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[John Feltham]

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Rochdale Pioneers  (act. 1844), promoters of co-operation, began with a capital of £28, and tradition therefore holds that there were twenty-eight Rochdale Pioneers who, in 1844, founded the society that inspired the modern co-operative movement. No consensus exists, however, about the composition of the group and over forty men have been named as members in various previous accounts. If the true pioneers were those who contributed actively to the opening of the store in Toad Lane, thirty seems a fair enumeration. This judgement excludes at least eleven of those recorded among the earliest names in the society's membership list.

Background and education

Most pioneers were born in or around Rochdale, often of established local families. John Collier (1808-1883) was reputed to be the great-grandson of the individual of the same name known as Tim Bobbin, a dialect poet and humorist. Some, however, came from elsewhere in the north-west: John Bent (c.1820-1894) from Davyhulme, near Manchester; David Brooks  (1802/3-1882)  from Ainsworth, near Bolton; and John Scowcroft (c.1785-1870) from Stockport. Yorkshiremen were represented by John Garside (1801-1862) from Halifax, William Mallalieu (c.1796-1863) from Saddleworth, and James Smithies  (1819-1869) from Huddersfield. James Daly  (1811/12-1849)  was born in the north of Ireland. A few, while Rochdale born, had travelled widely outside the town, particularly Miles Ashworth  (1792-1868) , whose wartime service as a marine included escort duty on Napoleon's voyage into exile on St Helena. George Healey (c.1817-1899) spent time in America as a young man in the late 1830s.

Details of the pioneers' education are few. Most must have possessed basic literacy and numeracy, and many were actively interested in intellectual and political debate. Bent was reputedly educated at Chetham's School in Manchester. Among the leading pioneers, Daly, Smithies, and Charles Howarth  (1814-1868) were particularly identified for their intelligence and business knowledge.

The three youngest pioneers, Samuel Ashworth  (1825-1871) , James Bamford (c.1825-1879), and Benjamin Jordan (c.1825-1904), were in their late teens when the new co-operative was founded in 1844. They, together with Bent and Joseph Smith (c.1823-1886), were certainly single at the time. Most others are known to have been married men, many with children to support. Only four of the pioneers were over fifty in 1844, with John Holt  (1777/8-1852)  by some margin the oldest.

The pioneers were drawn from several different trades, mostly skilled and semi-skilled. Although poor, they were not the destitute or unemployed men portrayed in romanticized accounts of the Rochdale store's foundation. The failure of a strike to secure wage increases for the town's flannel weavers early in 1844 contributed to renewed interest in co-operation as an alternative means of self-help. Ten of the pioneers were recorded as weavers in the society's original membership list. Other textile trades were also represented, including wool-sorters, a block-printer, and a mill engineer. The wider economy of the town was reflected in the inclusion among the pioneers of woodworkers, shoemakers and cloggers, hawkers, a tailor, and a collier. Healey, the most prosperous of the pioneers in his own business life, was a silk manufacturer whose firm employed fourteen hands in 1851.

Many of these individuals already knew each other prior to the establishment of the pioneers' society. They had previously been involved in political and reform movements in Rochdale, providing a foundation of mutual confidence and schooling in organizational skills. During the early 1830s Howarth and James Standring (c.1804-1872) were part of the first phase of Owenite socialist interest in co-operation. This led to the establishment of a co-operative manufacturing society and two co-operative stores in Rochdale. Although these initiatives had failed by 1835, the leading pioneers must have known that their later efforts represented the refinement of existing co-operative forms, rather than an entirely new development.

Ideological influences: Owenism and Chartism

A revival of Owenism brought other pioneers into association. The Rochdale Socialist Institute was founded in 1838, becoming branch 24 of the national Owenite organization, the Universal Community Society of Rational Religionists. Daly and Garside both served as branch secretary. Daly was particularly active, as a correspondent to the New Moral World, a teacher in the local Owenite school, and, with Bent, a public lecturer. In 1841 Garside and Healey each subscribed some £20 to support the projected Owenite community at Queenwood in Hampshire, with smaller contributions from Collier, Mallalieu, and Smithies. Other Owenites among the pioneers were the father and son Miles and Samuel Ashworth, William Cooper, Holt, Howarth, Benjamin Rudman (1814-1876), Smith, Standring, Robert Taylor (c.1800-1877), William Taylor  (1813/14-1854) , James Tweedale (1818-1886), and Samuel Tweedale (b. c.1811).

