Here are some photographs to take Holme Valley folk right back in time.

For this year marks 130 years since Wooldale Co-operative Society opened its first shop.

Wooldale Co-op was founded in September 1886 with 30 members and the shop first opened its doors in November that year.

The society now also has convenience stores in New Mill and Thongsbridge too.

Wooldale Co-op in 1904

Over the years Wooldale Co-op has had its own farm with 23 acres of farmland, boot and shoe making and repair, dressmaking, millinery, savings bank, bakery, transport, butchery, piggeries, slaughterhouse, houses ... and even a painting department.

An education department was established in 1907.

Wooldale Co-op in 1904

When a new store was opened in Wooldale in 1898 it had mahogany topped counters, white tiled walls, gas lights and chutes for bulk flour, grain, potatoes and sugar, along with hand and horse hoists for off-loading wagons.

This state-of-the-art technology all cost £1,600.

New Mill had opened in 1893 with sales in the first half year of £656-17s-9d. This store needed to be extended two years later with further alterations in 1911 and, most recently, in 2013.

Wooldale Co-op

The first Thongsbridge store opened in 1928. The Society has had set backs.

The central Wooldale premises burned down in 1909 and had to be rebuilt at a cost of £1,480.

Sales in 1919 were £36,000. In 1936 a dividend on grocery of 3 shillings and 2d was paid – that’s just over 15p in current money.

Thongsbridge Co-op

In 1950 Wooldale had 1,153 members, £75,000 share capital and had sales of £54,311 and profit of £2,051 paying a dividend of 1s (5p) in the pound.

Last year’s sales were £2.27m with membership at 2,700 and payment of a dividend of 1p in the pound.

Wooldale Co-op director Terry Auckland said: “Wooldale prides itself in offering local value and employs more than 40 local people.”