The Fenwick Weavers Society – the first Co-op
The story of Cooperatives started not in Rochdale within
Greater Manchester as is often taught. The first Cooperative
society had actually been formed 83 years earlier in 1761, by
pioneers in the Ayrshire village of Fenwick. It began humbly enough
when a small group of self-employed weavers met in secret in the
village to sign a pledge of loyalty to one another and, "to make
good & sufficient work and exact neither higher nor lower
prices than are accustomed". Until this point the tradesmen and
farmers of Fenwick had, like the other the workers of all the
surrounding towns and villages, been dependant on the patronage of
the local landowners and aristocracy. The idea that the working
classes could organise themselves and cooperate with each other in
a way that was mutually beneficial and which enabled them to
operate on their own was brand new.
The new society had began by sharing equipment
such as looms and raw materials used within the weaving industry
but a few years later had developed significantly enough to begin
selling discounted foodstuffs and other necessities to it's
members. Soon after its establishment, the Fenwick cooperative
began lending small amounts of money to the families of its members
when in need making it the first recorded credit union. A
subscription library was founded in 1808 along with an 'emigration
society' in order to help members to relocate abroad in order to
take advantages of the opportunities available elsewhere in an
expanding world. Around the same time the villagers founded the
'Fenwick Parliament', which was held in secret to avoid any
intervention by disapproving landowners who regarded workers
self-sufficiency as detrimental to their own interests.
Ultimately Fenwick's size and its lack of proximity to major trade routes coupled with its own success in promoting the emigration of it's members caused the Weavers Society to collapse in 1873 (Fenwick's population had fallen by three quarters!), but it's example had already began to be copied throughout Great Britain and would soon spread across the world. The last member of the society, a weaver, Matthew Fowlds, died in 1907. Fowlds son, Sir George Fowlds, was created Minister of Labour in New Zealand and Matthew's loom is on display there in Auckland museum however a few of his tools and a fine portrait of him remain in East Ayrshire and can be found in the collections of the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock.
Ultimately Fenwick's size and its lack of proximity to major trade routes coupled with its own success in promoting the emigration of it's members caused the Weavers Society to collapse in 1873 (Fenwick's population had fallen by three quarters!), but it's example had already began to be copied throughout Great Britain and would soon spread across the world. The last member of the society, a weaver, Matthew Fowlds, died in 1907. Fowlds son, Sir George Fowlds, was created Minister of Labour in New Zealand and Matthew's loom is on display there in Auckland museum however a few of his tools and a fine portrait of him remain in East Ayrshire and can be found in the collections of the Dick Institute in Kilmarnock.
