The firm was founded in Bangor, North Wales in 1865 by Morris Wartski, a Polish-Jewish immigrant from the town of Turek, in central Poland. Wartski first established a jewellery business on Bangor's High Street and then a drapery store. His son, Isidore, went on to develop the drapery business and create a large, fashionable, store. He also developed the Castle Inn on High Street in Bangor, into the high-class Castle Hotel. He was a popular mayor of the city and a patron of local sports and charities. Wartski Fields were bequeathed to the city and people of Bangor by his widow, Winifred Marie, in memory of Isidore Wartski.
