22-563: The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) is a charity that conducts and funds research aimed at solving poverty in the UK. JRF's stated aim is to "inspire action and change that will create a prosperous UK without poverty." Originally called the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust, it was founded by English businessman Joseph Rowntree in 1904. Rowntree, a Quaker , was a long-standing philanthropist and with his brother developed
44-501: A Facebook page – "A Joseph Rowntree statue for York City Centre" – that stated: "York should be proud of its greatest son! This campaign aims to place a statue of Joseph Rowntree, philanthropist, social reformer, and chocolatier, in Parliament Square, York, on the site of the repulsed and now-demolished toilet block." Joseph Rowntree (educationist) Joseph Rowntree (Senior) (10 June 1801 – 4 November 1859)
66-544: A chocolatier at the family business Rowntree's , one of the most important in Britain. Even as a powerful businessman, he was deeply interested in improving the quality of life of his employees; this led to him becoming a philanthropist, pursuing many charitable causes . In 1904 he created three trusts , the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust (JRVT) which was originally set up to build and manage
88-573: A blueprint for his early charitable work. Although it was written in 1904, many of its aims remain at the heart of JRF's mission today: carrying out social research, and working to influence society and policy through robust evidence and communication. Areas of work cover: In February 2020, figures from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation showed that the proportion of people living in poverty in the United Kingdom who are in
110-429: A confectionery company, Rowntree's . He established the foundation in order to investigate the root causes of social problems. In its current form, the foundation works with private, public and voluntary sectors, as well as impoverished people. It is politically neutral and independent from all UK political parties. JRF was established in 1904 by Joseph Rowntree to understand the root causes of social problems. Joseph
132-643: A standard for various workplace provisions; from pension schemes and industrial regulations to employee education and work’s councils. Such progressive measures led to him becoming an advisor to the Liberal PM David Lloyd George during the First World War . Seebohm helped to design welfare boards in the new state-owned munitions factories. Both Joseph and Seebohm Rowntree had a clear vision about how to improve people's lives. Joseph outlined these ideas in his 'Founder's Memorandum',
154-400: A working family is at a record high: the proportion was 56% in 2018, up from 39% twenty years earlier in 1998. Joseph Rowntree (philanthropist) Joseph Rowntree (24 May 1836 – 24 February 1925) was an English Quaker philanthropist and businessman from York . Rowntree is perhaps best known for being a champion of social reform, partner and friend of Charles Booth , and his time as
176-451: A works magazine, a social welfare officer, a doctor, a dentist and a pension fund. The Joseph Rowntree School was built in York in 1942 by the Joseph Rowntree Village Trust. In 2010 the school relocated to new premises costing £29 million. Students refer to it as "Joro". A campaign was started in summer 2012 to put a statue of Joseph Rowntree at a prominent site in the centre of York, with
198-486: The 1850s his two elder sons became partners in the business. Chistopher Robinson had joined as a manager and William Hughes was in charge of the apprentices. This gave Joseph the time to channel his energies into a wide range of social and educational issues, which he discussed almost daily with Samuel Tuke (1784-1857). He was, from 1830 until his death, honorary secretary of the Quaker boys and girls schools in York, and he
220-608: The Friends Provident Institution (1832), the introduction of whose Rules and Regulations needed to make clear to Quakers that life insurance neither implied a distrust of Providence nor was in the nature of a lottery. He made an impact on both the education of Quaker children, the training of male and female teachers and the education of poor children in York , through the British and Foreign School Society . He
242-616: The Liberal Government's introduction of Old Age Pensions (1908) and National Insurance (1911) as a means of protecting people from insecurity. His further studies of York (in 1936 and 1951) demonstrated the increasing effectiveness of welfare measures in anchoring the citizens of York in times of hardship. Seebohm Rowntree's surveys were pivotal in a line of intellectual thinking that ended with Beveridge’s Welfare State. In addition his book, The Human Factor in Business (1921), set
