Co-operative Society

[eric]

Reading some of the posts about the Co-op, it suddenly dawned on me just how much the Keighley we know was shaped by the Keighley Industrial Co-operative Society from it's formation in 1860 (I think!) Which means next year will be the 150th anniversary.
During the early part of last century, every part of the town would have had it's own co-op, but where were they and when did they close?
Victoria Rd
Ingrow Bridge
Broomhill Ave (Current)
Utley Main Rd
High St, Steeton
Devonshire St
Ingrow Lane (top of Barley St)
Braithwaite Ave (Top)
Braithwaite Ring (V.G. Stores?)
Emily St
Alice St
West Leeds St
York St
Parkwood St
Crossroads
Victoria Rd, Haworth
Main St, Haworth
Oxenhope (Current)
Main St Stanbury
There must be more! any idea's? and who worked in them and managed them? A mrs Kate Nicholls managed the East Parade clothiers at some time in the 50's and 60's, and I think Richard Hampshire managed the Devonshire St branch.
Apparently the Co-op did to the small independent grocers, what Morrisons and the like are doing to the co-op now! pricing them out of business, so the co-op had a virtual monopoly! along with Coal, Butchers, Clothing, Cobblers, Dairy and a bank! Around the 1900's they were I believe responsible for the building of Crown Buildings (where Butterfield Arcade is) the houses at the bottom of Fell Lane, (Industrial St, Hive St. etc, and more than likely at Ingrow where Co-operative St is, so they helped shaped the town, socially and physically!
Anyone got any more info?

[Admin]

Hi Eric

There was or is one in Braithwaite, one at the top of Mornington Street and also one at the end of Airworth Road will find some pictures

Jan

[Admin]

Aug 17, 2009 19:43:21 GMT eric said:

it
There must be more! any idea's? and who worked in them and managed them? A mrs Kate Nicholls managed the East Parade clothiers at some time in the 50's and 60's, and I think Richard Hampshire managed the Devonshire St branch.
quote]

Eric - my GtGrand mother was called Lily Saunders, her two sisters Nellie & Katie married two Nicholls Brothers (Nicholls Radio) I wonder if this was Aunt Katie......? Perhaps someone remembers her.

Jan

[Admin]

[Admin]

[Admin]

Butchery Department Broomhill Co-op

[Admin]

[Andy Wade]

There were three, possibly four Co-op buildings in Oakworth. I have very little information though.They were:
Bridge Street, Lane Ends, opposite Oakworth Convenience Store. This may have been predominantly a feed store serving local farmers - I'm not completely sure about it being a Co-op though as my only information is from someone who lived in the building which is now two private houses.
Oakworth Hall - it's now Eclipse hairdressers owned by Sharon Wiseman.
Lidget - it is now private flats - opposite the entrance to the medical center car park.
And of course there's the current Co-operative shop on Victoria Road/Station Road.

[parkwoodgirl]

I remember the butcher at Parkwood butchers during the war. His name was Pat Walsh. He had been wounded and discharged from the forces. I thought he looked just like the film star Stuart Grainger!! The manager of the little co-op in Calton Rd., Thwaites Brow was Charlie Pakefield. He was there during the war and after.

[danewiss]

Lawkholme Lane at the junction with Parson Street !!

Early 40s onwards Mum's Co-op number was 2200

NEVER FORGOTTEN !!

[kellytica]

There was a Co-op Grocers at Lane Ends; I worked there in 1962.
As well as general groceries there was a substantial farm feeds business conducted from there the upstairs used for storing the feedstuff. There were regular deliveries to local farms (wagon loads) about three times a week - one of my jobs was craining the stuff in & out of the upstairs storage.

The Oakworth area was originally served by two Co-operative Societies - Oakworth with stores at Oakworth Hall (where the chip shop is) and Lidget recently converted to living accomodation. The store at Lane Ends belonged to the Society of that name. Both Societies merged with the larger Keighley Industrial Society but not at the same time. Oakworth was incorporated in 1907 followed by Lane Ends in 1910.

[kellytica]

I worked within the Co-operative Movement for 34 years and as a result its history locally is one of my pet projects.
The main Society serving the Keighley District was the Keighley Industrial Society but there were many other independant Societies serving the Worth Valley & out districts most eventually merging their resources with the larger Society.
Others included:
Ingrow Lane Society - one store in Ingrow Lane eventually becoming a launderette. (The Ingrow Bridge stores belonged to the Keighley Society)
Hainworth Society
New Road Side Society - one store opposite side of road to White Horse
Oakworth Society - stores at Oakworth Hall & Lidget
Lane Ends Society - one store Bridge Street
Lees & Croosroads Society - multidepartment central stores & branches at Bocking & Lees
Haworth Society - multidepartment Central Stores branches at Mytholmes, Townend (opposite Parish Church) Victoria Road & a greengrocers Sun Street. Also coal dealers
Stanbury Society - store next door to Friendly
Uppertown (Oxenhope) Society - stores Station Road, Hebden Bridge Road & Leeming
Steeton Society - stores High Street, Lowfold (Station Road) & Eastburn
Sutton Mill Society- stores Main Street & High Street
Silsden - Central stores and branches St John St South View Terrace & Dradishaw Road
Crosshills Society -stores Main Street, Glusburn & Farnhill
Cowling Society - stores Main Street & Middleton
Addingham Society - Bolton Road

The Keighley Society provided stores in out districts such as Morton Banks, Laycock & Thwaites Brow. The needs of people in East Morton were provided by the Bingley Society who had a branch there.

