Rushden Research Group: co-op 1956 Higham Road store

Rushden Industrial Co-operative Society

Higham Road

c1954 The first store built in 1927 before the 1956 refurbishment
Left grocery - right electrical and hardware
Upstairs over both shops - carpets and furniture

The butchery corner of North Street c1954
Miss M Pekins, manageress, in the doorway.Originally built in 1894 for J T Colson, butcher. Demolished early 1970s.

Stock-taking Sale 1936

At Easter 1956 the Co-op opened a self-service store at the bottom of Higham Road, opposite Hayway.

The existing grocery store was taken into the home furnishing department, and a new section added to the building for the new self-service shop.

In 1956 the Higham Road store was converted to a new revolutionary style - "self service"

Here are some promotional photographs from the Co-op archive,
now in Rushden & District History Society's collection.


1954 The old grocery shop was added to the adjoining electrical, hardware and carpeting (upstairs)

1956 - the added self-service grocery store and extended homewares - prams, furniture and electrical (upstairs), carpets and hardware (downstairs), all in the new look cream tiling with dark green tiles at the base and just the title "Co-operative".


The store opened at Easter 1956

These pictures are captioned for us - they were for a hygiene promotion in June 1956
Next to the entrance are the baskets. Under the shelf is an order ready for delivery or collection. In the first rack the washing powder brands are Spel, Omo, Daz and three sizes of Persil; the Omo has a free bar of soap attached. In the next racks Rinso, Tide, Clozone and Crysella Flakes add to the range. Lifebuoy soap, Izal toilet rolls and Brillo scouring pads are all visible. In front are biscuits in glass topped tins, with jars of sweets above. The next racks hold jars, bottles and tins. Meat paste, fish paste, Bovril and Marmite, HP sauce and Heinz soups. Most of these are still available today.

Customer Mrs Davis takes a polythene basket for her purchases - the baskets are regularly washed	Food Hygiene - glass topped bicuit tins on the rack with jars of sweets above	Terazzo floor and painted walls are easy to clean - a different section is thorough cleaned each week.



Meat products are displayed in a refrigerated cabinet

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