Stafford & Stone Co-operative Society Ltd., Salter Street, Stafford

Description:Situated on the junction of Salter Street and Malt Mill Lane, this building was part of Stafford & Stone Co-operative Society Ltd. in Stafford.

This was originally Central Hall, built in 1913 for Stafford Industrial Co-operative Society Ltd. (as could then be seen on the pediment area of the gable end). It was used by the Society as a concert hall and meeting rooms from 1914 and was described as 'new' to at least 1947. In 1964 it was still the Registered Office and Funeral and Memorial department.

In November 1963 an article by the Stafford Newsletter confirmed that the Society announced a giant new store costing over £150,000.00. It was expected that the work would take around 18 months. The Co-op’s Gaolgate Street store has commemorative stone dated 1932 above the Gaolgate Street entrance first floor windows. The new large extension would have additional entrances in Crabbery Street, Princes Street Precinct and Stafford Street. At the time of this photograph most of the departments had transferred from Salter Street to the Society’s newly extended store nearby on Gaolgate Street.

Later the Salter Street building was renovated and became the Co-op’s furniture and bedding departments along with their administration offices on the first floor. Subsequently these departments relocated to the main store on Gaolgate Street to occupy areas vacated by the Co-op Bank, Insurance and the Area Health Offices. In later years both of these Co-op stores closed and the ground floor of the Salter Street building is now (2025) divided into separate shop units with apartments above.