Blue plaques to remember Co-operative
Hebden Bridge Fustian Manufacturing Co-operative Society traded highly successfully from 1870 until 1918 when it was acquired by another co-operative organisation the CWS.
During its time the society received a stream of national and international visitors, keen to see for themselves how ordinary workers ran their own mill.
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Hide AdA blue plaque commemorating the co-operative will be unveiled by the Mayor of Hebden Royd, Coun Carole Stow, on the wall of the mill where it operated, Nutclough Mill in Keighley Road.
A second blue plaque will be unveiled across the road to remember the co-operative’s inspirational leader Joseph Greenwood, at the house where he lived for many years.
The plaque will be unveiled by Joseph Greenwood’s great great-grandson, who has contributed to the cost of the plaques.
All are welcome to participate, and to foregather on July 6 at 11am outside Hebden Bridge Visitor Centre, for the short walk to the Nutclough Mill.
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Hide AdThereafter, flowers will be laid at the graves of Joseph Greenwood and Jesse Gray, another Hebden Bridge co-operator who achieved national renown, in Sandy Gate burial ground.
The morning’s activities will be rounded off for those who wish with drinks in the town’s co-operative pub, the Fox and Goose.
The event is organised by local Calderdale co-operatives, and the plaques have been produced jointly through the efforts of Hebden Bridge Local History Society and Calder Civic Trust.