torah scroll at the consecration ceremony.
The wartime diaries of Maurice Hesselberg, who had his bar mitzvah in the Arvonia Building in December 1939, give this description of the interior:
‘...There were two rooms: one room was the synagogue which had a tall wooden partition that separated the ladies [sic] section. Low down in the partition there was a flap through which children could get to their father in the men's section or vise-versa [sic]. The men's section contained the Ark (a cupboard with a curtain in front). There was also a reading desk and chairs. The Ark was on the window wall with a seat on either side. These were the seats of honour for the President or any distinguished guest.’
This building was used for religious services until 1963. It was the hub of the Jewish community in Bangor, holding social gatherings and hosting various societies alongside religious worship.
27 High Street, Bangor – Isidore Leaves Home
In 1901, Morris’s eldest son, Isidore, was living by himself at 27 High Street, just a few doors away from his family. He was running a drapery shop from this address, and adverts were placed in the local press for a travelling draper in 1897 and a Welsh-speaking traveller in the early 1900s. These were likely associated with 27 High Street, although the exact address is not given.
North Wales Chronicle, 20 January 1900, p. 4.
Isidore married Doll (Dinah) Harris in Liverpool in 1902. Doll had been born in Liverpool in circa 1878.
The couple eventually moved to Gwynfryn on Holyhead Road, which is included on the trail.
202 High Street, Bangor (Previously the Star Hotel) – C & H Wartski
1903 marked a year of change for the Wartski family. In June, Morris’s son, Charles, purchased The Star Hotel, opposite Bangor’s Cathedral, for £2000. It had ceased trading as a licensed house shortly before the auction due to mismanagement and reports of drunkenness on the premises. It had an impressive frontage of forty six feet. In August, Morris advertised the house and shop at 21 High Street ‘To Let,’ which indicates that he planned to relocate his business to these new, larger premises to work with his sons, further supported by the fact that we find the family living in a much larger property in Bangor, called Lluesty, that same year.
By 1905, the store at 202 High Street was trading under the name ‘C & H Wartski.’ Charles and Harry operated jewellery stores in Bangor and Llandudno simultaneously,both of which opened in the same year. They used the Bangor store to sell off surplus stock from their Llandudno premises.
Y Clorianydd, 08 March 1906, p. 2.
Advertisements from April 1906 present a high-class shopping experience, with a large stock of engagement rings and private rooms for viewings. Continued searches of local newspapers from the time suggest that the business ceased trading in Bangor and operated solely in Llandudno from mid-1906 onwards.
The family businesses in Bangor were all connected with Charles, Harry and their brother Isidore all sharing the same phone number – 91. This number was retained by Isidore after his brothers and father eventually left Bangor.
Lluesty, Holyhead Road, Upper Bangor (exact location unknown - not indicated on map)
By April 1903, Morris and his remaining family had moved to a larger property, Lluesty, in Upper Bangor. Lluesty was described as a ‘fine semi-detached house with every modern convenience, six bedrooms, three reception-rooms, usual offices; electric light; sunny aspect.’ It is believed to have been located on Holyhead Road, but the building is no longer standing.
The move to Lluesty and new business premises on High Street in 1903 marked a period of increased success for Morris and his family. The guest list for his eldest daughter’s wedding in April 1903 reinforces this impression. Two hundred people attended the reception at the British Hotel in Bangor, which featured many influential local and national guests, including the son of the then Chief Rabbi, Rev. S. Alfred Adler, and the Marquess of Anglesey. The family was still living at Lluesty in December 1907 and likely remained there until Morris relocated to Llandudno in circa 1909.
Lluesty – The Death of Flora Wartski
Unfortunately, a period of mourning soon followed this period of celebration when Morris’s wife, Flora, passed away in October 1903, aged 56. A short service was held at the synagogue before she was buried in Green Lane Jewish Cemetery in Liverpool. The small size of the Jewish community in Bangor affected the traditional seven-day period of mourning, known as shiva, held for Flora at her home. The Jewish Chronicle appealed for any ‘Jewish gentlemen visiting Bangor or neighbourhood’ to help form a minyan, the gathering of ten Jewish men aged over thirteen, which is the religious requirement to hold a full service.
Flora was among the earliest Jewish arrivals in Bangor with her family. Her obituary states that she arrived in Bangor ‘when the name of Jew was barely known…It was largely due to her true piety, hospitality and vigorous commonsense, that our community is now so highly respected and Judaism in its best form is understood by our Christian fellow citizens.’ She was also noted for her charitable works, supporting poorer members of the Bangor community as if they were members of her own household. She was also commended for her generous hospitality and the ‘warm welcome of her Welsh home.’
Unusually for the time, her assistance in all of her husband's communal and philanthropic work is fully recognised. ‘She ever shared to the full that deserved popularity which has marked out Mr Morris Wartski as the most prominent and most representative Jew in North Wales.’ Her organisational role within the Jewish community is also credited, stating that the synagogue ‘owed its inception to the efforts of the deceased.’ Her coffin was then taken to the station by members of the congregation before travelling to Liverpool by train for burial. Her ‘benevolence to the poor, irrespective of religion, was well known’.
Lluesty – The Marquess’s Debts
The following year, Morris’s friendship with Henry Paget was sorely tested. His love of luxury and flamboyance made him a regular patron of Wartski; however, he began to live beyond his means. Not much of a bookkeeper, he left his accounts unpaid for months and owed Morris a substantial sum. Morris wrote to the Marquess to ask if a substantial invoice had been overlooked. The Marquess replied that at the end of each month, there were dozens of bills to pay. He put them into a hat, and three were retrieved at random. the Marquess made clear to Wartski that if he wrote another letter of this sort, his account would not go into the hat. By 1904, he owed Wartski the huge sum of £26,651 (a whopping £4,145,954.29 in today’s money) and was saved from ruin only by the generosity of his suppliers, the Whitehorn Brothers of Hatton Garden. Surprisingly, this did not lead to a falling out between the two men.
In October 1904, Morris attended one of the many auctions held to sell off Paget's estate to cover his debts. Morris bid on the Marquess’s coronation robe and coronet to return them to him. As the price continued to rise, Morris partnered with two others to secure the items, which were returned to Paget following the auction. “‘For the last time, £58.’” “‘Fifty-nine,’ snapped Mr Wartski.” That stopped the opposition, and amid sympathetic cheers, the marquis’s coronation robe and coronet were bought back for him”. When Paget died in Monte Carlo in 1905, Morris was a trustee of the estate.
If being owed today’s equivalent of four million pounds wasn’t enough, Morris had to contend with burglaries. In 1906, David Vaughan Sais, alias Daniel O’Shea, was charged with the theft of two clocks, valued at £11 10s. from his shop. The circumstances of the case were somewhat peculiar. One evening, O’Shea entered Wartski’s and, thinking he was alone, proceeded to remove the clocks from a counter, whereupon an assistant, whose presence the thief had not suspected, intervened. O’Shea and the assistant engaged in a struggle over the items. O’Shea lost and was ejected. When arrested, O’Shea said that he had been walking all night and had to do something to get food. Given his prior criminal record, he was sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment.
