York has a Residents Festival at the end of January each year, when residents get free or reduced admission to various attractions and historic locations. However, some attractions are closed in January, so they offer an alternative weekend to residents. This weekend, Goddards, a National Trust property, had its gardens open for York residents.
Sadly it was a rather cold, dull and overcast day, and though I enjoyed exploring and seeing some of the changes to the gardens since my last visit, I was quite glad to catch a warm bus back towards the city centre!
Goddards is an Arts and Crafts house in Dringhouses, York. It was built in 1927 for Noel and Kathleen Terry of the famed chocolate-manufacturing family Terry's with the house designed by local architect Walter Brierley and the garden by George Dillistone. The National Trust acquired the property in 1984 to use as regional offices. Later, the garden and parts of the house were open to visitors with displays telling the story of the family and their confectionery business. At the moment only the gardens are open. The house is a Grade I listed building and the gatehouse to the property is Grade II* listed.
Noel Terry (1889–1980) was the great-grandson of Joseph Terry, the first Terry of the family confectionery business, and Goddards was the home designed for Noel. The name of the house came from Noel Terry's middle name, which was that of his grandmother, Frances Goddard, first wife of Sir Joseph Terry.
The house is beside the racecourse, with the Terrys factory cleary visible at the opposite side of the racecourse (or it was when the house was built. A new grandstand partly obscures the view of the factory from the house today).
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was really nice to see the gardens coming back to life. It is a shame that the house is no longer open for visitors, the National Trust are using it as offices for their regional staff. I suspect that when the house was open, it struggled to attract visitors, because it is well away from the tourist areas of York.
I'm afraid Terrys no longer produce chocolate in York, it is all produced in other European countries. The factory site is being redeveloped. Many of the buildings are being converted to apartments with nice views across the racecourse. Some buildings have been demolished and replaced by new houses. There is a chocolate orange sculpture to commemorate the former use of the site. On the other side of the city, the former Rowntree site, now owned by Nestle still produces chocolate and chocolate biscuits, mainly in new buildings. That was the factory where I spent most of my working life as a production planner. The older part of that site is currently being redeveloped as housing.
Ian
March 11th, 2024
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Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
It was really nice to see the gardens coming back to life. It is a shame that the house is no longer open for visitors, the National Trust are using it as offices for their regional staff. I suspect that when the house was open, it struggled to attract visitors, because it is well away from the tourist areas of York.
Ian
I'm afraid Terrys no longer produce chocolate in York, it is all produced in other European countries. The factory site is being redeveloped. Many of the buildings are being converted to apartments with nice views across the racecourse. Some buildings have been demolished and replaced by new houses. There is a chocolate orange sculpture to commemorate the former use of the site. On the other side of the city, the former Rowntree site, now owned by Nestle still produces chocolate and chocolate biscuits, mainly in new buildings. That was the factory where I spent most of my working life as a production planner. The older part of that site is currently being redeveloped as housing.
Ian