Subject Guides

These subject guides provide overviews of relevant printed and archive collections both at the National Co-operative Archive and other heritage sites. They are intended as a starting point to help you find resources for your studies or research. We will be adding to this list over time.

Robert Owen 

Researching Family History

Women's Guild

Chartism -an in depth guide to support researching Chartism in the Co-op Archives.

Worker Co-operatives 

Co-op Films

As part of our celebrations to mark 180 years since the launch of Rochdale Equitable Pioneers Society in 1844 with an evening of archive footage. This included a film made by young film maker Ryan Bird. Poster designed by Celine Çevikal.

Articles

Links to longer reads and articles of interest will be added here.

Co-operative Law: Early History: How Co-operatives became legal

This article by Cliff Mills is about the emergence of the laws which enabled co-operatives to be established. Both this and the 3 essays below were originally written in 2015 and updated in April 2024.

The Growth of Co-operative Capital 

Types of Co-operatives

Artificial existence: corporate status and limited liability

Cliff Mills works as a consultant in the social business team at Anthony Collins, a specialist law firm who advise individuals, and organizations such as public sector bodies, charities and non-profits in the UK.

Cliff has worked over 20 years in the UK co-operative movement, mainly in the modernization of public services based on democratic, member-based governance. He has experience in a range of sectors including retail, health, social housing, education and youth services, and has undertaken a range of governance reviews for organizations exploring transformation.

Rochdale Chronicle Flipbook