Morris Wartski Remarries in Llandudno
In 1913, after his move to Llandudno, Morris married Lily Iwi, a widow from London, with two children. In 1921, Lily’s son, Edward, was living with the Wartski family in Llandudno, but her daughter, Etta, had married and left home by then.
Morris went on to become a prominent public figure in Llandudno, both within the local Jewish and non-Jewish communities. Alongside Bangor, he is credited with founding the Jewish congregation in Llandudno and was made Life President of both communities in recognition of his services.
Gwynfryn, Holyhead Road - Isidore's Second Home
Town Plan of Bangor, published in 1889.
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
After her marriage to Isidore Wartski in Liverpool in 1902, Doll (Dinah) Harris followed her husband to Bangor, and eventually the couple moved to Gwynfryn on Holyhead Road, remaining there for several years.
Their son, Joseph Harris Wartski, was born in November 1902, but they did not register his birth until early 1903.
Six and a half years later, they were advertising for a young lady Governess with knowledge of Hebrew, emphasising the importance of teaching Joseph about his family heritage.
The Jewish Chronicle, 16 July 1909, p. 27.
The family moved out of Gwynfryn in February 1915. By 1921, they were living at ‘Sunnymead’ in Bangor; however, we were unable to locate this house.
Joseph Wartski
Joseph joined the family business and became a women’s clothing dealer. The 1939 England and Wales Register listed him as single and living with his father and stepmother at Derwen Deg. However, Joseph had been married previously to Leonora Lazarus in February 1926. It is unclear what happened between the couple; there are no divorce documents, but Leonora appears to have remarried Saul Goodman in London in 1933 under her maiden name.
Evening Express, 10 February 1926, p. 5.
In 1951, he married Miriam Lefcovitch, and they lived together in Bangor until she died in 1966. Joseph died in December 1981 in Anglesey. There is no record of him having any children.
Joseph was affectionately known to the family as ‘Billy,’ and he died just under a year before his stepmother, Winifred.
Joseph 'Billy' Wartski. Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Joseph and Miriam are both buried in Broadgreen Jewish Cemetery with Isidore and Winifred.
Isidore eventually purchased Gwynfryn, alongside a number of other properties in Bangor, at auction in 1925.
Google Maps Image of Gwynfryn.
204 High Street, Bangor – Isidore’s Drapery Business
As 21 High Street began to focus on the jewellery trade, Morris’s son, Isidore, moved his drapery business from 27 High Street to 204 High Street.
A Mr Wartski (we do not know if it was Morris or Isidore) purchased the unexpired lease for 204 High Street in December 1900 for £410. The property was described as being ‘situated opposite the Cathedral, in the centre of the City, close to the market, with a long frontage to the High Street’ and having ‘a fine and commodious shop and showroom with a convenient dwelling-house with a private entrance.’ In the Autumn of 1904, a new dressmaking department was opened.
Morris, Charles and Harry relocate to Llandudno
The Wartski family was now a well-known fixture on Bangor’s High Street, with its high-quality jewellery and clothing businesses. However, this was not to last, as Morris, Charles, and Harry had all relocated to Llandudno by 1909, leaving Isidore to run the drapery business in Bangor on his own.
The Death of Charles Wartski
Morris had another reason for moving to Llandudno with his sons. At the age of sixteen, Charles had suffered a terrible injury whilst cycling, from which he never fully recovered, and his father believed that the sea air would be of benefit to his son's health as it continued to decline. Unfortunately, Charles died on 2 May 1914 at the age of 34. His obituary stated that ‘He had been ailing for some years, and endured his affliction with great patience. His genial and kindly disposition endeared him to all who knew him. He took a keen interest in literature, and from time to time contributed articles of considerable merit to the press’. He also involved himself with national politics, stating his objections to the Aliens Bill in 1904, which elicited a positive response from David Lloyd George, MP. Charles is buried in Green Lane Jewish Cemetery with his mother, Flora.
The First World War Begins
Charles died as the country was being plunged into the turmoil of the First World War. In 1914, Isidore offered the extensive resources of his workrooms, machines, and fifty employees to the Bangor Women’s Patriotic Guild and the local detachment of the Red Cross Society. He intended to keep his staff fully employed for the duration of the war.
Wartski’s also produced a range of fashionable and refined mourning clothes, which would have sadly been in demand.
The Merioneth News and Herald and Barmouth Record. 29 December 1916, p. 8.
Isidore also introduced the idea of the fashion show to North Wales for the first time in 1914. The event was named a ‘Mannequin Parade’, and it engaged ‘ladies whose profession is to show off to the best advantage beautiful indoor and outdoor costumes. Nature must be kind to professional mannequins. They must, in the majority of cases, possess tall, elegant figures, and be able to move with grace and ease amongst prospective customers.’
Wartski’s was a large employer in Bangor, with the store employing between fifty and sixty people by 1917. Isidore attended a tradesmen’s meeting, where he supported a suggestion that shops in the town close at 6 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. He felt this would have little impact on trade, but it met resistance from other traders, and no resolution was reached. Isidore went ahead and implemented earlier closing hours at Wartski’s so that his young shop assistants could walk home safely before it got dark.
The store claimed to bring ‘London’s Latest Novelties’ to Bangor, including ‘the daintiest of dainty “undies” to gowns, wrap-coats and millinery of supreme elegance and charm.’ It also sold shirts, blouses, jumpers, gloves, and furs. The business already had ‘a large clientele amongst the leading county families’, according to the local newspaper, enabling it ‘to keep constantly employed a staff of skilled workers, and to carry out work expeditiously and with taste and style, peculiar to their productions.’
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality.
22 February 1918, p. 3. Credit: British Library.
According to local trade directories, Isidore was still trading from 204 High Street as a draper in 1926.
The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality.
23 February 1917, p. 8.
Y Clorianydd, 07 March 1917, p. 2.
He eventually outgrew the premises and took over a much larger site at 196-200 High Street.
196-200 High Street, Bangor – Isidore’s High Fashion Drapery
We do not have an exact date for Isidore’s move to 196-200 High Street. He was likely operating both 204 High Street and 196-200 High Street simultaneously for several years. Images of Isidore’s new premises appeared in the local newspapers in 1922, while he was still listed in trade directories at 204 High Street until 1926. It is difficult to distinguish each premise in advertising, as both were usually described as ‘Wartski’s by the Cathedral’, with no street number.
Isidore made shopping in Bangor an experience. Shoppers were welcome to view all the exhibits at Wartski’s with no obligation to buy. ‘Come today-any day-every day’, his adverts blared. Customers also remembered the modern pneumatic tube system, which sent and received cash throughout the building.
