Latest news with #JosephRowntree
BBC News
13 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
Mural dedicated to Joseph Rowntree unveiled in York park
A mural celebrating philanthropist Joseph Rowntree's contribution to York has been unveiled in a city centre park to mark the centenary of his artwork, located at North Street Gardens, was created by Art of Protest and commissioned by York BID to highlight the history of the "underused" Clark, creative director of Art of Protest, called the site "one of the best locations" for the group to create an artwork."Delivering any project of scale has its complications but this one has come together really beautifully with really key messaging coming through it," he said. The gardens were given to the city by the Joseph Rowntree for his factory workers to Bean, from York BID, previously described the philanthropist as a "really significant figure" in York. The Quaker businessman successfully ran his family's firm in the 19th and 20th Century, a confectionery company best known for producing Fruit Pastilles, KitKats and Tooty Frooties. A keen social reformist concerned with inequality, he set up several charitable trusts to improve life for his employees, including the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. He also created New Earswick, a garden village located on the outskirts of York, to give factory workers higher quality living conditions."North Street Gardens is such a key location because it was a gift from Joseph Rowntree to the city for his workers, offering them a space to come outside to connect with nature," Ms Bean said."It was all about improving their quality of life."Art of Protest worked with Door 84, a youth and community centre, to create the piece and young people were directly involved in the decision-making mural contains references to the history of the space, including rowan tree leaves in a nod to the origin of the name Rowntree. Gemma Waygood, senior project manager of Art of Protest, said: "There was just so much we could have talked about and that was so important - the whole history, the philanthropy, and that's what Art of Protest does as well." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Joseph Rowntree Theatre in York marks 90th year
A theatre established to entertain factory workers is marking its 90th Joseph Rowntree Theatre in York was built by Seebohm Rowntree in 1935 to offer workers at his family's chocolate factory "entertainment and education".Of the many institutions established in York by the Rowntree family, the theatre is one of the few still being used for its original purpose, though now run by volunteers.A special fundraising concert for the venue will be held in July telling the 90-year history of the theatre. Seebohm Rowntree was one of the sons of Joseph Rowntree who had established the firm as one of the country's largest confectioners and was also a well-known by his father and the work of Charles Booth in London, Seebohm wrote three studies on poverty in was under his chairmanship of the family firm the theatre was constructed by the Rowntree Village Trust. Alex Schofield, who is directing the celebration concert, said the decision was partly inspired by technological advances which gave workers more free time."Through his [Seebohm Rowntree] social research he'd already noted the impact of mechanisation on the workforce and the reduction of working hours which was taking place and he predicted further falls."He wanted to build a place for employees of the factory, their families and also the wider community to be able to enjoy cultural activities in their increasing spare time." "Originally the dining block was connected to the theatre and workers would go in and watch films in chunks during their breaks."Events were staged there, fundraising events for charities, different teams in the factory were able to hold their own events."It was really part of that community."Rowntree's had moved to the Haxby Road site in 1890 and employed thousands of people in the city.A Quaker family, Rowntree's offered a number of benefits for their employees and had created several charitable trusts."It was the first one built by a Quaker family, as a purpose-built and standalone theatre, and it's still used for its original purpose," Mr Schofield said. He described the building as a "real gem" and although it had been modernised over the years it remained true to its art deco origins."It was built with a lot of modern technology," he said."It was reported that the automatic lighting systems they used at the time were the first in any theatre in the world at that point."After it opened there was widespread national media coverage talking about it as a 'luxury theatre'."Rowntree's continued in business until it was taken over by Nestle in 1988, and the firm ceased operational management of the theatre in it is run by a board of trustees and almost 200 volunteers."It's entirely volunteer-run, it wouldn't be there if it wasn't," Mr Schofield said. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
08-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'Hidden' park in York used by Rowntree workers to get mural
