About Us

The Rowntree Society is a registered educational charity based in York. Our mission is to build and share knowledge about the histories of the Rowntree family, company and trusts and their continuing relevance for the local, national, and global challenges facing our contemporary world.

Famed as hugely successful chocolate makers, the Quaker Rowntrees were pioneers in business management and industrial welfare, social research on poverty, and high-quality, affordable housing in Britain – all subjects that still resonate today.

We facilitate and support projects and activities for a range of audiences through collaborative working across education, libraries and archives, the voluntary sector and the cultural sector. We function as a reliable source of information, promote and support new interdisciplinary research, produce heritage-related materials for people of all ages and backgrounds, and act in an advisory capacity on relevant projects and initiatives.

Our latest audited Report and Accounts can be viewed here.

We are separate from the Joseph Rowntree Trusts (the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust, and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust), but we assist the trusts on legacy issues as needed. For information about the Trusts see here.