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Rochdale Accommodation
Women textile workers of the past in Rochdale stare boldly at the camera.
Round the side of the Rochdale Pioneers' shop on Toad Lane.Rochdale Tourist Information Gracie Fields Stansfield Cooperative Co-operative Pioneers Museum UK
The museum space at the now named Touchstones (this name is not favoured by all!), is one of the best hands on and informative museums in the North West - seriously. It traces the lives and experiences of local residents, some of whom where at St Peters Fields and saw first hand the carnage. (link to Radical Manchester page)
You can listen to their stories, plus find out more about the hardship of working in the mills - child labour, the Poor Law, Rochdale's MP John Bright, trade unionism, the co-operative movement and the strong trade union and racial history of Rochdale.
Rochdale Lives - Delving into the past
A particular appeal in the Rochdale Lives museum is the attention to detail it pays to hitherto unheard of individuals, hidden from history but here in this museum where their contribution to the town and their special achievements are recognised and celebrated. Take Ada Nield Chew, a socialist and suffragist who lived in Shawclough, a village now subsumed into Rochdale, for a period at the end of the 19th Century. You can see a picture of Ada in the 'Wall of Fame' in the museum. Ada commented on the people of Shawclough, ..it's residents are a curiosity which affords me endless amusement and instruction'.
In 1847, Michael Duignan who was twelve years old, came to Rochdale with his family from Mohill in Leitrim/Ireland. Tragically in July 1847 both of Michael's parents plus his baby sister died of typhus in Rochdale. The Rochdale Authorities then decided that they would ship the three remaining orphans - Michael (12), Patrick (14) and Mary (4) back to Dublin. Michael died on the voyage back - it's guessed from exposure - the inquest that followed blamed the Rochdale Authorities. There were claims that English Workhouses were trying to get rid of Irish fever cases, before individuals had recovered. Considerable confusion was established to be the norm by a further government enquiry which exonerated the Rochdale Authorities of blame!
For more stories and fascinating insights into the lives and experiences of those from the Irish, Jewish, South Asian and Caribbean communities who have moved here through the last few hundred years check out the fabulously informative www.movinghere.org.uk
Rochdale Lives - at Touchstones, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AQ. Telephone. 01706 641085.
Rochdale Pioneers Museum
The Rochdale Pioneers Museum on Toad Lane is the original shop of the Rochdale Pioneers, and is sited as a sort of birthplace of the co-operative movement where the 'philosophy of co-operation was enacted out. There's a book listing original members of the co-operative shop which makes fascinating reading - a mix of individuals both men and women committed to the co-operative ideal, and worth taking the time to read to recognise that it was many who originally became involved, not just the famous 'male' thirteen.
Of particular interest in the museum are the fabulous banners of the Women's Co-operative Guild branches, many bearing the famous wheat sheaves logo denoting the Women's section. These are housed on the top floor, along with the desk and photographs of Margaret Lewelyn Davies, socialist and General Secretary of the Women's Co-operative Guild from 1889-1921. Under Davies leadership the Women's Co-operative Guild built a huge and radical grassroots base going on to challenge inequality within the Co-operative Guild, divorce law and providing a forum and voice for the organised working class women.
Check out Gillian Scott's 'Feminism and the Politics of Working Women', (1998), published by UCL Press, reprinted 2001 by Routledge. If you've got any questions whilst your at the museum Dorothy and Malcolm have all the answers!
Rochdale Pioneers Museum, 31 Toad Lane, Rochdale OL12 0NU www.co-op.ac.uk http://museum.co-op.ac.uk
Rochdale Tourist Information Centre
Rochdale Tourist Information Centre, Touchstones, The Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AQ T: 01706 864928
Hours Of Opening: Mon-Fri: 10am - 5.30pm, Sat & Sun 10.30am - 4.30pm
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