Peebles Co-operatives
PEEBLES CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY 1872-1968
By the late eigteenth century Peebles had become a manufacturing town for woollen weaving, cotton preparation, linen preparation and brewing. fter everal failed proposals for a railway connected Peebles to Edinburgh, in 1852 a meeting was held in Peebles to promote the Peebles Railway. The line was completed in 1856. The line was extended in 1866 to connect other towns in the Tweed valley, which involved closing the original station for passengers and opening a new passenger station. The line closed in 1962. The first modern mill in Peebles was Tweedside Mill, orginally a corn mill, that was re-opened in 1860 as a woolen mill with mechanical looms powered by a 15 ft diameter water wheel. Tweedside Mill had a serious fire in 1965, after which it was demolished.
The society was formed in 1872 by sixteen workmen as Peebles Co-operative Store Company. A store was opened in November 1872[1]. The society was known as Peebels Co-operative Society by 1882[2]. A new purpose built premises was opened in 1889[3]. The original bakery was liable to flooding so in 1897 the society opened a new bakery on higher ground[4].
The society united with Galashiels in 1968 to form Border.