Description

1112-1/0/10046 BISHOPTHORPE ROAD
04-MAR-05 York
Terry's of York Head Offices

GV II
Head office building for Terry's of York chocolate manufacturers, built 1924-1930, by architects J G Davies & L E Wade. Red brick in English Bond with sandstone ashlar dressings, centrepiece and corner sections, two storeys with roof of north lights surrounded by concrete and ashlar. Baroque Revival style. Facade facing Bishopthorpe Road has centre entrance with panelled double doors and overlight, and distyle in antis porch with Doric columns, all in ashlar. French doors on first floor above with elaborate pedimented triple-key surround and balustraded balcony over the porch. Five windows to either side with six-over-six vertical sashes in architraves, those on ground floor with alternating triangular and segmental pediments and on first floor with cornices. Beyond these, slightly projecting end blocks in sandstone ashlar with quoin strips of alternating bands of brick and ashlar, with central six-over-six sash flanked by narrow four-over-four sashes, of which the central first floor windows have Doric pilasters and triangular pediment with corbelled balustraded balconies. A parapet conceals the roof and is stepped above the end blocks, and in the centre rises to an attic decorated with a festooned cartouche.
Left return facing entrance road, and right return are identical, with centrepiece between 7 window ranges and end blocks which repeat front facade design. Centrepiece is ashlar with pilasters at the angles and three six-over-six windows on each floor, divided by quoin strips of alternating brick and sandstone. Parapet above has urns over the quoin strips.
INTERIOR: the plan is of a central double height space surrounded on all four sides by ground and first floor corridors and offices that face the exterior of the building. The original entrance, no longer used, has entrance lobby with inner door leading to broad hallway with tiled floor. Grand staircase rising from centre rear of hall, with splayed lower flight, wrought iron balusters and square wooden newels and handrail, bifurcating from central landing to two flights with quarter turns from centre and higher landings. Wood panelled reception area to right of and partly beneath stair, and corridors off to each side. Central cupola over hallway with coloured glass and ironwork. Ceiling elsewhere is coffered with dentillated cornices and glass panels. Half-height wood-panelled corridors off hallway lead round building, enclosing central large open double height office space, which has glass panelled barrel-vaulted ceiling with dentillated cornices, below roof with north lights. Space partly partitioned with glass and wooden screens, not original. Walls are panelled with pilasters at the corners and semi-circular windows to the first floor at each end. Corridors have original double doors at intervals with decorative glass panels. Offices and other rooms to the outer side of the corridor all have oak panelled doors with eared architraves, and original wooden framed windows. The rooms vary in the amount of architectural detail, the manager's room and the board room having decorated plaster ceilings, classical moulded cornices, and waist-high wainscotting, while other offices are plainer. The boardroom additionally has a triangular pediment over a plain freize over the main door, and consoles supporting a cornice above another. First floor rooms are in general of lower status. Some original washbasins and wood and glass screens in lavatories.
HISTORY: Terry's of York began as a confectionary business owned by Bayldon & Berry in 1767 on a site near Bootham Bar. Joseph Terry, connected by marriage to Berry and trained as an apothecary, joined the firm, which moved in 1724 to St Helen's Square. By 1830 Terry was the sole owner, and gradually developed the chocolate side of the business. New factory premises were built at Clementhorpe in 1862 to provide better transport links, but continued expansion led to a need for new premises at Bishopthorpe Road.
SUMMARY: This building is one of a group consisting of headquarters offices, factory, clocktower, Time office block and liquor factory, which were all built at the same time. The complex is a strong group in architectural terms, presenting a unified style which reflects the strength and importance of the corporate image of Terry's chocolate firm. The buildings also have a strong historic interest, representing the most complete surviving expression of the importance of the confectionary business in York, and confirming, on a national scale, York's high status in this business.

SOURCES:
COLBECK, Maurice 'Made in Yorkshire', 1992, pp. 23-32.
'Terry's of York, 1767-1967', 1967, (Rivate Publicatiion).
"C. W. M." Journal of Jos. Rowntree, 1925 (pamphlet).

External Links

• Historic England Listing
• Wikidata Q26670997

External links are from the relevant listing authority and, where applicable, Wikidata. Wikidata IDs may be related buildings as well as this specific building. If you want to add or update a link, you will need to do so by editing the Wikidata entry.

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