…but it’s all changed now

“Rowntree is York, or was York” (Jean)

Many of the women remembered their time at Rowntrees with pleasure. Margaret, who lived nearby, spoke of “a lifetime of memories…at that side of town… Rowntrees has been the beginning of my life, all my working life, practically, and the end…” For Jean, Rowntrees was “a mainstay of the city” which “held everything together.”

However, happy memories were often tinged with a sense of loss. In the wake of the move to a mechanised assembly line, many women felt the job had become less skilled, producing chocolates of lower quality,

In 1989 Rowntrees was taken over by Swiss firm, Nestlé. For the women, the take-over reflected the way things had changed since their retirement. Many showed regret about the changes, feeling that it will “all be different now,” and expressing concern over the resulting job losses.

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