Pioneers Display

To promote the newly refurbished Rochdale Pioneers Museum there is a display of photographs with text at the Unicorn Co-Operative Grocery store in Chorlton.

It captures scenes from Toad Lane through the ages. The Pioneers only traded from this store for 23 years but it has become the shrine to the birthplace of co-operation.

You can probably give credit to George Jacob Holyoake for immortalising the Pioneers struggle and achievements with a book in 1857.

Fortunately the Co-operative Union had the foresight back around 1925 to buy the property when it was a pet shop and turn it into a museum.

Since then the story has been the subject of two films, in 1944 and 2012, several books and hundreds of magazine and newspaper articles.

Anyway it is a good display and many of the photographs will be new to a lot of people. A good example of co-operation between co-operatives.