A mural is set to be commissioned in York to celebrate the centenary of chocolate entrepreneur Joseph Rowntree's death. North Street Gardens, by the River Ouse, was gifted to the city by the philanthropist for his factory workers to use. York BID has asked artists to submit designs for the mural, which would explore the history of the "underused" space. Submissions of up to £4,000 have been welcomed, with a deadline of 15 April. Rachel Bean, from York BID, described Joseph Rowntree as a "really significant figure" in York. He died in 1925."He was so important for changing the social landscape for factory workers," she said."North Street Gardens is such a key location because it was a gift from Joseph Rowntree to the city for his workers, offering them a space to come outside to connect with nature."It was all about improving their quality of life." Today, Ms Bean said the gardens were a "beautiful green space" but they wanted to attract more people hoped a series of murals in the area would be a "vibrant and colourful" way to engage people in York's hidden history. "We are really fortunate that York is such a creative city and we've got so many talented artists that want to have their work displayed here," Ms Bean added."It's going to be a permanent mural so it's a brilliant opportunity for local artists. We've had lots of interest but we would like to share it as widely as possible."The successful artist would be appointed on 25 April. Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
'A hard worker with good sense of humour ' - revealing the real Joseph Rowntree
'He was a hard worker with a good sense of humour and a political radical' - David Wilson asks what was Joseph Rowntree really like? GENERATIONS of British children have grown up enjoying Smarties and Polo mints (the mint with the hole in the middle), and many of us are partial to Kit Kat and Black Magic. Since the late 1980s these well-loved sweets and chocolates have been Nestlé products, but historically they were all Rowntree's. Smarties had been manufactured by Rowntree & Co. Ltd since 1937. Polo mints were first produced at the Rowntree factory in York in 1948. Kit Kat was first launched in September 1935 under the name Rowntree's Chocolate Crisp. Two years later, it was renamed Kit Kat Chocolate Crisp and at the end of the Second World war it became simply Kit Kat. Black Magic chocolates were created by Rowntree's in 1933. Fruit Pastilles and Jelly Tots are, of course, still sold under the Rowntree brand name. For decades the name dominated the city of York. As Nick Smith, executive director of The Rowntree Society told me: 'It's very hard to go anywhere in York without coming across a Rowntree connection.' What do we know about Joseph Rowntree? In his book Joseph Rowntree, author Chris Titley relates the events of Joseph's childhood and early manhood. He was born in 1836 and spent his early years living above his father's grocery shop in Pavement (the building that now houses Pizza Hut). After a seven-year apprenticeship in his father's shop, Joseph went to London to gain more experience of the retail business. While in London, Joseph was reunited with Julia Seebohm who he had first met when she was a student at The Friends School in Castlegate and frequent visitor to the Rowntree family in York. They were married and returned to live in the Top House in Bootham, but Julia subsequently died (possibly of meningitis) shortly after giving birth to their daughter Lilley. Joseph re-married in 1866, this time to Julia's cousin Emma Antoinette Seebohm. And in 1869 tragedy struck again when Lilley died of scarlet fever. As Joseph and Antoinette's family grew, the Rowntrees moved across the road to rent no.19 (now no.49) Bootham. Recommended reading: Rowntree's of York: 11 photos at Haxby Road factory York to celebrate centenary of Joseph Rowntree's death Rowntree Park at 100: your memories and photos In 1869, Joseph took money out of the Pavement business and invested it in the riverside chocolate works at Tanner's Moat, owned and managed by his brother Henry Isaac. Throughout the 1870s, however, the company struggled. What rescued the business came in the form of a French confectioner, Claude Gaget, who visited Henry and Joseph in 1879 with samples of pastilles and fruit gums. According to Nick Smith, "it was fruit pastilles that really made the business take off". From 1883, Joseph took over the running of the Rowntree business on the untimely death of his brother Henry Isaac. In 1892, Joseph bought 29 acres of land off Haxby Road and a new factory was built. By 1898 all production was at the Haxby Road site where the offices were the first area of the new plant to be lit by electricity. What sort of a man was Joseph Rowntree? Well, he was a hard worker and continued to have an office at the Haxby Road plant until shortly before he died. He had remarkable energy and was enterprising in obtaining information from various quarters to help develop his business. He had a good sense of humour, people liked him and he was able to move easily in different social circles. He could reach out to people with differing views and was a natural conciliator. As a child he'd been visibly shocked by witnessing first-hand the ravages of the Irish Potato Famine which he saw when he accompanied his father on a business trip to Ireland. Joseph was genuinely interested in the welfare of his employees and was concerned to rectify what he called the 'social ills' of poverty. He lived a modest lifestyle in accordance with his Quaker faith and he was a regular member of the York Meeting. He was a political radical and founded the Liberal Association in York but never engaged in national politics. Above all, he was concerned for the welfare of his employees and in this he was ahead of his time. He set up a library for company workers. He opened two savings banks for them and in 1904, two years before the state pension was introduced, Joseph set about launching a company pension scheme. He also introduced out-of-hours social activities for his employees such as singing classes, angling societies, football teams and