Herald, 17 January 1922, p. 4.
Y Clorianydd, 19 March 1919, p. 4.
Isidore was at the forefront of fashion and ahead of his time with his advertising. He was fully in tune with the zeitgeist and the need for some fun and frivolity following the austere years of the First World War. For example, to align the business with the high-class fashion industry, Isidore advertised the collection at his store, as interpreted by 'The House of Wartski.’ Fashion houses were set apart from mainstream fashion, with a commitment to luxury and artistry, often producing high-end crafted pieces for their clientele. His portrayal of short-haired ladies, without corsets and wearing the latest tailored designs, shows that he kept in touch with global changes and brought them back to the small City of Bangor as early as 1919. Isidore visited London and later Paris to keep on top of the changing trends and purchase stock, ensuring high quality and reasonable prices. Isidore offered outfits tailored to suit every shape without the 'sacrifice of ease and freedom' which came from corsetry. This was at the cutting edge of fashion in 1921, as corsets declined in favour of loose silhouettes during the flapper era.
Herald, 14 June 1921, p. 4.
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald.
28 May 1920, p. 4.
Herald, 24 June 1919, p. 4.
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald.
15 October 1937, p. 6.
He then ran adverts in the local papers first with sketches, then with photographs of the latest available fashions and styles.
He put on impressive Christmas displays because, as his adverts said, ‘is there anything in the world more deliciously exciting than receiving Christmas gifts? Yes. Giving them if it is done in the proper way. Wartski’s enable you to do this so well that one cannot but pity those people who miss so much of its sport…surely blouses count among the things one cannot have too many of.’
Wartski’s took pride in fulfilling orders for both national and local special occasions. In May 1925, it produced a gown and court train for the Lord Chamberlain, who had been summoned to Buckingham Palace, and in the same week, it was dressing the Bangor May Day Queen for her own court procession and crowning.
In 1945, Isidore employed Charles Montague, from Liverpool, who had lived in Bangor during the war. He was now a buying agent for Wartski, Ltd., living in Paris.
In 1949, Isidore sold the controlling interest of Wartski, Ltd., of Bangor to J. Leader and C. Pickup of Gloucester. Isidore remained on the board as a consultant for a year before his planned retirement in 1950. His son, Joseph, proposed to take up a directorship at this time, but it is not known if this happened.
In 1967, although the Combined English Stores Group purchased the store, it retained the Wartski name. It was run as a separate business under the leadership of Mrs R. Rhodes. It underwent a major reconstruction in 1967, which trebled the floor space over four years.
Wartski’s eventually merged with Browns of Chester in 1972. It retained the name Wartski’s of Bangor until it changed to Browns of Chester in 1974. It was then purchased by Debenhams in 1976.
224 High Street, Bangor
Isidore bought this property at auction in July 1919 for £1025.00. At the sale, he was described as ‘The well known silk mercer and milliner’.
The Castle Hotel - 201-203 High Street, Bangor
The Castle Hotel sat directly opposite Wartski’s drapery store at 196-200 High Street. The building was one of the oldest hotels in North Wales, dating back to at least 1792. It was once part of the Penrhyn Estate. When Lord Penrhyn sold a portion of his estate in 1928, Isidore (who was a councillor at this time) purchased the hotel for £4,500.
In 1930, after acquiring the hotel licence from Thornton Jones, Isidore applied to make considerable alterations, which provided a second sitting room and enlarged the dining room to seat 120 instead of 75. Exterior modernisation betrayed Art Deco influences, with changes to the gabled dormers and the ground-floor façade. At the rear of the hotel was a garage with space for one hundred cars. Isidore had previously arranged the use of this garage for the benefit of his drapery store customers before he purchased the hotel. Isidore secured a local builder to carry out the £10,000 renovations.
With Isidore having both the drapery store and the hotel opposite each other in the Market Square area, it became known locally as ‘Wartski’s Square.’
Herald, 06 July 1926, p. 4.
Isidore hoped to relocate the bar to give it a separate entrance and planned for between twenty and forty bedrooms with hot and cold water. The hotel housed the only ballroom in Bangor, but Isidore’s ambition was to have the largest hotel ballroom in North Wales.
The Castle Hotel, circa 1931 – credit unknown.
His plans were realised, and on 22 and 23 October 1931, the local newspapers invited locals to visit the Castle Hotel and its beautifully redecorated restaurant and ‘new and delightfully pleasant oak lounges with log fires and cosy corners.’ While guests were enjoying their drinks or afternoon tea, ‘mannequins’ from the drapery store paraded through the hotel from 3 to 5 p.m., showing the ‘exclusive and moderately priced’ autumn collection from Messrs. Wartski’s.
A music and dancing license for the new ballroom was also granted in 1931, allowing occasional extensions of hours for special events, such as the Infirmary Ball, held there in December. By 1932, the Castle Hotel had been ‘modernised out of all recognition.’
Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald,
26 February 1932, p. 7.
Lavish Fashion Shows at the Castle Hotel
Wartski’s regular fashion events drew large crowds, and its spring show in March 1932 was a huge success. Six hundred women were present and filled ‘every niche and corner of the hotel’. Many more failed to gain admission. Two of the models had represented England in international beauty contests, and the ballroom was used to stage ‘a replica of the Fashion Hall of the British Textile Exhibition’. The models then paraded through the lounges and dining room. The regular fashion shows held at the Castle Hotel were also a means to raise money for local causes, with the parades raising hundreds of pounds for hospitals in Holyhead, Porthmadog, Caernarfon, and Bangor. Separate events, including bridge contests, raised money for a nurses’ home for the Caernarfonshire and Anglesey Infirmary.
Bangor’s Licensing Restrictions
In 1936, Isidore again applied for a special licence to serve alcohol until 1 a.m. at his New Year's Eve Dance. At the Police Court, Isidore quoted from an old book on Welsh customs to support his application, stating that it was no novelty for Welsh people to enjoy themselves together when seeing in the New Year: ‘The old book says it was true traditional custom in Wales for people to foregather and drink to the New Year from a special brew made up of warmed beer and spice. All I am asking is that you will allow the guests at a New Year’s dance to take wine with their supper after midnight.’ His application was not successful, and people were not allowed to toast with their friends after midnight; however, the dancing was extended until 2 a.m.
The Castle Hotel – Heart of The Community
By 1937, Isidore had spent over £30,000 on renovations at the Castle Hotel, including two full redecorations. After he was elected Mayor in 1941, he and his wife, the Mayoress, hosted civic events there, such as a meeting of Red Cross representatives from Anglesey, Caernarfonshire, Merioneth, and Montgomery in 1940 to discuss the urgency of their war work. The Wartskis regularly granted free use of the ballroom for charitable purposes.
Many Bangor residents also held their wedding receptions at the Castle Hotel during the 1940s. Isidore and Winifred’s roles on the local council, hosting extravagant parties, and regularly undertaking charity work placed them and the Castle Hotel at the heart of Bangor’s community.
