How the Rowntree dynasty shaped York (From York Press)

How the Rowntree dynasty shaped York

10:59am Thursday 10th April 2008 in

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IF THERE is one family name that will forever be associated with York, it is Rowntree.

The Quaker family's significance goes far beyond the chocolate factory, important though that has been to the city's economy.

There was Seebohm Rowntree's pioneering work on poverty in York, for a start - work which changed for good the way working class people were perceived in Britain, and which continues today through the efforts of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

There was New Earswick Model Village - a social experiment that set the standards for housing for working people 100 years ago, and which has echoes in the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust's proposed Derwenthorpe development a century later.

Then there was the family's charitable work - its involvement with other York Quaker families, for example, in setting up The Mount School for girls. And there were the bequests made by the family to York - Yearsley Swimming Baths in 1909, and Rowntree Park in 1921 among them.

All of these contributions left an indelible stamp on York.

But it is the chocolate factory that most people think of first when the name Rowntree is mentioned.

The factory's origins date back almost 300 years.

In 1725, a Quaker woman, Mary Tuke, opened a little grocer's shop in Walmgate. The shop moved to Coppergate - and on Mary's death in 1752 was left to her nephew, William.

The shop prospered, branching out to include chocolate and cocoa.

A century later, in 1860, Henry Isaac Rowntree, another Quaker, joined the business. In 1862, he bought out the chocolate and cocoa-making department - and a legend was born.

According to the late York historian and photographer Joe Murphy in his book The History of Rowntree's In Old Photographs, Henry Isaac bought an old foundry, several cottages and a public house by the river in Tanners Moat - and the first Rowntree factory came into being.

At first it struggled - until Henry's older brother, Joseph, joined the business.

With Joseph's help, the business flourished. Rowntree's Fruit Pastilles and then Fruit Gums were launched and, in 1897 after Henry died, the company's famous Elect Cocoa.

Seebohm Rowntree joined his father in the business in 1889 - and in 1890, the new Cocoa Works at Haxby Road were built.

The factory continued to thrive, and Joseph decided to use his wealth to tackle poverty.

He was already an enlightened employer - offering paid holidays, pioneering a staff pension scheme, and providing a works doctor and dentist. He established a charitable trust - the forerunner of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - to fund social research. And he bought land north of York to found the model village of New Earswick for his workers.

Joseph died in 1925, but the chocolate business continued to thrive throughout the 20th century, becoming a national and global brand, and merging with John Mackintosh & Sons Ltd in 1969 to form Rowntree Mackintosh.

Then in 1988 Nestlé arrived on the scene. The Yorkshire Evening Press launched a "Hands Off" campaign to fight the takeover, writing an open letter to then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and organising a rally in London. More than 13,000 readers signed up - but to no avail. The takeover was completed in June that year, and Nestlé Rowntree was born.

TIMELINE: From grocers to multi-national

1725: Mary Tuke opens a grocer's shop in Walmgate

1785: The Tukes start selling cocoa from their shop, now in Coppergate

1862: Henry Isaac Rowntree buys the cocoa side of the Tuke business, opening his first cocoa factory on Tanners Moat.

1869: Joseph Rowntree, Henry's older brother, joins the business

1881: Fruit Pastilles launched

1883: Rowntrees Fruit Gums launched

1887: Elect Cocoa launched

1889: Seebohm Rowntree joins the business

1890: the Haxby Road cocoa works are built

1899: Seebohm Rowntree's study of poverty in York

1901: Joseph pays £6,000 for a 150-acre estate at Earswick, which was to become the site for his model village, New Earswick

1909: Yearsley baths are presented by the company to the city of York

1921: Rowntree Park is presented to York by the company

1925: Joseph Rowntree dies

1933: Black Magic chocolates launched

1935: Chocolate Crisp (later KitKat) launched. The Joseph Rowntree Theatre opens

1937: Rolos and Smarties launched. Chocolate Crisp changes its name to KitKat

1948: Polo mints introduced

1954: Seebohm Rowntree dies

1969: Rowntrees merges with Mackintosh to become Rowntree Mackintosh

1988: Nestlé buys Rowntree Mackintosh

2006: Nestlé Rowntree announces 645 jobs to go from York as production of products such as Smarties and Black Magic was moved abroad. York kept Kit Kat and Polo mints

April 2008: Nestlé Rowntree changes its name to Nestlé Confectionary (UK), dropping Rowntree from the title