book appreciation circles. Apart from the Rowntree Park and the Yearsley Swimming Baths, Joseph Rowntree inspired the building of the Rowntree Theatre and in 1901 purchased a 150,000-acre estate at Earswick. Here he presided over the Village Trust (1901) to oversee development of New Earswick which was to include a community centre – the Folk Hall – and a primary school. Joseph Rowntree also set up three trusts in 1904 which are still active today. And a further trust was formed in 1968 to address housing issues. This year is the centenary of Joseph Rowntree's death, and to commemorate this anniversary the executive director of The Rowntree Society, Nick Smith, is inviting York residents and any others who may be interested, to arrange events in order to commemorate and make known the legacy of Joseph Rowntree to a wider public. Further details can be found on the website at David Wilson is a Community Writer with The Press
BBC News
01-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
How chocolate entrepreneur's values shaped York
From Fruit Pastilles to parks, chocolate entrepreneur and philanthropist Joseph Rowntree, who died 100 years ago this week, has an enduring York, the Rowntree name has been given to a park, theatre, caravan site and school but the story began in Pavement in a flat above a grocer's shop. Born to Joseph (senior) and Sarah Rowntree in 1836, Joseph went to Bootham School before becoming an apprentice in his father's grocer's brother Henry Isaac began the confectionary company, which Joseph took over when Henry died in 1883, aged Joseph's management the business began to make a profit and by 1898 it was selling internationally and operating sugar and cocoa estates in Dominica and in the educational charity the Rowntree Society has acknowledged how the firm benefited from slavery and forced labour in its global supply 1902 the family began building New Earswick, a model village for the workers at their new factory complex on the outskirts of the 1923, it employed more than 7,000 people in this, three trusts were set up: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation, The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust and the Joseph Rowntree Reform three organisations still exist today, continuing Rowntree's work campaigning and researching into poverty, housing conditions, education and political reform. Executive director of the Rowntree Society Nick Smith says the city would be "a very different place without that legacy"."There's so much you wouldn't know has a Rowntree connection."He was an absolute pioneer in ethical business practices and it's really difficult to have this distinction between what he did at the factory at the Rowntree company and what he did outside, because as far as Joseph was concerned, it was all part of the same project."Rowntree's factory provided medical support to workers, including doctors, dentists, psychologists and social workers."We've got a document from 1916 that talks about what they do in the factory and if someone didn't turn up for work for a few days in a row they would send one of these social workers out to visit their home and to find out if there were reasons why they weren't turning up and what the company could do to help them. "Sometimes that might be a loan of money or even a grant to help them with the situation or put them in touch with the medical staff at the factory," he also provided workers with pension schemes, sporting facilities and recreational activities. Combatting the causes of poverty Inspired by his Quaker faith, Rowntree was deeply concerned with poverty and believed the solution was for employers to provide better pay and conditions for their workers, says Mr Smith."He was really concerned with finding the solutions to poverty and inequality. He wanted to know what the root causes were. "There's a very famous quote he said about the soup kitchen that was set up by his father: 'The soup kitchen in York never has difficulty in obtaining adequate financial aid but an inquiry into the extent and causes of poverty would enlist little support.' And so that's what he was really pushing for."His son Seebohm continued the work by undertaking a poverty study of York. "One of the key takeaways from that was that the people are in poverty, not due to some moral failing, but because they're not paid enough," says Mr Smith."A lot of the welfare state that got built in this country was influenced directly from the work that Joseph and his son Seebohm were doing."It does feel that kind of gig economy we have now and some of those working conditions go against what the Rowntrees were arguing, campaigning for and doing. "They didn't just talk about it or campaign for it. They did it and then they would go to business conferences and explain what they were doing in their factory." This year, the Rowntree Society is marking the centenary of Rowntree's death with a series of events. It starts with a lecture about his funeral at the Friargate Quaker Meeting House in York on Saturday. According to Mr Smith, there were five memorial events with thousands of people involved."The streets of York were lined with people," he says."It's important to remember we're in a city that has produced people who've had such an impact on the world. "But also the values that Joseph and the Rowntree family stood for, which comes down to caring about people and seeing people as equals and wanting everyone to be successful and have access to good housing, good education, irrespective of your background or your economic class status, are really important."Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.