Some socialists were also committed secularists; Daly wrote passionately on the subject to the New Moral World. It is difficult to credit, therefore, any close identification between the pioneers as a group and a local strand of Unitarian Methodism. James Wilkinson (1787-1858), a part-time Unitarian minister, was among the pioneers, and his congregation may have contained as many as nine of his co-operative fellows. However, the principle of religious neutrality subsequently proclaimed by the pioneers probably reflected their own divisions on the subject.

Chartism was another cause adopted by several pioneers-including Brooks, Jordan, John Kershaw (c.1818-1893), James Maden (c.1803-1873), James Manock (c.1798-1877), and Rudman-sometimes in parallel with continued support for Owenism. Indeed, Daly wrote in the New Moral World (15 May 1841) that socialists and Chartists were divided only 'as to the means of attaining the object sought by both parties'. In 1843 Howarth-not himself a Chartist-supported by Smithies and Daly, used a Chartist meeting to advocate co-operative storekeeping as an alternative means of social progress. Although many Chartists dismissed co-operation as a distraction from their political goals, the pioneers included John Holt, the local Chartist secretary. Samuel Ashworth was a particular admirer of the Chartist leader Feargus O'Connor, who visited Rochdale in 1843. Ashworth and Cooper both became subscribers to O'Connor's Chartist Land Company, founded in 1845. In 1848 Ashworth received a 2 acre allotment on the land company's settlement at Charterville, near Minster Lovell in Oxfordshire. In an abortive attempt to start a new life he moved to Charterville, with his father, Miles, during the summer of 1848. Neither, however, was to stay more than a few months, as the legal basis of the land company was quickly thrown into question.

The Toad Lane store: foundation and progress

Such episodes indicate a continuing adherence to Chartist and socialist principles among the pioneers. However, the establishment of their co-operative store was born of frustration with grandiose national plans that did little to benefit working people. Socialists, including Howarth, were also convinced that local action was necessary to preserve the democratic spirit that was threatened by controversy dogging more prominent projects, particularly the Queenwood community.

Discussion of practical measures to relieve social distress led to a series of meetings during August 1844 that established the Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society and appointed its first officers. Miles Ashworth was elected president, Daly secretary, and John Holt treasurer. Bamford, James Holt (b. c.1789), Smithies, William Taylor, and James Tweedale were appointed directors. Bent and Smith were elected as auditors, and George Ashworth (c.1819-1847), Howarth, Mallalieu, and William Walker as trustees. November 1844 saw the appointment of five arbitrators who were, at least initially, not purchasing members of the co-operative. The contribution of four of these-Garside, Healey, John Lord, and Wilkinson-to the society's subsequent development was, however, such that they may be counted among the pioneers. Garside, Lord, and Wilkinson held these same offices as late as 1858, when Wilkinson died.

By contrast, some other responsibilities were held only briefly, as individuals withdrew from the society. Walker's tenure as a trustee lasted only until October 1844. James Holt was also less involved than his fellow directors, selling his shares in the society in September 1845. But changes also reflected the pioneers' democratic commitment to the circulation of responsibility throughout the group. Hence, Howarth replaced Ashworth as president in January 1845. Smithies, Kershaw, and James Tweedale all held this office in succeeding years. The duties associated with particular titles are not identified in the pioneers' records. Ultimately, individual contributions to the society's establishment are better judged through practical action.

The pioneers funded their store with capital collected through weekly subscriptions. Miles Ashworth, Howarth, and Smithies were deputed in September 1844 to calculate the amount required to begin business. Ashworth and Howarth, together with Daly, John Hill (c.1814-1899), Maden, and Mallalieu, also led the search for suitable premises. After other sites had been rejected as too expensive, George Ashworth and James Tweedale negotiated a rental agreement for 31 Toad Lane, Rochdale. The deal concluded on 25 November secured ground-floor accommodation at an annual rent of £10 for a three-year term. Under the supervision of Miles Ashworth, Daly, and James Tweedale the premises were cleaned and fitted with shelves and other basic fixtures, some of which were made by Daly. Howarth, in collaboration with Daly, drew up the society's rules, which also carried the names of John Holt, Rudman, and Standring. These rules were partly based upon those of the Rational Association Sick and Burial Society of Manchester, but they also reflected a broader adherence to Owenite ideals. The store was initially intended not as an end in itself, but as a means to fund production, self-employment, and a co-operative community.

