Ratho Station Co-operatives
Ratho was largely an agricultural village until the Union Canal between Edinburgh and Glasgow was constructed. This led to the developement of the local quarries. Ratho also had accomodation for canal travellers.
Ratho Station was opened in 1842 on the Edinburgh and Glasgow Railway to service Ratho and the surrounding area. This station is about 1.5km north of Ratho. A second platform was opened in 1866 on the South Queensferry branch line. Both stations had closed by 1951.
The village of Ratho Station grew around the train station, absorbing the small villages of Hillwood and Lillybank. The map opposite, reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, shows the area in 1905.
Ratho Station is now a commuter village of Edinburgh.
HILLWOOD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY 1879-1966
The society was formed by Mr Innes, the stationmaster at Ratho station[1][2]. The society started with 27 memebers, who Mr Innes enrolled in one of the railway sheds. The society agreed with Mr Hutchison, the owner of Hillwood estate, that he would build a store that they would rent for 5 years at £30 per annum. The store was built next to the station and opened in May 1879. The society aquired a van for deliveries and, when busy, a Hillwood Quarry horse and cart were obtained. In 1882 the society noted that many of it's members had to travel a considerable distant to the store, so opened a branch in Kirkliston[3]In 1884 the business had grown sufficiently that a manager wa appointed. In 1886 the society was invited by Arrol & Co to take over the lease of the grocery store they had built between Dalmeny and South Queensferry for the workers building the Forth Rail Bridge - this became the South Queensferry branch.
The society joined Scottish Midland (ScotMid) in 1966.
| HILLWOOD CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY LIMITED | ||
|---|---|---|
| File:HwoodCoop.HSov.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | HwoodCoop.HSov | |
| Value | HALF SOVN | |
| Add Desc. | LEONARD MAKER BIRM | |
| Size (mm) | 19 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| File:HwoodCoop.HSova.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | HwoodCoop.HSova | |
| Value | HALF SOVN | |
| Add Desc. | ARDILL LEEDS | |
| Size (mm) | 19 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| File:HwoodCoop.£1.jpg | ||
| Source | (DRR) | |
| Filename | HwoodCoop.£1 | |
| Value | £1 | |
| Add Desc. | LEONARD MAKER BIRM | |
| Size (mm) | 23 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
| File:HwoodCoop.£1a.jpg | ||
| Source | (TCS 11) | |
| Filename | HwoodCoop.£1a | |
| Value | £1 | |
| Add Desc. | ARDILL LEEDS | |
| Size (mm) | 22 | |
| Manufacture | Brass | |
| Notes | ||
