Solomon Andrews

Solomon Andrews, one of Wales' most prominent Victorian entrepreneurs, transformed the landscape of Cardiff. Starting his career as a baker, he expanded his business into a vast empire that included transportation, retail, and property development. He was particularly well known for his Andrews Star Omnibus Company, which operated horse-drawn buses in Cardiff and several other major UK cities. His architectural legacy remains visible today through landmark structures like the Cardiff Market Buildings on St Mary Street, the Imperial Buildings, and the Andrews' Buildings on Queen Street. He was also responsible for founding the David Evans department stores. 

He was particularly well known for his Andrews Star Omnibus Company, which operated horse-drawn buses in Cardiff and several other major UK cities. His architectural legacy remains visible today through landmark structures like the Cardiff Market Buildings on St Mary Street, the Imperial Buildings, and the Andrews' Buildings on Queen Street. He was also responsible for founding the David Evans department stores. 

Beyond Cardiff, Andrews played a significant role in developing the West End of Pwllheli as a holiday resort and converted the Plas Glyn-y-Weddw mansion into Wales' first public art gallery where one can view the highly impressive collection of Welsh porcelain that was gifted by the Andrews family. 

The S Andrews & Son / S Andrews Star Omnibus Company was the company through which Solomon Andrews became one of the United Kingdom's most significant private transport operators. Founded as a limited company in 1892 with his son Francis, the firm served as an expansion of their existing Cardiff-based business, Solomon Andrews and Son, allowing them to establish a massive presence in London and other major cities like Belfast, Manchester, Leicester, and Nottingham. The company's success was largely built on the Andrews patent bus, a vehicle design that Andrews manufactured himself after purchasing a coach-building works in 1872. 

These buses were so highly regarded that even the London General Omnibus Company contracted him to supply them. In Cardiff, his operations were famously competitive; stories persist of his buses deliberately driving along tram lines to slow down rival services during the local transport wars of the late 19th century. At its peak around 1902, the company's London division alone operated nearly 250 buses and maintained a massive stable of over 1,900 horses. 

Today, several of the company’s original horse-drawn buses have been preserved and can be seen at the London Bus Museum and St Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff.