Context 165 - August 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 5 : A U G U S T 2 0 2 0 35 Food and drink LYNN PEARSON The Co-op: horse and cart to hypermarket Close to 3,000 purpose-built old co-op stores may survive in England. Though some are altered almost beyond recognition, co-op architecture is still a significant presence in our townscapes. On 21 December 1844 a little Rochdale shop – the new co-operative store – opened for business. Co-operative stores and societies were nothing new, but this was the first based on the successful principles developed by Rochdale’s Equitable Pioneers Society. Theirs was a retail co-op whose members paid a weekly subscrip- tion and drew a regular dividend (the ‘divi’), based on the amount spent at the store and its overall trading surplus. Nearly a century later, at the start of the second world war, England alone supported more than 800 individual co- operative societies running well over 10,000 stores, including numerous large department stores. Crucially, stores were much more than simply shops; integral libraries and assembly halls made them a focal point for communities. Societies were democratically governed, through committees elected by the membership; in effect, the members owned the stores. Most co-ops in England and Wales subscribed to the Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS), formed in 1873 and itself a co-operative endeavour. By 1939 this wholesale manufacturing and distribu- tion operation employed 63,000 people world- wide, with more than 150 factories and farms. However, the robustly independent local bodies were not compelled to buy goods or services from the CWS, leading to continued tension between the co-ops and their own federal body. Building the network Most co-ops began with just a single grocery store, adding new branches and expanding the range of goods available as their membership increased. Small rural concerns might never get beyond a single store, while urban co-ops managed large networks; the Leeds society, for instance, opened more than 90 branches by 1905. A partly north-facing street corner was the ideal site for a small store, maximising footfall while minimising sun-induced damage to goods. Visually, early stores could be rather drab, reflecting co-operators’ opinion of advertising as ‘a useless expense’, but turn-of-the-century Rhyl’s co-op store in September 1912, with a splendid display of CWS-brand biscuits The monotone images are from the author’s personal collection. The colour photos were photographed by the author. One of Halifax co-op’s lorry fleet decorated to take part in the society’s 28 July 1933 procession, celebrating international co-operators’ day.