THE 91-year-old daughter of York confectioner Noel Terry has returned to the landmark chocolate factory he created to examine its restoration.

Betty Lawrie was accompanied on her visit to the Art Deco building in Bishopthorpe Road by her daughter, Jean Kuipers, and her niece Louise Morgan-Williams, the daughter of her late brother Peter.

The former factory, which was commissioned by Mr Terry in the 1920s and where top brands such as Chocolate Orange and All Gold were made, is being converted into a wide mix of new apartments by specialist residential developers, PJ Livesey.

All the flats in the first two phases have been snapped up, with the first residents moving in later this month.

Externally the colonnaded main entrance is much the same but inside the building now feels like a boutique hotel with a concierge desk and lifts to the upper floors, and the party was taken up to the terrace of one of the top floor duplex penthouses with stunning views.

Betty, whose childhood home was Goddards, just across York Racecourse, recalled visiting the factory to see chocolates being produced, while the cousins remembered visiting the factory floor as children and some very special Easter Eggs made for grandchildren, containing individual fondant filled animal shaped chocolates.

Jean said the family was delighted to have been invited. “We all agree it is rather wonderful that the building is being saved and inside it is now unrecognisable as a factory,” she said.

“The spaces being created are lovely. It was great fun to go up on what had been the roof and see the views from the penthouse. Quite spectacular.

“My mother and I now live in in the South but come back to York at least once a year as it is a place full of happy memories for us and it was lovely to visit the building and remember.”

PJ Livesey managing director Peter Livesey said it was a ‘privilege’ to show the family how the factory was being transformed.

“Their family name will always be associated with York and it was incredibly interesting to hear more about the history of the company and personal anecdotes that brought it to life.”