On 8 June 1849, a man called Joseph Rowntree signed into our Visitors’ Book at Chatsworth. At first I thought this must be the chocolatier and social reformer of that name. Then I checked the dates and realised that he would have been a child at this time. The famous Joseph Rowntree shared his name with his father, and I think the latter called at Chatsworth that day.

Joseph Rowntree senior (1801-1859) was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire. He and his family were pious Quakers. His father, John, ran a grocery business. Joseph the elder started work there at the age of thirteen. He moved to York at the age of twenty-one and set up a grocery there. He married Sarah Stephenson of Manchester and they had five children, one of whom died in infancy. The business prospered. Two of his brothers got involved in running it. Joseph Rowntree turned his attention to social reform.

From 1830 until his death, Rowntree served as honorary secretary to the Quaker boys’ and girls’ schools in York. In 1828 a young schoolmaster died in an epidemic of fever and left dependants behind. Rowntree responded by introducing The Friends’ Providential Institution in 1832. Its purpose was to offer insurance for its members. 1832 was the year when the Great Reform Act was passed, extending the franchise. The 6th Duke of Devonshire supported this act. Both men were, in different ways, responding to radical changes that were occurring at this time.

Rowntree senior campaigned for improvements in sanitation and in education. In 1828 he helped to set up a school called Hope Street British School. In 1848 he pioneered a First Day School for boys aged 8-16. He supported the British and Foreign Schools Society, which promoted non-denominational education. From 1852 he served on the then new Board of Health. He took measures to combat epidemics and poor health.

Joseph’s son, who shared his name, is probably much better remembered today than his father. Joseph junior joined his older brother Henry Isaac, who owned a chocolate factory in York. When Henry died in 1883, Joseph junior became the sole owner. He expanded the business until it became one of the most important in Britan, and a household name.

Today, Joseph Rowntree the Younger is best remembered, not only as a manufacturer but also as a social reformer. Amongst other things he built a model village for his workers at New Earswick in Yorkshire. This was a marked improvement on the slums where most working-class people then lived. Occupants were provided with a library, free education, access to a doctor and a dentist. Rowntree the younger died in 1925. A charitable trust and a school that bear his name are still active today.

Visitor book entry from Joseph Rowntree, 1849