Tanners Moat Factory

First Rowntree Factory; Joseph buys into the business in 1869

Tanners Moat was the first Rowntree factory, although it reality it was a collection of buildings adapted for the purpose and altered over time. Joseph joined his brother Henry Isaac here in 1869, investing capital and his time into what was then a struggling business. There were more challenges to come but it was following the creation of Rowntree fruit pastilles that the fortunes of the business took a turn for the better and sales and profits went up. Tanners Moat is where the business eventually became successful and expanded to become the globally recognised Rowntree company and brand that we remember today.

“Industrial Unrest – A Way Out”

Seebohm Rowntree laid out his father’s and his own approach to worker welfare in his pamphlet Industrial Unrest: A Way Out recommending five key areas that would identify and remove the legitimate causes of unrest if appropriate action was taken: ” (1) – We must so organise industry that it will become possible to pay all workers of normal ability wages that will at least enable them to live in reasonable comfort; (2) – Their working hours must be such as will give them adequate opportunities for recreation and self expression; (3) – Measures must be taken to materially to increase their economic security, notably with regard to unemployment; (4) – They must have a share in determining the conditions under which they shall work; and (5) – They must have a direct interest in the prosperity of the industry in which they are engaged.”

Industrial Welfare

Joseph, and his son Seebohm believed strongly in giving workers a voice in determining working conditions. Seebohm wrote in Industrial Unrest: A Way Out in 1922. “In our own factory we are successfully giving an increasing share of responsibility to the workers. The directors retain a veto in all matters, and the Trade Unions do the same; but, subject to these two vetoes, which are scarcely ever exercised, I think it may be said that working conditions generally are fixed by mutual consent and not dictated by the management.”

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree

Benjamin Seebohm Rowntree, Joseph’s second son, was a director of Rowntree & Co Ltd and chairman from 1923 to 1941, succeeding Joseph. He was an innovator in business management,industrial democracy and a champion of the poor, the unemployed and the homeless. He developed and furthered the ideas and vision of his father. Seebohm was very interested in personal relationships in industry and wrote about them in several publications. It was under his stewardship of the company that Rowntrees directly engaged in marketing their products, about which Joseph had been suspicious as he felt it led to false claims. Brands including Black Magic, KitKat and Smarties were introduced during the 1930s. His work in social reform led to Seebohm becoming an adviser to Prime Minister David Lloyd George and an architect of the welfare state, thus playing a key role in developing social policy in the early twentieth century. He put the statistical acumen he had inherited to good use in his poverty studies of York.

Apprenticeship

Joseph Rowntree joined his father’s grocery business as an apprentice in 1852 at the age of 15. The apprenticeship would last for six years and was underpinned by strong Quaker principles and practices. The work was demanding but Joseph Senior maintained a family atmosphere in the shop. For two years Joseph worked alongside George Cadbury, who was an apprentice and assistant before he later took control of the Cadbury cocoa factory in Birmingham. Joseph also worked at a large wholesale grocer’s in London to gain wider experience. His apprenticeship was a formative influence in Joseph’s life, particularly in his approach to business. He became a partner in the family grocery shop aged 21. Joseph is seated in the middle of the front row with George Cadbury at front left.