On 12 December 1844 John Holt and Brooks were deputed to purchase a small initial stock, and the store opened for business on 21 December. Samuel Ashworth became shopman and Cooper cashier, both unpaid posts for the first three months. Initially, the store opened only on Monday and Saturday evenings. From early 1845 this was extended to include every evening except Tuesday and Sunday, with Smithies and James Tweedale both serving as superintendent of the store during that year. After the initial effort of establishing the Toad Lane store, it was Howarth, Cooper, and Smithies who played the greatest role in laying the long-term foundations for co-operative success (see their separate entries). Samuel Ashworth also contributed significantly to the growth of the pioneers' society and the wider development of co-operation. From shopman, Ashworth was promoted to buyer and manager of the store. He was vital to the society's subsequent expansion and involved in the establishment of other local co-operative ventures, including the Corn Mill Society of 1850, and the Land and Building Company and the Bacup and Wardle Manufacturing Society founded during the early 1860s. Ashworth's business skills led to an approach in 1863 to become the buyer for the newly established North of England Co-operative Wholesale Society (CWS) in Manchester. Ashworth declined this first offer, but joined the CWS in 1866. He served as CWS buyer and manager during an important period of expansion until his early death in 1871.

By the middle of the century co-operative leadership in Rochdale increasingly involved individuals, particularly Abraham Greenwood and John Thomas Whitehead Mitchell, who were not founding members. But several pioneers continued to work for their society. Kershaw served a second term as president in 1851. Daly retained the post of secretary until 1849, when Cooper replaced him. During these years Daly applied his skills as a joiner in co-operative service. When, in 1849, the society obtained full possession of the Toad Lane premises, Daly refronted and refitted the shop at a cost of £200. The work created space for the drapery business that the society had established in 1847. This new initiative began by selling a spoiled piece of calico printed by Brooks but rejected by his employer. Brooks was subsequently deputed to obtain more cloth and briefly acted as drapery buyer and salesman. He was also involved in the society's establishment of a tailoring business in 1849. Bent managed this new department for eighteen months, returning later as a journeyman tailor after the failure of his own business. Standring was taken on as a shopman in 1851 when the Toad Lane store first began full-time opening. In 1875 James Tweedale was appointed as the money-counter in the branch store at Wardleworth Brow.

In 1848 the committee appointed to establish a trade in periodicals to fund a co-operative library included Hill and Robert Taylor. Bent supported the society's educational work, as a mathematics tutor in its Sunday school. Robert Taylor was a signatory to the rules of the Corn Mill Society published in 1850. Healey and Lord were involved in the foundation of the Rochdale Co-operative Manufacturing Society in 1854, which Lord subsequently managed. The pioneers' society established a wholesale department during the 1850s, and Manock served on the supervising committee. Wholesaling, however, proved problematic, and a special committee appointed in 1856 to inquire into the department's operations included James Tweedale among its seven members.

The pioneers' legacy

Few of the pioneers sought any wider role in public life. Smithies was a town councillor in Rochdale from 1862 to 1868. Healey was the most prominent of the pioneers in this respect, but more by virtue of his business success than his co-operative connections. During 1856 and 1857 he was joint proprietor of the local paper, the Rochdale Observer. Healey served as a JP and, after 1858, as a Liberal alderman. He was thus involved in the building of Rochdale town hall in 1870-71. In later life Jordan also achieved a measure of status as a publican at Clitheroe, serving as a magistrate and chairman of the local Conservative association.

By the 1880s the handful of original pioneers who remained were accorded occasional celebrity as the founders of modern co-operation. During the late 1880s Collier, Smith, and James Tweedale received obituary notices in the Rochdale Observer and Co-operative News, which reflected their status as pioneers. Bent was applauded at the national Co-operative Congress held in Rochdale in 1892 in the mistaken belief that he was the last surviving pioneer. However, those who died earlier passed largely unremarked, even in the local press. George Ashworth was the first to die, on 6 August 1847, succumbing to pulmonary tuberculosis aged twenty-eight. On 29 December 1849 Daly died from cholera on board the SS Transit, while sailing with his family to a planned Owenite colony in Texas. Even the death of Miles Ashworth, the pioneers' first president, from a bowel condition on 13 April 1868 received no special attention in the Rochdale Observer.

