YORK Civic Trust and the Rowntree Society have unveiled a commemorative plaque to social reformer Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree.

The unveiling at his birthplace, Penn House in Bootham, was attended by members of the Rowntree family, the society and the trust.

Trust chief executive David Fraser said historic plaques around the city were real 'gateways' to the stories behind the architecture.

"Thousands of people who pass by Penn House and Bootham Hospital will see this plaque to another illustrious member of the Rowntree family, and realise the profound influence of the family on the people of York, England and the world.”

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, who was born in York on July 7, 1871, and died on October 7, 1954, was the second son of the Quaker reformer and industrialist Joseph Rowntree.

Mr Fraser said he was a sociological researcher and social reformer as well as a chemist and industrialist, and is known in particular for his three York studies of poverty conducted in 1899, 1935, and 1951.

"The first York study involved a comprehensive survey into the living conditions of the poor in York during which investigators visited every working class home," he said. "His argument that poverty was the result of low wages went against the traditionally held view that the poor were responsible for their own plight.

"By the time of his third study, it was widely believed that the operation of the welfare state had redistributed wealth from rich to poor and significantly raised working class living standards."