The York Rowntree Walk
This walk is not only a celebration of one of the most famous chocolate factories in England – where such iconic confectionery as Smarties, Fruit Pastilles, Kit Kats and Polos are produced – but is also a tribute to the Rowntree family, and in particular the founder Joseph Rowntree, whose many philanthropic works helped to pave the way for the modern welfare state.
Starting at Lady Peckitt’s Yard and Black Horse Passage on Pavement, and ending at No 28 Pavement where Joseph was born, the walk takes you on a tour of 19th- and early 20th-century York: illustrating the social issues of the time of poverty and mass immigration; visiting the houses where the Rowntree family lived and of course, the famous chocolate factories!
Joseph Rowntree is much loved in the city of York and was recently voted Man of the Millennium by readers of the York Evening Press. For anyone who lived such a long time ago to leave such a lasting influence on the city in which he lived and worked is evidence of his extraordinary achievement.
The son of a high-class grocer, Joseph started life teaching poor people how to read and write. Later visits to Ireland at the time of the potato famine left a lasting impression on the young man that influenced his actions in later life. When he eventually went into partnership with his brother Henry Isaac at the struggling Cocoa, Chocolate and Chicory Works, Joseph turned Rowntrees chocolate into a household name, though ironically the business was saved initially by the techniques of French pastille making.
Joseph never looked back: he not only developed the works into one of England’s most famous chocolate factories, but also became a progressive employer, devoting time to public works, providing parks and schools and a social innovator who established pension funds and free education for workers, and provided houses for low-income families.
Members of the Rowntree family were equally extraordinary: Joseph’s son Seebohm, who was obviously from the same mould, studied poverty and worked towards the founding of the welfare state after the Second World War; Joseph’s nephew Arnold Rowntree became a prominent Liberal Member of Parliament for York, eventually voted out because of his anti-war sentiments.
There are nine listed points of interest on the walk which takes one to two hours to
complete, including the Black Horse Passage – the former location of slums where Irish refugees were forced to live in dreadful deprivation – Rowntree Wharf where Rowntree and Co had their Navigation Warehouse, and Penn House, Joseph’s home for nearly 40 years.
A comprehensive leaflet of the walk with a map, directions and history of each point of interest can be picked up at the Visitor Information Centres in York or at the Central Library.
One thing’s certain – once you’ve taken the Rowntree Tour, you’ll never be able to eat a Kit Kat again without remembering the history that went into their making.
York Visitor Information
De Grey Rooms
Exhibition Square
York YO1 7HB
Tel: 01904 550099
If you know of a tour or guide that should mentioned on the Directory of York, then drop us a line at support@directoryofyork.net
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