In 1950, Isidore retired from his business activities and transferred his license for the Castle Hotel to Thomas Parry of the Valley Hotel in Anglesey. The original hotel closed in 1989, and the building was eventually demolished in 1996. Today it houses a now-closed retail area, flats, and a pub.
Derwen Deg - Isidore and Winnifred's Home (Part 1)
According to the Historic Towns Survey of Gwynedd, taken in 2007, Isidore Wartski built Derwen Deg. However, town plans from 1889 show that the property existed before Isidore and his family took up residence. The 1921 census indicates that another well-known local draper, Thomas F. Dargie, was living at Derwen Deg with his family.
1889 Bangor Town Plan.
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
The first mention of the Wartski family living at Derwen Deg appeared in The Jewish Chronicle on 10 February 1922, when Isidore was advertising for a shochet, teacher, and reader for the Bangor Hebrew Congregation.
The Jewish Chronicle, 10 February 1922, p. 5.
Derwen Deg was a beautiful, detached house overlooking the Menai Straits.
Derwen Deg circa 1940s (ladies unknown). Courtesy of Wartski, London.
View over the Menai Straits from Derwen Deg. Courtesy of Wartski, London.
The Death of Doll, Isidore’s Wife
In 1923, Doll sadly passed away at the age of 45. She was buried in Green Lane Cemetery in Liverpool.
Doll’s Grave in Liverpool. Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Isidore’s Increasing Involvement in Civic Life
It was during Isidore’s time at Derwen Deg that he began to make a significant contribution to local politics. He had already been a strong advocate for issues facing Bangor business owners, pointing out where the council fell short – such as the dirty street crossings, which were preventing shoppers from visiting the High Street in 1919.
‘No one appears to make the slightest effort to effect an improvement nor does it appear to disturb any member of the council or the responsible officials that the sticky mud coating is carried from shop to shop and again to one’s home. This morning we are asked to send a parcel out of town because ‘I cannot face the dirty state of the Bangor roads.’ This is, of course, not an isolated case; any shopkeeper in High-street will have heard it a dozen times. I mention it because it is so apt. The war came to an end quite a few weeks back. Is it not possible now to re-construct High-street; or censure the official responsible for its filthy state? for surely a city’s main shopping thorough-fare is worth consideration.’
Isidore wished to have a greater impact; he joined many local community groups and eventually ran for a seat on the council.
Hirael Flood Scheme Plaque
In 1924, Isidore Wartski was elected to the Bangor Town Council and served on most of its committees. During his twenty-five-year tenure, he had a major impact on the City. He was instrumental in plans to rehome families from the former fishing village of Hirael.
The residents of the small fishing village of Hirael, adjacent to Bangor, were known locally as Sibols (spring onions) and described as a ‘proud and stoical lot’. The area grew up in the 1820s, with hundreds of small terraced homes lacking basic amenities, often housing eight adults and children under one roof. A large, open ditch served as the main sewerage system. Freezing sea mists and slate dust from the quayside caused serious health problems. During the 1920s, the area began encountering increasing environmental problems, including flooding, which facilitated the spread of disease.
1923, Orme Road - Totton Road junction, Hirael. Image credit Bangor Civic Society.
1923, Edmund Street, Hirael. Image credit Bangor Civic Society.
In 1924, Isidore was voted onto the housing committee. It was his vision and drive that transformed Hirael. The impoverished residents were rehomed in more modern estates on the outskirts of the City.
In 2025, a plaque was erected along Beach Road, thanks to the efforts of Bangor University’s Professor Nathan Abrams.
Professor Nathan Abrams (left) and Councillor Mark Roberts. The Bangor Aye, 13 February 2025.
Bangor Councillor Mark Roberts commented: ‘Mayor Wartski is an integral part of Bangor’s past and present. His decision to temporarily relocate an entire population—including men, women, the elderly, some who were sick and infirm, as well as children and infants—while he levelled Hirael was audacious and brave.’
Derwen Deg (Part 2)
Isidore Remarries
Following the loss of his wife in February 1923, Isidore married Winifred Marie Hess at Prince’s Road Synagogue in Liverpool in February 1925. Winifred joined Isidore in his tireless civic and religious work. With her help, he had a transformative effect on the City, helping to build new housing developments and dropping the tolls on the Menai Bridge. He also worked to improve traffic conditions in Bangor to benefit trade in the town.
Isidore and Winifred had one son together, John H. S. Wartski, born in Liverpool in April 1926, two months after his older half-brother's wedding. John left Bangor to spend time in Israel during the 1950s before moving to Bournemouth, where he died. On his death, various sums were disbursed across the City, bequeathed by Isidore, including to Bangor University.
Winifred, Isidore and John (date unknown).
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
By 1926, Isidore was the President of the Bangor Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber of Trade, composed of over a hundred principal tradesmen, also elected him to represent Bangor on the Executive Council of the Drapers’ Chamber of Trade of the United Kingdom.
In August 1926, Isidore and Winifred hosted an event at Derwen Deg for students attending the Inter-University Jewish Federation Summer School. It was attended by David Lloyd George, former Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party. Addressing the students, Lloyd George said that he and Morris Wartski were old friends, as he had been Morris’ legal advisor. Lloyd George said that he had a deep respect for the Jewish people and believed they were ‘probably the race that has made the deepest impression upon the destinies of humanity, and the tale of this influence has not yet been told. As the generations and the centuries unfold, the impress made by Jewish ideas and the Jewish teaching will deepen. It was from them that the great conception of peace on earth and good will among men came with a remarkable force.’
He went on to say that ‘The poets of your people, your prophets, kings and warriors are better known to the children and adults of Wales than the heroes of our own race. That gives an idea of the impression which the Jewish people have made upon the opinions and the character of other races. Therefore your responsibility is a very great one.’ He also commented on the patriotism of Jewish people to the countries in which they live, drawing on his experiences of Jewish involvement during the First World War.
In 1927, Isidore was still serving as a councillor for Bangor (North). And in 1928, he began fighting for improvements to the road system, which he said negatively impacted the City’s businesses.
In 1930, Isidore was again elected as a councilor for Bangor (North). He was unanimously elected President of the North Wales Advertising Board, whose focus was on increasing tourism in the area.
In 1933, he again proved his popularity by running for council unopposed. In 1934, Isidore appealed to the Jewish congregation for a subscription of £50 towards the restoration of the Parish Church of Llanallgo in Anglesey. He wished to make this donation to commemorate the kindness of former rector, Rev. Roose Hughes, towards the victims of the wreck of the Royal Charter (1859) in nearby waters. He referred to the vivid scenes written by Charles Dickens, detailing a letter from the Chief Rabbi to the Reverend, thanking him for his kindness toward the Jewish passengers on board who perished. Isidore noted that the broken bow of the ship was still visible at low tide.