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#1732773394517264-400: The causes of poverty and disadvantage in order to create a better society. He built New Earswick , a village in York, for people on low incomes, giving them access to decent homes at affordable rents. Joseph's son, Seebohm Rowntree , was also a pioneering social researcher who undertook one of the country’s first investigations into poverty. Poverty, A Study of Town Life (1901) influenced
286-599: The founding of one of the first Occupational Pension Schemes . By the end of the nineteenth century, the company, Rowntree's , grew from 30 to over 4,000 employees, making it Britain's eightieth largest manufacturing employer. It merged with John Mackintosh and Co. in 1969 and was taken over by Nestlé in 1988. He had two marriages, to Julia Eliza Seebohm in 1862 who died in 1863, and then to her cousin Emma Antoinette Seebohm in 1867, with whom he had six children. The social investigator Seebohm Rowntree
308-912: The garden village of New Earswick , the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT) and the Joseph Rowntree Social Services Trust (JRSST). He suggested that only the JRVT would be permanent, but all the trusts are still in existence. The Social Services Trust has changed its name to the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, and with the separation of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust from the Village Trust in 1968, there are now four trusts. Rowntree
330-479: The grocery business on Bland's Cliff, which his father had established. In 1822 he started a grocery shop in York , eventually becoming a master grocer. On 3 May 1832, he married Sarah Stephenson (1807–1888). They had five children. One of these was also called Joseph - Joseph Rowntree (Junior) . His oldest son was John Stephenson Rowntree . The business prospered and in 1845 the family moved to Blossom Street , then, in 1848, to 39 Bootham , York. During
352-434: The running, jointly managing the business with his brother John Stephenson Rowntree . In 1869 he joined his brother, Henry Isaac Rowntree , who owned a chocolate factory in York. When Henry Isaac died in 1883, Joseph became the owner of the company. Joseph pursued his progressive ideas within the running of Rowntree's , in the design of the new factory opened in 1881, and in the business practices followed therein, including
374-473: Was a visionary Quaker businessman and social reformer. Watching his father set up a York soup kitchen in the mid-1800s helped Joseph to realise that such actions were not comprehensive enough. This led to a shift in the Rowntrees' social action, from treating the symptoms to addressing the root causes of poverty. Joseph gave away half of his own fortune to set up various trusts; he was committed to understanding
396-549: Was active in municipal reform in York and became an alderman in 1853. Quaker concerns filled the last period of his life. Statute law provided that marriages according to Quaker usage were valid only if both parties were Quaker members. In 1856, he persuaded the Yorkshire Meeting to ask the national meeting in London to take steps to end this limitation (a proposal that was not popular in more conservative quarters). It
418-691: Was an English shopkeeper and educationalist. Rowntree was born in Scarborough, North Yorkshire , England , the son of the Quakers John Rowntree (1757–1827) and his wife, Elizabeth Lotherington (1764–1835). He was educated at two-day schools in Scarborough, his parents not being in a position to send him to the Quaker Ackworth School. By the age of 13 he was assisting his father and his brother John in
440-581: Was born the son of Sarah and Joseph Rowntree , on Pavement (the name of a street) in York, where his father owned a grocer's shop. He attended Bootham School . At fourteen he accompanied his father on a visit to Ireland, and witnessed the effects of the Great Famine . This experience was to provide the grounding for his political views and business ideas later in life. The following year he started working in his father's grocery business as an apprentice, and after his father's death in 1859 he took over
462-478: Was largely responsible for their respective moves to Bootham in 1846 and The Mount in 1857. With Tuke, he was a member of the Ackworth School Committee. The death of a young master in the fever epidemic of 1828 (leaving dependents) led him not merely to ensure that the immediate need was met, but to work methodically for the establishment of a financially sound insurance scheme; this resulted in
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#1732773394517484-462: Was one of their children. Joseph Rowntree's grave, along with these of many other members of his family, can be seen in the Quaker cemetery within the grounds of The Retreat on Heslington Road, York . Philosophical and political views: Joseph Rowntree was a supporter of liberal values, and was anxious to improve the quality of life of his employees. He provided them with a library, free education,
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