Rosewell Co-operatives
Whitehill coal workings and the adjacent Rosewell village can be traced back to the 1750s. Whitehills Colliery, the deep mine, was sunk in 1850. This was taken over by Archibald Hood in 1856. Archibald Hood developed the mine and the village, using fireclay from the mine in the brickworks he built nearby to provide bricks for the village. He built well-designed houses with gardens and established a local pub on the "Gothenburg" system (profits being used for local improvements. He also encourgaged the formation of a co-operative society. A train station was built nearby in 1855, called Hawthornden, on the Peebles Railway. The station was renamed renamed Rosewell and Hawthornden in 1928. The Whitehills Colliery was closed in 1861. The station was closed in 1962 with the railway line closing 1967.
The map opposite, reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland, shows Rosewell and Witehills Colliery in 1892.
ROSEWELL CO-OPERATIVE STORE COMPANY 1861-1949
The society was formed in 1861. In 1864 the society presented Archibald Hood with a silver tea and coffee service in appreciation of the support he had given the society[1]. Archibald Hood continued to take an interest in the society, presiding over the societies annual soiree in the 1890s. Unlike other co-operatives, the store had a licence, the store manager in June 1878 being fined for selling alcohol to someone who was drunk[2].
The society joined St Cuthbert's in 1949[3].
ROSEWELL CO-OPERATIVE STORE COMPANY LIMITED | ||
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File:RWellCoop.H.jpg | ||
Source | (DRR) | |
Filename | RwellCoop.H | |
Value | ½d | |
Add Desc. | ||
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Manufacture | Plated Iron Bracteate | |
Notes |
ROSEWELL CO-OPERATIVE STORE COMPY LIMD | ||
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File:RWellCoop.3a.jpg | ||
Source | (DRR) | |
Filename | RwellCoop.3a | |
Value | 3d | |
Add Desc. | ||
Size (mm) | 23 | |
Manufacture | Brass | |
Notes | ||
File:RWellCoop.6a.jpg | ||
Source | (DRR) | |
Filename | RwellCoop.6a | |
Value | 6d | |
Add Desc. | ||
Size (mm) | 26 | |
Manufacture | Brass | |
Notes |