In 1936, Isidore unsuccessfully opposed the creation of the out-of-town Maesgeirchen Housing Estate. He felt it would be distressing to relocate poorer people to an isolated area so far from the town centre.
In 1938, Isidore was elected Vice President of the Bangor Rotary Club. Winifred was also undertaking her own civic work and was involved with the Inner Wheel Committee for Merseyside and North Wales.
The First Practising Jewish Mayor in Wales and the Beginning of World War Two
In November 1939, Isidore was unanimously elected Mayor of Bangor by the City Council. He was the first practicing Jew to hold this office in Wales. He was fully aware of the significance of this, and felt that tolerance of different religions was part of life in Bangor, and the United Kingdom: ‘So strongly has the spirit of fair play rooted in the character of the people of this land…that nobody need fear that differences in religious opinion will prove a hindrance to the useful and honourable employment by them of such powers as God has given them.’
Portrait of Mayor Isidore Wartski.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Isidore’s Jewish heritage was well known to the people of Bangor, and he took pride in his work for both non-Jewish and Jewish organizations, including his membership of the Board of Deputies of British Jews and his service on the Wales Panel of After-Care Work for Refugees. Winifred was also engaged in working with the National Council of Women and the British Red Cross Society. She also supported local Jewish refugees by working with the Liverpool Talmud Torah to open a communal centre in Bangor that would provide midday meals, religious services, and education.
Isidore Wartski was commended for providing a haven for the contents of the Montefiore Jewish Museum of Ramsgate and the Jews College library at Derwen Deg for the duration of the war.
During his campaign for re-election as Bangor's Mayor in 1940, Alderman John Williams stated that he ‘had been a resident of the borough almost long enough to claim himself a native. He had breathed the healthy atmosphere of the town and surrounding Welsh hills from boyhood.’ He served as Mayor from 1939 to 1941.
Wartime Rationing Controversy
Isidore was also a magistrate and presided over many court cases in Bangor during the early 1940s. It was therefore somewhat uncomfortable when he and Winifred were charged with storing food in excess of the normal wartime rationing quantities in 1942. The charges against Isidore were dropped, but a Ministry of Food inspector questioned Winifred about the large quantities of food stored in her cellars. The courts were lenient when it was explained that many of the items were stored there for use in Isidore’s hotels. Winifred was also the commandant of the Bangor Mobile First Aid Post and was responsible for supplying food to people who had lost their homes in bombing raids. She also had a large stock of kosher soup, which she kept for evacuees, refugees, and Jewish soldiers who were given respite and support for their religious requirements at Derwen Deg.
Winifred had purchased such amounts of soup without Isidore’s knowledge, because it was the easiest way to feed large numbers of people. The court agreed that she may have transgressed the letter of the law but not its spirit. It was not a serious offence, but she was given a small fine and advised to consult the Food Office in the future.
1946 - Death of Morris Wartski in Llandudno
While Isidore was living at Derwen Deg, his father, Morris, died in Llandudno in July 1946 at the age of 92. He attributed his longevity to ‘plenty of whisky, good cigars and no exercise.’ Morris is buried in Long Lane Jewish Cemetery in Liverpool. His second wife, Lily, died shortly after, in September 1946, and is buried with Morris’s daughters in Willesden Cemetery. Future JHAW work will cover Morris’s life in Llandudno.
1950 - Isidore’s Retirement
Following the war, Isidore stepped back from his civic roles as he headed toward retirement in 1950. He continued to enjoy family life at Derwen Deg and began to travel with Winifred. He would give talks about his trips to the Bangor Rotarians, and the International Friendship League. They would occasionally host these groups at Derwen Deg.
1958 - Death of Harry Wartski in Llandudno
Isidore’s brother, Harry, died in Sept 1958. After his move to Llandudno, he remained the managing director of C & H Wartski jewellers. He collapsed and died in the shop at 33 Mostyn Street, aged 74. He had been due to retire that week and move to Bournemouth. He was survived by his wife, Gertrude, his son Charles, named after his brother who had passed in 1914, and his daughter Flora, named after his mother. He was buried in Long Lane Jewish Cemetery in Liverpool with his father Morris.
Garden Parties at Derwen Deg
Morris and Winifred continued to support local causes and held many garden parties at Derwen Deg.
A Garden Party at Derwen Deg, circa 1930s.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
A Garden Party at Derwen Deg, circa 1950s.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
In 1961, their garden party was opened by the Dean of Bangor, the Very Rev. H. Islwyn Davies. All proceeds went to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, a cause close to Winifred’s heart.
1965 – Death of Isidore Wartski in Bangor
Isidore and Winifred, circa 1960s.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Isidore passed away on 26 January 1965, at the age of eighty-seven. His obituary in the North Wales Weekly News remembered him as a prominent local businessman who had served on Bangor City Council for 25 years, including as Mayor from 1939 to 1941. A service was held for him at Derwen Deg before his burial at Broadgreen Jewish Cemetery in Liverpool. Winifred sold Derwen Deg in 1966.
Wartski Fields
Three years after Isidore’s death, his widow, Winifred, bought several fields on the shore of the Menai Strait, which were part of Nantporth Farm. She donated it to the people of Bangor in his memory, and it continues to be known as Wartski Fields.
Portrait of Winifred Marie Wartski, former Mayoress of Bangor.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
Winifred Wartski handing over the deeds to Wartski Fields to the former Mayor of Bangor, Cllr Iorwerth Hughes in 1968.
Courtesy of Wartski, London.
The commemorative tablets were erected by the City of Bangor and designed by North Wales sculptor Jonah Jones. Jonah had served as a non-combatant medic in the army during WWII, becoming one of the first to enter Bergen Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. Following the war, he served in British Mandate Palestine, where he met and married Judith Grossman, a Jewish woman living in Haifa, who returned with him to Wales and became a writer under the name of Judith Maro. She became a fluent Welsh speaker and published her works in both English and Welsh. Judith eventually joined her husband’s religion by converting to Catholicism.
Wartski Fields Memorial, Holyhead Road, Bangor.
Image courtesy of Meirion.
The Wartski family continues to contribute to the town of Bangor. In 2024, Wartksi of London, based near St James's Palace, generously spent three months carrying out the restoration of the city's ceremonial mace, waiving a fee of nearly £8,000. The mace was donated to Bangor in 1883 when Queen Victoria granted the city royal charter status. The mace was transported back to Bangor by city councillor Mark Roberts.
Bangor Councillor Mark Roberts stated, ‘Many in Bangor might have long forgotten the name “Wartski,” but it’s wonderful to see that “Wartski” hasn’t forgotten us.’
They have also made significant donations to Bangor University.
Councillor Mark Roberts holding Bangor City's ceremonial mace after its restoration. Image credit: BBC
Lodwig Villa, Holyhead Road – Winifred’s Last Home
Town Plan of Bangor, published in 1889.
Reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland.
