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Funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, and the Garfield Weston Foundation.
The past few months have been truly inspiring as we’ve brought Sweet Legacies to life across York. In partnership with York Theatre Royal’s community production, His Last Report, we’ve explored the rich history and lasting impact of the Rowntree family, highlighting their legacy through the eyes of communities throughout the city.
At the heart of this project is a commitment to making York’s heritage and creative industries more accessible, relevant, and personal. Through a wide range of events and activities—from original scripts and performances to music, dance, and writing—Sweet Legacies celebrates the vibrant cultural landscape of York.
The project has come to life through dynamic showcases, pop-up events, flash mobs, and much more. Join us in celebrating the creative voices of York and experience the magic of this ongoing journey.
Between January and August 2025, Sweet Legacies will have delivered over 80 creative workshops across York. These workshops have taken place in a variety of local spaces, including parks, libraries, community centres, and at York Theatre Royal, providing an inclusive environment where creativity and connection could thrive.
Our workshops have featured a wide range of creative activities, including printmaking, drama, storytelling, creative writing, and craft, all rooted in the theme of legacy and inspired by the heritage of the Rowntree Family. Participants have had the opportunity to reflect on their own stories, design ideal villages, and share cherished memories, deepening their connection to the city’s history and their own sense of place.
For many participants, this was their first encounter with York Theatre Royal. The workshops have fostered a strong sense of pride, belonging, and joy, with attendees expressing their inspiration and excitement. Many participants have expressed a desire to stay involved with the project and continue their creative journey with Sweet Legacies and York Theatre Royal.
The role of community hosts has been instrumental in ensuring each workshop is welcoming and grounded in the local context. By bringing unique perspectives from different areas of York, hosts have helped make each session feel personal, accessible, and connected to the specific needs and characteristics of the community.
As Sweet Legacies continues to grow, our priorities include:
Join us on this exciting journey as we continue to explore the rich creative potential of York and its people. Whether you’ve participated in a workshop, attended an event, or simply want to learn more, we invite you to stay connected and keep exploring the legacies that make this city so special.
M&S chocolate buttons
It’s been a privilege to collaborate with so many incredible people, from artists to community members. Visiting so many different groups has been especially meaningful—it’s where we’ve seen just how diverse and powerful creativity can be. The project has shown us that creativity doesn’t fit into just one box, and my highlight has been watching confidence and expression shine across the community in so many different forms.
I love hearing about how some of the women played with gender in their amateur dramatics society, even wearing trousers!
Chocolate pretzels
This project has been so joyous, I can’t highlight one! For me it’s about the community coming together, whatever that looks like for each group. The smiles and laughter have been incredible.
My favourite thing about the Rowntrees is their varied approach to supporting their workers, in all areas of their life. Especially the images of the fun sports and arts clubs they founded!
Currently obsessed with chocolate honeycomb!
I can’t choose. Meeting the participants to the writing groups I worked on and getting to hear their writing and the amazing stories that inspired it.
That they gifted Homestead Park to the people of York.
KitKat 70% Dark
“Now, where are the cups?”
The Elect Cocoa barge which joined the University boat race in 1897, towed along by mechanically propelled swans.
Pear Drops
So hard to pick one, but I loved the peacefulness and mindfulness of the writer’s workshop at the Pavilion in Homestead Park.
They employed 14,000 people in York at their peak.
Visit James website: www.james-drury.com.
Quality Street Green Triangle
When the group imagined a flower shop and school while dreaming up their ideal community.
The Rowntree founders were Quakers—and their values shaped everything from worker welfare to the company’s kind-hearted ethos. Sweet inside and out!
Dark chocolate (any type!)
Music is for everyone: getting to make music and collaborate with so many brilliant folk in our local community to create musical moments has been fantastic. The idea collection part of the projects has been a particular standout – getting to learn about people’s favourite songs/pieces of music and what it means to them (and finding ways of incorporating elements of it into the work!).
For a company that would become a world leader in branding, for the first 50 years, the Rowntree thought that quality products should and would sell themselves (they then went on to become brilliant marketers with some cracking jingles!)
I love a very dark hot chocolate!
Our wonderful time at the place for their family day! It was such fun playing games together.
That the left-over chocolate made the smarties.
Crunchies
Meeting lots of new young people, and seeing communities come together.
That they grew a pineapple in Homestead Park.
KitKat
Watching people laugh and having fun even when things went wrong!
The rivalry between Rowntree’s and Cadbury’s inspired Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory!
I love mini eggs.
I love seeing what young girls wanted to change within the world.
My favourite fact is that Seebohm Rowntree use to make sure his workers were happy and healthy with gym lessons!
Fruit Pastilles!