George Ashworth and Daly were not the only pioneers to die young. Samuel Ashworth, who had a heart condition, Cooper, Howarth, Smithies, and William Taylor were all dead before the age of fifty-five. Arguably the first four of these, as dedicated co-operators, gave their lives to the movement. By contrast, both Hill (d. 23 Dec 1899) and Scowcroft (d. 11 March 1870) lived to be eighty-five. Eighteen of the pioneers were buried in Rochdale, chiefly in the town's cemetery. These include Bent and Jordan, who left the town in their later years yet had their bodies returned for burial. Several others were interred locally, including Brooks at Milnrow and Bamford at Smallbridge. Of the remainder, Healey was buried at Bowness-on-Windermere, Westmorland; Kershaw at Normanton, Yorkshire; and Smith at Nantwich, Cheshire. Daly was buried at sea and Samuel Tweedale, who had emigrated, is presumed to have died in Australia. Few pioneers acquired any great personal wealth. Healey was again the exception; his business success generated an estate valued at £15,341. Garside, who was a cabinetmaker, and Rudman, who established himself latterly as a draper, also had their own businesses, each leaving several thousand pounds. Samuel Ashworth's effects were valued at under £803, and Cooper, Jordan, Mallalieu, Smith, Smithies, and Robert Taylor also left estates of a few hundred pounds. The others seem to have left little.

The store established by the Rochdale Pioneers was not the first consumers' co-operative, nor did they invent the system of dividend on purchases that proved a foundation for co-operative success. However, their example was vital to the development of the modern co-operative movement. During its first decade the pioneers' society established itself as the leading co-operative in Britain. This partly reflected the failure of a local savings bank in 1849 and the consequent channelling of support to co-operation as a more secure alternative. However, the sound aims and management structure of the pioneers' society enabled them to capitalize on such opportunities. The scale of the business, which had 600 members and an annual turnover of £13,180 by the middle of the century, attracted attention far beyond Rochdale.

The pioneers' society came to exemplify the potential of working-class association. It attracted increasing numbers of visitors, including co-operators, middle-class liberals, and social reformers. The society also featured in the Christian Socialist and the general press, such as Chambers' Edinburgh Journal, at least as early as 1850. The publication of George Jacob Holyoake's history of the society in 1857 consolidated its position as the inspiration for co-operation, both nationally and internationally. Holyoake, while cavalier with historical detail, told an affecting story of triumph in adversity, investing the pioneers' efforts with a powerful symbolic significance. Yet, he conveyed little of the character of individual co-operators. Leading pioneers, including Samuel Ashworth, Cooper, Howarth, and Smithies, were marked out for their commitment, honesty, judgement, and, in Smithies' case, good humour. But of the others we know virtually nothing. They themselves, however, might not be entirely surprised by their continuing fame. Smithies, at least, must have had a sense of history when he organized a group photograph of fourteen of the surviving pioneers in 1865.

The store on Toad Lane has become a special place for co-operators. In 1931 the Co-operative Union refitted it as a museum, while its iconic status for international co-operation was confirmed by the construction of a replica at Kobe, Japan, in 1991. Other commemorations of the pioneers include the restoration of their graves in Rochdale cemetery in 1994, marking the 150th anniversary of their society's foundation.

Martin Purvis 

Sources  G. J. Holyoake, Self-help by the people: the history of the Rochdale Pioneers, 1844-1892, 10th edn (1900) + Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society, board meetings and general minute book, 1844-8; purchase book, Toad Lane Co-operative Museum, Rochdale + private information (2004) [D. Greaves, Toad Lane Co-operative Museum, Rochdale] + parish register, St Chad's, Rochdale + D. Greaves and G. Tweedale, 'James Tweedale (1818-1886): Rochdale Pioneer', Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society, 90 (1994), 55-71 + J. Saville, 'Ashworth, Samuel', DLB, vol. 1 + H. F. Bing, 'Daly, James', DLB, vol. 1 + Rochdale Observer (28 March 1894) + Rochdale Observer (1 Dec 1888) + Rochdale Observer (17 Nov 1868) + Rochdale Observer (5 June 1886) + R. S. Roper, The co-operative chapel of Rochdale (1993) + New Moral World (1840-42) + d. certs. [George Ashworth, Samuel Ashworth, Miles Ashworth, David Brooks, John Holt, James Tweedale] + W. Robertson, Rochdale: the birthplace of co-operation. Handbook of the Co-operative Congress, Rochdale (1892) + G. D. H. Cole, A century of co-operation (1945) + census returns, 1841, 1861
Archives Rochdale Local Studies Library, committee minutes, annual reports, etc. + Toad Lane Co-operative Museum, Rochdale, Rochdale Equitable Pioneers' Society: board meeting and general minute book; purchase book and membership register
Likenesses  group portrait, photograph, 1865 (including Samuel Ashworth and David Brooks), Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Rochdale [see illus.] · photograph, 1865 (Miles Ashworth), Rochdale Pioneers Museum, Rochdale
Wealth at death  £803-Samuel Ashworth: private information; Greaves and Tweedale, 'James Tweedale'