After Isidore died in 1965, Winifred moved into a smaller first-floor flat at Lodwig Villa on Holyhead Road. It was almost next door to Gwynfryn, where Isidore had lived with his first wife, Doll. Winifred continued with her tireless community work, fondly remembered as a founder member of the Bangor branch of Soroptimist International and President of the Bangor branch of the NSPCC, In 1971, Winifred was honoured with a Recognition of Service Award for her many years of community work, and continued attending local charitable functions until her mid-80s.
In 1979, Winifred celebrated her ninetieth birthday at Lodwig Villa. She was still a keen bridge player, and more than 40 birthday cards were delivered to her home. Many relatives and friends also called in to wish her well. She said, ‘I am feeling very well and it's all quite exciting. I try to get out every day.’ Winifred had made Bangor her home for over 54 years. She died aged 93 in 1982 and asked for donations to the NSPCC in lieu of flowers. Winifred is buried next to Isidore in Broadgreen Jewish Cemetery in Liverpool.
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Geoffrey Munn, Wartski The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, (Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd., Suffolk: 2015) p. 20 <https://issuu.com/accpublishinggroup/docs/wartski> [accessed 20 May 2026].
Morris Wartski’s mother is listed as Reuse Wiener in the Ostrow Wielkopolski (Ostrowo) Births, Marriages and Deaths records taken from Jewishgen’s JRI Poland Records. It is not possible to directly link to the page.
Newspapers.com, ‘Llandudno Jottings’ in Holyhead Anglesey Mail, 21 February 1913, p. 8 21 Feb 1913, page 8 - Holyhead Anglesey Mail at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 12 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘London Day by Day’ in The Daily Telegraph, 14 May 1953, p. 6 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/832196682/?match=1&terms=%22Kenneth%20Snowman%22> [accessed 26 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Wedding at Bangor’ in Liverpool Daily Post, 03 April 1903, p. 8 03 Apr 1903, page 8 - Liverpool Daily Post at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 12 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Marriages’ in The North Wales Express, 09 March 1906, p. 4 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3571057/3571061/28/202%2BOR%2BHigh%2BOR%2BStreet%2BAND%2BBangor%2BAND%2Bwartski?from=search> [accessed 12 May 2026].
Records from Jewishgen – JRI Poland, records from Prussia. https://legacy.jri-poland.org/databases/jridetail_2.php;
Wartski.com, History of the Firm <https://wartski.com/about-us/history-of-the-firm/> [accessed 12 May 2026).
Morris Wartski’s Arrival in Bangor
Records from Jewishgen – JRI Poland, records from Prussia. https://legacy.jri-poland.org/databases/jridetail_2.php;
72 High Street, Bangor
Ancestry.co.uk, Adolph Sinayberger in the UK, Naturalisation Certificated and Declarations, 1870 – 1916 (2014) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/9156/records/19126> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Wartski in the 1881 Wales Census (2004) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8059/records/749802?tid=&pid=&queryId=2d74422d-9f39-4df7-89c7-8987185d3c92&_phsrc=CAB3304&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Wartski in the 1891 England Census (2005) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/6598/records/14049005> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Wartski in the UK, City and County Directories, 1766-1946 (2013) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/3145/records/43421875> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Mr J Wartski in the UK and Ireland, Outward Passenger Lists, 1890-1960 (2012) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2997/records/37377504> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, P. Wartski in the South Africa, City and Area Directories, 1813-1962 (2014) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/60717/records/312059?_gl=1*12eyczd*_up*MQ..&gclid=e46329900631122751ec407a77cf165d&gclsrc=3p.ds> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Philip Wartski in the 1881 Wales Census (2004) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8059/records/750564?tid=&pid=&queryId=2db5bb53-f44f-48da-b360-682d308839c8&_phsrc=CAB3309&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Findagrave.com, Aaron Joseph Wartski <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141259921/aaron-joseph-wartski> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Findagrave.com, Philip Wartski <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141175604/philip-wartski> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Among the business changes at Colwyn Bay’ in The Abergele Visitor, 22 May 1886, p. 2 22 May 1886, page 2 - The Abergele Visitor at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 24 April 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Bangor Draper’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 08 January 1897, p. 8 08 Jan 1897, page 8 - Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 24 April 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Dispute about a Watch at Eastham’ in Liverpool Mercury, etc., 16 September 1879, p. 8 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/409975825/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Established 1855’ in North Wales Chronicle, 21 March 1885, p. 1 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/1310967022/?match=1&terms=Berger> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Marriages’ in Liverpool Mercury, etc., 02 July 1877, p. 3. <https://www.newspapers.com/image/409964308/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘SALE! SALE! SALE!’ in North Wales Chronicle, 07 January 1888, p. 1 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/1310967583/?match=1&terms=Berger%20Pendref> [accessed 26 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, Bangor County Court, in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 05 April 1889, p. 5 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/959119355/?match=1&terms=Berger> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Colwyn Bay: Sale of Valuable Freehold House, shop, and Premise’ in Baner ac Amserau Cymru, 30 June 1886, p. 16 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4303972/4303988/121/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘County Court - Thursday’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 20 June 1885, p. 6 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4452325/4452331/55/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Freemasonry in Wales: Formation of a New Province’ in Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshireand North Wales Register, 24 October 1885, p. 5 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4592188/4592193/39/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026]; Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Amlwch’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 02 January 1886, p. 6 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4452578/4452584/49/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Travelling Jewellers’ in Carnarvon and Denbigh Herald and North and South Wales Independent, 08 December 1877, p. 5 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3599385/3599390/17/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Trial of Prisoners’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 11 April 1885, p. 5 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4452235/4452240/28/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Wearers of Watches’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 11 August 1883, p. 6 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4518218/4518224/63/72%2BOR%2BHigh%2BOR%2BSt%2BOR%2BBangor?from=search> [accessed 02 May 2026].
Newswpapers.com, ‘Marriages’ in Liverpool Mercury, etc., 30 December 1876, p. 3 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/409994237/?article=3c5b7981-eb09-4a77-8be4-6169d1ea3ad8&terms=Wartski> [accessed 02 May 2026].
8 Eldon Place, Glanadda, Bangor.
Ancestry.co.uk, Morris Wartski in the 1891 Wales Census (2005) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/6897/records/672682> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Philip Wartski in the 1881 Wales Census (2004) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8059/records/750564?tid=&pid=&queryId=2db5bb53-f44f-48da-b360-682d308839c8&_phsrc=CAB3309&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Biography.wales, Wartski, Morritz (Morris) <https://biography.wales/article/s15-WART-MOR-1855> [accessed 10 May 2026}.
Branwen Jones, ‘How a small Welsh family jeweller became one of the most prestigious in the world’ in Walesonline.co.uk <https://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/shopping/how-small-welsh-family-jeweller-27269051> [accessed 17 May 2026].
