A brief history of the JRF

Read more about the JRF's history in our special centenary microsite.

Joseph Rowntree (1836-1925) was a Quaker and a successful businessman. In 1859 he took over his father's grocery shop in York. Ten years later, he joined his brother in the modest cocoa factory which was to become the major concern known as Rowntree. The new factory he opened in 1891 on the outskirts of York provided excellent facilities and he pursued enlightened employment policies. His business flourished and, contrary to his personal expectations, he became rich in later life. In 1904, he transferred a substantial part of his wealth to the three trusts which bear his name.

The Joseph Rowntree Village Trust was established in 1904 to administer Joseph Rowntree's model village, New Earswick. In 1959 the Trust widened its objectives to cover research and development, and the Village Trust was transformed into the Joseph Rowntree Memorial Trust by a private Act of Parliament. This organisation was renamed the Joseph Rowntree Foundation in 1990.

The two other organisations founded in 1904 are the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (01904 627810) and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust Ltd (01904 625744). 

All three bodies are quite independent of each other in their staff, finances and policies and the Foundation does not share any Trustees in common with the other two Trusts.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation shares the hopes of its founder that "to seek out the underlying causes of weakness or evil" should contribute to "the right measures of human advancement" which over a period of time could "change the face of England" (the Foundation's work now covers the UK). To this end, the Foundation supports a programme of research and development in the fields of housing, social care and social policy. The Foundation's Trustees and Directors are also responsible for the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust.