Joseph Rowntree Memorial Library

Joseph started a library for employees in 1885 believing it was important for people to use their leisure time in a positive and creative way. He had a lifelong love of books, read extensively throughout his life and liked to discuss books with his children and encourage them to read. The development of a staff library was the first step towards the creation of a large number of clubs and societies to support staff in education and well-being. Joseph also helped to create York City Library, now York Explore Library and Archive with branches across the city. It is a fitting memorial to Joseph that the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Library was built at the Cocoa Works, opening in 1927 and housing over 10,000 books. The library was designed by Colin Rowntree, son of Fred, and is an Arts and Crafts building which retains a large number of fixtures and fittings of high quality.

Image: York Explore

Joseph Stephenson Rowntree

Joseph Stephenson – known as Stephen – was the third of Joseph and Antoinette’s sons. He spent his working life at Rowntree and Co. but was also involved in Quaker committees and Liberal politics. He was the first member of the family to go to Cambridge University. Quakers had been debarred from entering the older universities mainly due to their non-conformism and this restriction had only recently been lifted. He was known as a good committee man and, most notably, he was on the Northern Friends Peace Board and the Yorkshire Friends’ Service Committee, the last of which was set up to pursue the ideas of John Wilhelm after his death. Both of these committees still exist although the latter is now the Outreach Projects Committee of Quakers in Yorkshire. Stephen was active in local politics and was mayor of Harrogate from 1911 to 1913.

Image: From originals held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.

International outlook and support for League of Nations

The Rowntree family had a more international outlook than may of their contemporaries, perhaps linked to their family roots in Germany. Joseph was a pacifist in line with his Quaker beliefs and actively warned against the dangers of jingoism. Both Joseph and Seebohm, in their writings, used international comparisons to draw attention to problems at home. Joseph used the example of the state monopoly of liquor trade in Sweden as a model which could help to reduce alcohol abuse in Britain. The Rowntrees were prominent in calling for collective post-war unity following the First World War and were major supporters of the League of Nations. This is reflected in the war memorial plaque in Rowntree Park “The creation of a League of Nations will be a fitting crown to the faith and hope of the men who have fought and a true memorial to their endurance, heroism, comradeship and sacrifice.”

Tessa and Jean Rowntree

Tessa (christened Elizabeth) and Jean Rowntree were Joseph’s great-niece and granddaughter respectively and both were influenced by Joseph’s views on human rights. Tessa invited Jean to Prague where they assisted Czech refugees trying to escape the Nazi onslaught in the lead up to the Second World War, often at great risk to themselves. Tessa married into the Cadbury family after the war and moved to the United States. Jean had a long and successful career at the BBC where she used broadcasting to promote adult education. She was the first head of the corporation’s further education unit and was instrumental in the foundation of the Open University. Jean inherited her grandfather’s love of nature and of travel. Jean’s travel diaries covering her extensive travels in Jamaica and America in 1920 are held at the Borthwick Institute and were researched by a Rowntree Society intern in 2023.

Continuing Education

Joseph’s belief in the importance of education extended to his employees. The formal education of young women and men ended at the age of 14 when they would go out to work but Joseph believed that they should continue to receive some education after this time. In 1913 spacious schoolrooms and gymnasia were opened in a large building opposite the factory and compulsory classes arranged for young employees of both sexes in factory hours including maths, English and physical fitness.

Image: From originals held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.

Clifton Lodge

Clifton Lodge House was built in 1852 and is where Joseph lived for the last years of his life from 1905 to 1925 and where he died. He built the adjoining house – Rawcliffe Holt – in 1907 for his daughter, Winifred, and her husband, Arthur Duncan Naish. After Joseph’s death both properties were left to the Rowntree trusts. Clifton Lodge was sold into private hands in 2011.

Image: From originals held at the Borthwick Institute for Archives.

Rowntree Park

Rowntree Park was presented as a gift to the people of York by Joseph in 1921 as a memorial to the members of the Cocoa Works’ staff who fell in World War 1. In Joseph’s words this was to be a ‘quiet, restful memorial park’ rather than ‘another stone obelisk’. The architects were Fred Rowntree and W J Swain. The park was divided into formal and informal areas to reflect the Rowntree belief that facilities were available for all. The park is now owned and managed by York City Council and has an active group of supporters, who undertake much of the day to day maintenance – The Friends of Rowntree Park.

Yearsley Swimming Baths

The “New Yearsley Baths” were opened in 1909 and were gifted to the City of York by Joseph. It was a condition of his gift that admission should be free. The baths were designed by Fred Rowntree and were originally the Rowntree company swimming pool. Initially they were open air. The baths are now known as Yearsley Swimming Pool and are still in use by York residents today. Admission is no longer free but, fittingly, they are now owned by GLL, a charitable social enterprise.

Fred Rowntree

Fred Rowntree was a member of the Scarborough branch of the Rowntree family. He was an architect and closely associated with the Arts and Crafts movement. He played a key role in creating the enduring built environment in York pioneered by the family and was involved in design and building projects at the Cocoa Works; the Homestead; Rowntree Park; Yearsley Swimming Baths and Bootham and the Mount Schools. His company were also appointed architects to the West China Union University in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.

Joseph’s Views on Wealth

In 1907 Joseph wrote to his children about the opportunities of wealth to contribute to public life and also the dangers associated with it. His Quaker principles and experience of life led him to state that “the observation of a lifetime has led to the belief that any considerable amount of wealth more often proves to be a curse rather than a blessing…… The great advantage, and perhaps the real justification of wealth is, that it adds to the potential power of a person’s usefulness.”

He was particularly concerned that his grandchildren did not adopt unfortunate habits having been brought up in a wealthy family, warning against self-indulgence and emphasising Quaker values of simplicity and of ensuring that personal expenditure allowed for support to the needs of others who were less well off than themselves: “what is much needed at the present time is, that educated men and women who are able to command considerable leisure, should apply their powers directly towards this amelioration of the appalling social evils which exist in this country.”