Findagrave.com, Philip Wartski <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/141175604/philip-wartski> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Geoffrey Munn, Wartski The First One Hundred and Fifty Years, (Antique Collectors’ Club Ltd., Suffolk: 2015) pp. 20, 23-24 <https://issuu.com/accpublishinggroup/docs/wartski> [accessed 20 May 2026].
Nationaltrust.org.uk, History of Plas Newydd <https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/plas-newydd-house-and-garden/history-of-plas-newydd> [accessed 14 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Birkenhead County Magistrates’ Court’ in The Liverpool Weekly Mercury, 20 September 1879, p. 7 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/918667455/?match=3&terms=%22irvine%20brown%22%20wartski> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘A Recount Demanded’ in The Cardiff Times, 12 April 1890, p. 4 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3428891/3428895/71/Lloyd%2BOR%2BGeorge?from=search> [accessed 18 May 2026].
Npg.org.uk, Henry Paget, 4th Marquess of Anglesey <https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp93492/henry-paget-4th-marquess-of-anglesey> [accessed 17 May 2026].
Workhouses.org.uk, Bangor & Beaumaris, Caernarvonshire <https://www.workhouses.org.uk/Bangor/index.shtml?utm_source=copilot.com> [accessed 10 May 2026].
21 High Street, Bangor
Newspapers.com, ‘Sales by Mr John Pritchard, Bangor’ in North Wales Chronicle, 23 September 1893, p. 4. <https://www.newspapers.com/image/1321158024/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 23 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Property Sale at Bangor’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 07 October 1893, p. 5 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4456223/4456228/24/Eldon%2BAND%2BBangor?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘To Let’ in The North Wales Express, 21 August 1903, p. 4 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569729/3569733/38/Lluesty?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Wartski.com, History of the Firm <https://wartski.com/about-us/history-of-the-firm/> [accessed 18 May 2026].
21 High Street – The First Synagogue in Bangor
Ancestry.com, Lewis Henry Aronson in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 (2006) <https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/8912/records/43971217?tid=27238629&pid=13918071496&ssrc=pt> [accessed 02 June 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Funeral of Mrs Wartski’ in The North Wales Express, 23 October 1903, p. 16 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569826/3569842/153/Lluesty?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 03 February 1893, p. 19 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/ZDM4NmE2OGQtOWVjOC00?highlight=Bangor> [accessed 18 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 04 May 1894, p. 20 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/OWQ3OGQyYjktM2JkZC00?highlight=Bangor> [accessed 30 April 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 04 May 1894, p. 3 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/Y2UyNWIwMzAtMDM1ZC00?highlight=Bangor> [accessed 18 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 13 July 1894, p.19 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/N2FkMDBmNmQtNmVlNi00?highlight=bangor%20aaronson> [accessed 02 June 2026].
21 High Street – Wartski & Bolloten
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Bolloten in the 1901 Wales Census (2005) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7815/records/33286330> [accessed 14 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Bolloten in the 1911 Wales Census (2011) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2353/records/1918043?tid=&pid=&queryId=032f73c0-049e-4735-9d48-6f0be4d7e366&_phsrc=CAB4005&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Bolloten in the UK, Naturalisation Certificates and Declarations, 1870-1916 (2014) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/9156/records/59774?tid=&pid=&queryId=a5dd68cd-47a9-44a5-9f6e-cceaefb7b12d&_phsrc=CAB4003&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 14 May 2026].
Leicester.contentdm.oclc.org, Slater’s Director of North & Mid Wales, 1895, p. 71 <https://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p16445coll4/id/349488/rec/17> [accessed 14 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Bolloten, Bangor’ in Holyhead Anglesey Mail, 08 September 1911, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/973204553/?match=1&terms=bolloten> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘J. Bolloten (of Bangor)’ in The North Wales Weekly News, 20 December 1901, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/803114626/?match=1&terms=bolloten> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Partnerships Dissolved’ in The Standard, 22 February 1896, p. 9 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/409685943/?match=1&terms=bolloten> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 04 May 1894, p. 20 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/OWQ3OGQyYjktM2JkZC00?highlight=Bolloten> [accessed 14 May 2026].
21 High Street – The Dancing Marquess
Ancestry.co.uk, Morris Wartski in the 1901 Wales Census (2005) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7815/records/33284438> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Nationaltrust.org.uk, The 5th Marquess and Plas Newydd <https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/wales/plas-newydd-house-and-garden/people-and-history-at-plas-newydd> [accessed 18 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Bangor Christmas Show’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 24 December 1897, p. 5 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/959103179/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 24 April 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Morris Wartski’ in Herald, 31 May 1898, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/793567566/?match=1&clipping_id=new> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Portmadoc Police Court’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 18 December 1896, p. 5 18 Dec 1896, page 5 - Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 15 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Rhybudd Pwysig’ in Herald, 15 June 1897, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/793563744/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 24 April 2026].
76 High Street, Bangor – The New Synagogue
A Jewish History of Bangor, note 5. This was the address listed for the congregation from the first Jewish Year Book (1896/97) through 1964.
Jtrails.org.uk, Bangor Trail <http://www.jtrails.org.uk/trails/bangor/places-of-interest#> [accessed 18 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Appeal for Help’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 25 May 1894, p. 2 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/MDIwYzViZTktMGIyZC00?highlight=Bangor%20appeal> [accessed 30 April 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 13 July 1894, p. 19 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/N2FkMDBmNmQtNmVlNi00?highlight=Bangor> [accessed 20 April 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Obituary: Mr M. Wartski’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 26 July 1946, p. 15 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/YjMxNTExMzQtZDJiMy00?highlight=wartski> [accessed 30 April 2026].
27 High Street, Bangor – Isidore Leaves Home
Ancestry.co.uk, Dinah Wartski in the England & Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1916-2007 (2007) ttps://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7579/records/20134852> {accessed 05 May 2026)
Ancestry.co.uk, Isidore Wartski in the 1901 Wales Census (2005) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/7815/records/33284449> [accessed 05 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Isidore Wartski in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 (2006) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8913/records/30312569> [accessed 05 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Situations Vacant’ in North Wales Chronicle, 20 January 1900, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/1317567227/?match=1&terms=Wartski%20> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Situations Vacant’ in North Wales Chronicle, 27 November 1897, p. 4 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/1320495698/?match=1&terms=Wartski%20> [accessed 03 May 2026].
