Penicuik Co-operatives
The town was originally associated with mining. In 1709 paper making was established in the town by Sir John Clerk and Agnes Campbell with the opening of Valleyfield Mills. In 1770 Sir James Clark expanded the town roughly basing the layout on Edinburgh's New Town. In 1779 Charles Cowan obtained the mill. He sold the mill to the Government for a French prisoner of war camp in 1811 but retained the water rights so were able to buy it back cheaply in 1818. Valleyfield Mills was developed by the Cowan family into the largest papermaking mill in Scotland.
The Cowans bought a corn mill in 1803 and converted this into a papermill, the Bank Mill, specialising in high quaility paper, making banknote paper for the British Linen Bank. In 1815 the Cowans aquired the Low Mill, a waulk mill that had been convered into paper making in 1749. Growth of he town was mainly associated with expansion of the paper mills. The town became a burgh in 1866 and a passenger train station was opened in 1872.
The passenger train station closed in 1951. Valleyfield Mills, Bank Mill and Low Mill closed in 1975.
The map opposite, from a reproduction with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, shows Penicuik in 1905.
PENICUIK CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION 1860-1985
In the 1859 four paper-workers held meetings to discuss forming a co-operative society[1]. In April 1860 they arranged a meeting for enrolment of members followed by a meeting in June to draw up articles of association and appoint a committee appointed. In July a room was obtained in old Thorburn Terrace for a shop, which was opened two nights a week for the first three months, the committee serving the customers. In 1863 the society obtained a suitable building, with £700 being raised by the members. This was followed in 1874 and 1879 by the purchase of other buildings in Penicuik. By 1889 branches had been opened in Loanhead and Roslin.
The society joined Scottish Midland (ScotMid) in 1985.
In 1888 the society agreed to substitute vulcanite checks for metal checks over concern about the legality of metal checks[2]. The society is indicated as using the name Penicuik Co-operative Society from the mid 1930s.
| PENICUIK CO-OPE ASSOCIATION 1882 LIMITED | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:PcuikCoop.H.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.H | |
| Value | ½d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | Octagon 25 | |
| Manufacture | Aluminium | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.1.jpg | ||
| Source | (TCS 11) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.1 | |
| Value | 1d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | Octagon 29 | |
| Manufacture | Zinc | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.6.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.6 | |
| Value | 6d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 19 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.2S.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.2S | |
| Value | 2/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 28 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| PENICUIK CO-OPERATIVE ASSOCIATION LTD ? | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:PcuikCoop.Ha.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.Ha | |
| Value | ½d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 26 | |
| Manufacture | Black Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.1a.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.1a | |
| Value | 1d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 31 | |
| Manufacture | Brown Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.3a.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.3a | |
| Value | 3d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 18 | |
| Manufacture | Blue Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.6a.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.6a | |
| Value | 6d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 22 | |
| Manufacture | Cream Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.1Sa.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.1Sa | |
| Value | 1/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 25 | |
| Manufacture | Pink Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.2Sa.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.2Sa | |
| Value | 2/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 27 | |
| Manufacture | Dark Turquoise Plastic | |
| Notes | ||
| PENICUIK CO-OP SOC LIMITED | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.Hb | |
| Value | ½d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 22 | |
| Manufacture | Plated Iron Bracteate | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.1b | |
| Value | 1d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 25 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.3b | |
| Value | 3d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 25 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.6b | |
| Value | 6d | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 29 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.1Sb | |
| Value | 1/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 23 | |
| Manufacture | Silvered Zinc | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.2Sb | |
| Value | 2/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 25 | |
| Manufacture | Silvered Zinc | |
| Notes | ||
| File:PcuikCoop.5Sb.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.5Sb | |
| Value | 5/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 29 | |
| Manufacture | Silvered Zinc | |
| Notes | ||
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.10Sb | |
| Value | 10/- | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 19 | |
| Manufacture | Copper | |
| Notes | ||
| PENICUIK CO-OP SOCY LIMITED | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | PcuikCoop.£1c | |
| Value | £1 | |
| Add Desc. | ||
| Size (mm) | 22 | |
| Manufacture | Copper | |
| Notes | ||