What we do

What the Museum does 

Rochdale Pioneers museum is free to the general public. This enables locals and other visitors to discover more about how citizens of Rochdale were able to come together to benefit their community. We want everyone to be able to appreciate why what happened here in 1844 was important and the difference people can make when they work together.

We continue to collect objects which help to tell the story of the UK movement and accept donations from the public according to our policies and storage. Due to our small size, we can only show a limited amount of our collections at any one time, so we rotate displays through temporary themed exhibitions.

We host public events and workshops for a range of audiences, ages and interests.

The Rochdale Pioneers were committed to education and helping people to help themselves. We continue this through our schools and adult education programmes as well as by working with local communities to grow confidence and skills through co-operative practice. We try to put the ideas we stand for into action to help people understand why the heritage of the movement is still relevant to people's lives today. 

You can find out more about the work we do as well as how to support us here: Donate

What the Archive does 

Based in Manchester's Co-operative Quarter, we hold a wide range of records in different media relating to the development of the movement in the UK. We exist to preserve these records for the future and to provide access to them for people to learn from and interpret them in different ways. We work with researchers from local historians to students, writers and artists looking for inspiration in our materials.

We are able to offer advice to co-operative businesses and groups about how to take care of records they hold. Additionally, we continue to collect contemporary materials which will be of value to researchers in the future. 

We are working to digitise a higher percentage of our collections to make them more accessible. To help us with this, you can contribute to our conservation appeal here: Donate