202 High Street, Bangor (Previously the Star Hotel) – C & H Wartski
Newspapers.com, ‘Hard Up’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 05 January 1906, p. 5 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/959078209/?match=1&terms=Wartski> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘The Spring Fashions have arrived!’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 26 February 1932, p. 7 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/960139140/?match=1&terms=%22Castle%20Hotel%22%20wartski> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Bangor’ in The Welsh Coast Pioneer and Review for North Cambria, 06 March 1903, p. 2 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3832521/3832523/6/Star%2BOR%2BHotel?from=search> [accessed 11 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘C. & H. Wartski’ in Y Clorianydd, 26 April 1906, p. 2 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3456838/3456840/4/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Important Property Sale’ in The North Wales Express, 19 June 1903, p. 8 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569648/3569656/90/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Important: The Goldsmiths’ and Silversmiths’ Stores’ in Llandudno Advertiser and List of Visitors, 17 June 1905 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3654589/3654597/75/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 03 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘SALE! SALE! SALE!’ in Y Clorianydd, 08 March 1906, p. 2 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3456823/3456825/4/Dublin?from=search> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘To Let’ in The North Wales Express, 21 August 1903, p. 4 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569729/3569733/38/Lluesty?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Y Mae C. ac H. Wartski’ in Y Clorianydd, 02 June 1904, p. 2 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3783059/3783061/4/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Lluesty, Holyhead Road, Upper Bangor
Newspapers.com, ‘Bov’ril 500 Prizes of 10/- each’ in Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser, 26 December 1907, p. 3 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/799926882/?match=1&terms=Lluesty> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Newspapers.com, ‘Wedding at Bangor’ in Liverpool Daily Post, 03 April 1903, p. 8 03 Apr 1903, page 8 - Liverpool Daily Post at Newspapers.com™ - Newspapers.com™ [accessed 16 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Houses Wanted & To Let’ in The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality, 19 November 1915, p. 4 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/4243222/4243226/41/Lluesty?from=search> [accessed 15 May 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales. ‘Jewish Wedding at Bangor’ in The North Wales Express, 03 April 1903, p. 5 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569549/3569554/61/Eldon%2BOR%2BWartski?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Obituary: Mr M. Wartski’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 26 July 1946, p. 15 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/YjMxNTExMzQtZDJiMy00?highlight=wartski> [accessed 30 April 2026].
Lluesty – The Death of Flora Wartski
Findagrave.com, Flora Wartski (2021) <https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/223154944/flora-wartski> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Ibid.
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Funeral of Mrs Wartski’ in The North Wales Express, 23 October 1903, p. 16 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3569826/3569842/153/Lluesty?from=search> [accessed 09 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Bangor’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 23 October 1903, p. 30 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/NzVlYTFjZjQtM2ZlMC00?highlight=Wartski> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Thejc.com, ‘Mr. Morris Wartski and Family’ in The Jewish Chronicle, 23 October 1903, p. 2 <https://www.thejc.com/archive/Mzc4ZDkyMTUtOWQ5Zi00?highlight=Wartski> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Lluesty – The Marquess’s Debts
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘The Anglesey Castle Sales’ in The North Wales Express, 21 October 1904, p. 7 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3570357/3570364/60/Marquess%2BOR%2Bauction%2BOR%2BAnglesey?from=search> [accessed 24 April 2026].
Newspapers.library.wales, ‘Wanted to Take Two Clocks’ in Llandudno Advertiser and List of Visitors, 06 January 1906, p. 6 <https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3654866/3654872/46/Wartski?from=search> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Morris Wartski Remarries in Llandudno
Ancestry.co.uk, Etta J Gwi [Etta J Iwi] in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005 (2010) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8753/records/66867682?tid=&pid=&queryId=dc7e795c-e69d-4e3f-bf71-089d72e470ac&_phsrc=CAB4001&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Lily Leve [Lily Iwi] in the 1911 England Census (2011) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2352/records/773477?tid=&pid=&queryId=903495ed-6ea0-4dc6-b261-fbf2c79f0aa2&_phsrc=CAB4007&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Morris Wartski in the 1921 Wales Census (2025) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/63151/records/35931681> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Morris Wartski in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 (2006) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8913/records/30312587?tid=&pid=&queryId=565dbc38-140e-45e6-a4af-7aeaa3ce48e4&_phsrc=CAB3981&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 16 May 2026].
Gwynfryn, Holyhead Road – Isidore’s Second Home
Ancestry.co.uk, Dinah Harris in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915 (2006) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8913/records/12712068> [accessed 06 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Dolly Wartski in the 1911 Wales Census (2011) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2353/records/1882052> [accessed 06 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Isidore Wartski in the 1911 Wales Census (2011) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/2353/records/1882051?tid=&pid=&queryId=0d07431e-18fc-4a8d-b155-1d950eb6e000&_phsrc=CAB3600&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 05 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph H Wartski in the 1939 England and Wales Register (2018) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/61596/records/42291877?tid=&pid=&queryId=3f8c737d-a7d7-4cee-a14f-33fb447856fe&_phsrc=CAB3627&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 06 May 2026].
Ancestry.co.uk, Joseph Harris Wartski in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915 (2006) <https://www.ancestry.co.uk/search/collections/8912/records/58212131?tid=&pid=&queryId=2b5a3804-fce1-43a0-a5bd-db49e4e7de7f&_phsrc=CAB3625&_phstart=successSource> [accessed 06 May 2026].
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Joseph Wartski
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The Death of Charles Wartski
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The First World War Begins
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Wales (North and South) Trade Directory (1926) ‘Drapers at 204 High Street (Wartski & Co.)’
196-200 High Street, Bangor – Isidore’s High Fashion Drapery
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Text taken from Mayor Isidore Wartski panel commemorating his work at Hirael by Nathan Abrams.
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Wales (North and South) Trade Directory (1926) ‘Drapers at 204 High Street (Wartski & Co.)’
224 High Street, Bangor
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The Castle Hotel - 201-203 High Street, Bangor
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Lavish Fashion Shows at the Castle Hotel
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Bangor’s Licensing Restrictions
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The Castle Hotel – Heart of The Community
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Newspapers.com, ‘Red Cross Work’ in Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald, 28 June 1940, p. 8 <https://www.newspapers.com/image/960129097/?match=1&terms=%22Castle%20Hotel%22%20wartski> [accessed 09 May 2026].
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Derwen Deg - (Part 1)
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The Death of Isidore’s Wife - Doll
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Hirael Flood Scheme Plaque
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Text taken from Mayor Isidore Wartski panel commemorating his work at Hirael by Nathan Abrams.
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Derwen Deg (Part 2)
Isidore Re-Marries
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The First Practising Jewish Mayor in Wales and the Beginning of World War Two
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Wartime Rationing Controversy
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1946 - Death of Morris Wartski in Llandudno
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1950 - Isidore’s Retirement
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1958 - Death of Harry Wartski in Llandudno
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Garden Parties at Derwen Deg
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1965 – Death of Isidore Wartski in Bangor
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Wartski Fields
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Information on sculptor provided by Professor Nathan Abrams of Bangor University.
Information taken from Wikipedia, but the sources quoted are Peter Jones, Jonah Jones: An Artist’s Life (Poetry Wales Press: 2011), pp. 34, 46, 49-56 and Jonah Jones, Dear Mona: Letters from a Conscientious Objector (Poetry Wales Press: 2018) p. 292 – We have not been able to check the original source material.
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Lodwig Villa, Holyhead Road – Winifred’s Last Home
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