How decision to start a society from city hayloft paid dividends for a dozen Derby carpenters
You’re never too far away from a Co-op, but as Nicola Rippon explains, its county empire began from humble beginnings
TRAVELLING around Derby, you never seem to be that far from a Co-op. But ask anyone who remembers the business during its heyday, and you will doubtless be told that Co-op stores were once even more prolific.
The modern Co-op probably has a presence in most of Derby’s suburbs, but throughout the 20th century it had branches in almost every neighbourhood, something evidenced by its former premises right across the city.
Old Co-op buildings are generally so recognisable, although the Co-op didn’t confine its activities to selling groceries.
There were manufacturing and service arms, too.
What became, for most of its business life, the Derby Co-operative Provident Society, began life in 1849 when 12 members of the Carpenters’ and Joiners’ Society, led by Jonathan Henderson, established their co-operative.
Derby’s Co-op was only the second cooperative society in the world, closely following the ideals of the “Rochdale Pioneers”, set out four years earlier.
Whereas Rochdale had 28 pioneers and £28, Derby’s 12 began with only £2 in capital. Using second-hand scales and weights, and flour purchased from a miller named Shaw, from St Michael’s Lane, they began the society in a hayloft in the George Yard, off Sadler Gate. They expanded only within their means, never borrowing money.
Basic goods were bought wholesale and sold on to members at a low price. The store operated for the convenience of working people, and so opened each evening between 7pm and 9.30pm.
Just eight years after it first opened, the Co-op had to move to larger premises on Victoria Street, “in two rooms belonging to Mr Biggs”, which was roughly in the area until recently occupied by Debenhams.
For a decade the society moved to a yard, known as the Penny Bank Yard, behind Full Street. In 1860, a new branch was opened in Park Street, followed a year later by a branch in Nun Street.
In 1866, a branch was established in Bridgegate, and the same year the society bought its first horse and cart, a stable being built to the rear of the Nun Street shop.
In 1868, another branch opened, in Abbey Street. That year proved significant because it was also the year that the Co-op moved to the Exchange Street area. Described at the time as “the most imposing commercial sight in Derby”, the first building was known as the Central Store and contained, along with the grocery, a drapery, shoe shop, “meat shop’” and a restaurant which was open to non-members.
Before long the premises had expanded to cover the entire corner from Exchange Street to Albert Street. The grand Central Hall was built, on top of which, in the 1950s, the beloved Co-op Cow was erected.
Branches at Cotton Lane, Parliament Street, Dale Road, Shaftesbury Street, Rose Hill, Littleover, Mickleover, Alvaston and Duffield were opened by 1880.
In 1874, the first Co-op bakery had opened in Monk Street and, in 1894, a dairy opened at Spondon.
By this time, the society had 5,058 members and traded in grocery, butchery as well as coal. It had its own drapery, a shoes and boot factory, a furnishing department, a tailor, and a millinery.
By 1900, there were no less than 60 separate stores and departments in the town, and it continued to grow until every neighbourhood had its own store.
In 1926, the society began to offer funeral services to its members, and by the mid-1960s it was possible to organise your wedding with the Co-op – including having your hair cut, arranging a photographer, and booking your honeymoon.
You could even have your new home painted and decorated by them. Co-op opticians, travel agents, shoe repairers, builders, a laundry and even a pet shop were established.
The society had its own garage in Woods Lane where it serviced its own fleet of vehicles.
Some 107,895 members earned rewards each time they shopped and, twice a year, were paid a dividend of the profit, better known as the “divi”.
Many Derbeians can still remember their own, or their parents’ dividend numbers, which they would quote each time they shopped to register their earnings.
This was eventually replaced by a savings stamp system and younger Derbeians will also remember the treat of sticking those into special books.
In 1970 the society merged to become the Derby and Burton Co-operative Society, and then merged twice more to create the Midlands Co-operative Society and later the Central England
Co-operative Society which, although closely associated with the Co-operative Group, is a legally independent entity which remains one of the largest independent retailers in the UK.
By the start of the 21st century, the Co-op had earned a reputation for being somewhat “old-fashioned” in its approach and several stores – including the huge Art Deco premises on the corner of East Street and Albert Street – were closed. Elsewhere, much has changed, from modernisation of stores to largescale rebranding. But, in many aspects, the Co-op has thrived.
Central England Co-operative now trades across 16 counties, from the Midlands to the East Coast, through its 250-plus food stores, more than 100 funeral homes, filling stations, florists, masonry outlets and even a crematorium and a coffin factory.
And it has held fast to its traditions of value and customer involvement. You can still become a member of the society, earn rewards each time you shop, and receive a share of the profits in a twice-yearly dividend. But you no longer need to remember that divi number; you simply swipe your membership card at the till.