[alumpot]

Can remember going to the mobile butchers on a Friday when he came round the Blackhill area. buthcher was called Jack ? cant remember his surname. when the mobile buthers finished in the late 60's he moved to be the butcher in the co-op butchers on ingrow Bridge, where he remained for quite a ferw years until he retired.

[angler]

Crosshills Coop had a clothes shop a shoe shop and cobblers a coal merchants and general store ,It also had a main hall for meetings where we could watch plays etc. I worked on Saturdays filling sacks of coal in the railway goods yard at Crosshills and delivering coal We also had to shovel the coal out of the boats on the canal when there was no rail delivery Angler

[lawkholmelaner]

There was a Co-op (locally quorp) in Bradford Street which comprised a greengrocers and wet fish shop and in the same end of terrace block was a butchers. (It would now be facing the Asda car-park) I remember the greengrocer was a chap called Joe Waite, a cheerful fellow and a good local cricketer. How odd it is, but whenever my memory is jogged recollections of individuals appear and I can see them in my mind's eye, although I have probably never given them a moment's thought in decades. I can see the butcher now - a tall, slim man with a look of Barry Norman, but I don't recall his name. He was always smiling. Between the 2 shops was a sheltered area with double doors which opened onto stairs leading to a first floor flat, let only once to my knowledge to a co=op employee a Mr Pawson who became a Keighley Town Councillor.
Around the corner in Brown Street and facing the wood'ut chipshop where the mosque now stands was a "Quorp" general grocery store. I was sent there on friday teatime when the wages bonanza hit our house to get the milk cheques (usually blue). There was allus a queue and whatever was requested by the customer, the assistant usually had to walk to some other part of the store to collect or weigh out the listed item - which was always crossed off the shopping list with an indelible (blue) pencil - which always left a smear when it was returned to the breast pocket in the brown overall (white if it was the manager). I can hear the pounding of the assistant's shoes on the bare boards to this moment. I never remember paying more than £2 for the items I bought. The total amount was written on a "cheque" the size of 3 postage stamps side by side and carbon recorded on a sheet below, the store's record of the purchases. My mam always stuck the gummed cheque to a "saver" card to be tallied up for when the "divi" was due to be collected at the end of the quorp year. Our number - 2572 - indelibly printed in the mind.

[eric]

One of my Gt Gt Gt Grandfather Cornelius Dixon, was employed by the Co-operative Society in about 1875 as a manager, but he had to put up a bond of £30. That kind of brass in the 1870's must have been half a years wage for a bloke!

[lawkholmelaner]

Looking at the evocative pictures of Broomhill Co-op, I hadn't previously realised that the branches were numbered and that the number was shown on the store "Branch No 50" is rather stalinesque. Nowadays branches rejoice under such names as "Five Ways"; "Hykeham Green" - anymore?

[kellytica]

I have a list of all the original Keighley Branch numbers which I'll dig out & post.
The one at Broomhill is 20 not 50. The originally signage has been preserved despite the recent modernisation.
Another interesting aspect re these two pictures - both the branches shown were actually numbered with numbers previously used at redundant stores.
Braithwaite was given the number 3 on opening this had previously been allocated to the then demolished Newtown store.
Broomhill was given number 20. This number had previously been allocated to Oakworth Hall branch when Oakworth society merged with Keighley. Following that stores closure 20 was allocated to Broomhill.

[Admin]

This one is Aireworth Road No 19.....I have a collection of pictures - mainly Broomhill and Braithwaite & Aireworth Road.

There is the book on the Co-operative Society on E Bay at the moment....starting at £4.99 I think..........the sale has absolutely nothing to do with me....BUT worth buying if you don't have a copy.

Jan

[barcroftlad]

Cross Roads was number 88 and if you are driving past there, you can see it on the glass above the door which led to the office upstairs. Cheers.

[fsharpminor]

Last night I drove up towards Cross Roads, and in the Hermit Hole area you can just see the remnants of Coop signage on the side of a building.

[angler]

I forgot that Crosshills also had a milk round and the milkman came round with a horse and cart, The milky came round on Friday nights and would sell you the Milk tokens for the folowing week You could get a Milk bottle holder so that when he brought the milk he would leave it and take your empty one away.I was told that was so that he did not wake you with the clink of the bottles, I think in Keighley the milk came with an electric milk float (Am I right?) or is that just my memory that is wrong Angler

[eric]

Does anyone know when the Haworth Industrial Co-operative Society was actually formed please?

[kellytica]

According to Joseph Rhodes in his 'Half a Century of Co-operation in Keighley'; Haworth Society was founded the same year as Keighley Industrial Society in 1861. The Lees & Crossroads History website also gives this year re the founding of the Lees & Crossroads Society.
Rhodes also mentions Bingley founded in 1850, Crosshills 1868, Denholme 1880, Lane Ends 1876, New Road Side 1864, Oakworth 1862, Oxenhope 1868, Silsden 1874, Steeton 1873, Sutton Mill 1862 & Uppertown 1876.
He suggests the Ingrow Lane Society commenced in 1889 but the Hainworth & Stanbury Societies are not mentioned.