Once upon a time, Gartmore had two grocery stores, a baker, a tailor, a blacksmith, a joiner and a shoemaker. The Post Office arrived in 1826. In addition, vans selling meat, fish and fruit came to the village every day in the week.

By the end of the 20th century, this had shrunk to just one convenience store, incorporating the Post Office, which sold groceries, home-baking, alcohol, organic produce, newspapers, and various household products. Things came to a crunch in 1997 when the shop went on sale but no one wanted to buy it. It seemed inevitable that it would be turned into a flat. More than 100 concerned villagers met and decided to set up a community shop, subsequently investing in shares. Gartmore Shop opened as a community co-operative in January 1998.

We are indebted to the commitment of our wonderful staff, volunteer management committee, volunteers, shareholders and the support of our loyal customers, without whom the Shop would not be where it is today.

Not content with having just one community enterprise in Gartmore, villagers rallied to the cause of another local facility, the Black Bull hotel, and it too has now entered community ownership, opening as the Black Bull Gartmore Hub & Pub in September 2019. A truly remarkable achievement for a small village.