Hearing first hand stories from so many participants about their experience with Rowntrees has been beautiful and really shows the impact Rowntrees has to this day.
The factory staff would only have a 10 minute toilet break once in the morning and once in the afternoon, all at the same time so the factory lines would be switched off. I also love the whole story surrounding the creation of Rowntrees Park and why it was built.
Snickers
Seeing people getting stuck into the colouring sheets, and enjoying good, old-fashioned arts and crafts!
Smarties used to be called ‘Chocolate Beans’.
Reese’s peanut butter cups
Watching the participants have fun and get creative whilst interviewing each other on a teeny, tiny microphone at YIKS!
I love how the Rowntree family were so ahead of their time, and strived to be as eco-friendly as possible.
Any chocolate that has hazelnut, peanuts, or pistachios. I’m nuts for it!
Getting to work so closely with the professionals across YTR and Tang Hall Smart has been such a fulfilling, rewarding experience. They’ve been so welcoming towards my quirks as a neurodivergent professional, and in turn I’ve welcomed their mentorship and expertise at every step. The young people I’ve met at Tang Hall Smart have brought so much joy and sparkle into my life, and I can’t help but feel that the founding Rowntrees would be thrilled at how this project has brought communities together.
I love how radical the Rowntrees were for their time, and that they innovated a lot of worker’s rights which are seen as ‘given’ today such as sick leave!
That’s a tough call, but probably smarties.
It’s altogether been so wonderful to support so many fabulous projects with historical and archival research. One particular highlight was reading the WINGS radio play for the first time and seeing how inspirational the past had been for them!
Pineapples were grown in York in the Rowntree’s tropical plant house – it just seems so unexpected for a century ago. I’ve loved taking Pete the Pineapple Plant with me to sessions and asking people why…
Pick and Mix! I can’t say no to a pick and mix, including chocolates…I guess that’s kind of cheating but I have a very sweet tooth so it’s hard to choose just one favourite!
Seeing the pride in the young people as they shared their work – especially those who began by saying “I’m not creative!” It was amazing to watch them collaborate, support each other, and create something they were genuinely proud to show off.
Both of my husband’s grandads worked at the Rowntree’s factory, one of them put the bubbles into Aero chocolate (which inspired one of the Sweet Legacies sessions!). The other now lives at the Rowntree’s New Lodge development in New Earswick. I love that personal connection and the way the Rowntree legacy continues to foster community and care in York.
Drew – Jelly Tots
Hannah – Giant Strawberries
We’ve got to dance with so many people so far and create some really fun responses to old chocolate commercials. ‘It’s the centre’s!’ is a tagline that is used in all the dairy box commercials. Just like a box of chocolates has different flavours, fillings, and shapes, communities are full of different people, backgrounds, personalities. Some people are sweet, some are nutty, some are surprising — but they all belong in the same box.
We love that Joseph Rowntree used his wealth and status to improve society, for equality and fairness and we wish the businessman of today shared more of his philanthropic values to make the world a better place!
Image credit: Bec Hudson Smith
A really good bar of vegan dark chocolate
Being able to attend all the wonderful, community sessions and film the beautiful moments that so many amazing people are sharing together.
It was a hostile takeover from Nestle.
Check out Jessica’s website here
From Brazil: Batom Garoto, a milk chocolate that I ate during my childhood
From UK: Tony’s Chocolonely dark chocolate
When my theatre group performed their show in the Studio, it was a magical experience and a significant moment of pride and joy for everyone involved.
Homestead Park was gifted to the city by Seebohm Rowntree, with the initial intention of providing a space for school children to play.
Raspberry dark chocolate
Our 8-11s Access All Areas learnt a wonderful scarves dance to ‘Imagination’ from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. It was great to see them think about improvising creative movement as their characters as they explored their dream chocolate factory.
Dancing bees were used in the early marketing for Aero!
Divine dark chocolate with raspberry
Listening back to the market-stalls soundscape we had just made with the group I was working with, all enjoying the what we had created together in such a short time using just our voices and memories.
I can see the old Rowntree’s chocolate factory from my bedroom window.
A Starbar or Fruit & Nut.
I’ve loved seeing artwork, songs, poems, plays and much more flood in. It’s been a huge pleasure witnessing how much fun people have had in Sweet Legacies. Just how many people have been laughing, sharing and making together.
A fact that we all really loved in WINGS is that the women of the Rowntree factory in WWII sang as they worked. What an amazing thing – I think it evoked images, soundscapes and emotions for us immediately.
Dark mint chocolate, darker and mintier the better!
Rowntree’s Fruit Pastilles were invented by a travelling confectionery salesman, Claude Gaget, and the product turned the tides of the business!