Lowdown on a city’s sweet heart

York’s history with the sweet industry dates back more than 150 years, and plans for a new £2m tourist attraction have been unveiled to show just why it has been given the nickname of the Chocolate City.

The latest addition to York’s hugely successful tourism sector is due to open in the spring and will provide an interactive experience for visitors to sample chocolate products while learning more about the confectionery trade.

Actors will be on hand to tell the story of the city’s chocolate industry and delve back into the past of world-famous dynasties such as Rowntree’s and Terry’s.

The lives of some of the less well-known figures such as the city’s early sweet and chocolate makers, Mary Craven and Mary Tuke, will also be showcased.

The project is being overseen by the York-based firm, Continuum, which helped establish one of the city’s other leading attractions, the Jorvik Viking Centre.

The firm’s chief executive, Juliana Delaney, said the new attraction would be instrumental in allowing both visitors and residents to learn more about such a key part of York’s history.

She said: “This is a tale as important as any to that of York and the UK’s industrial and cultural heritage, yet it remains untold until now.

“This is all about a city and how it has evolved on the back of a specific industry, and how York suited it perfectly with its strong transport links by road, river and then rail to get deliveries in and then send the products out.

“So many people will have relatives who worked in one of York’s chocolate factories or in one of the shops, so this is as much for them as it is for tourists.

“But it is not simply about the past, we want to look to the future as well and how the chocolate industry in York is still very much alive and well.”

An attraction dedicated to the confectionery industry has long been mooted in York, with the company first holding talks about the possibility almost 25 years ago.

There had initially been plans to introduce a museum on the site of the former Terry’s chocolate factory, which closed down is 2005 and is being re-developed.

But Mrs Delaney claimed the Terry’s site was too far out of the city centre, and premises in King’s Square at the end of the city’s famous Shambles were identified in February as the perfect location.

Work is starting this week to convert the 6,400 square foot site into the tourist attraction, which has been given a working title of The Sweet History of York.

While the exact set-up of the attraction have yet to be finalised, it will feature the history of some of the nation’s favourite chocolate products including the Kit Kat and Terry’s Chocolate Orange as well as retro sweets such as Flying Saucers.

The new venture is aiming to highlight the growing awareness of chocolate as a connoisseur culinary product to rank alongside whisky and wine.

It is also hoped the venture will host a chocolate cookery school, a tasting club and confectionery-themed cocktail evenings. Up to 30 full-time jobs are due to be created at the attraction when it opens next year.

Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief executive, Gary Verity, said York’s contribution to the confectionery industry was “world renowned” and the attraction “is sure to be a winner” with the seven million visitors who travelled to the city each year.

A design company, MET Studio, which has worked with London’s National History Museum and the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, has been appointed to develop the attraction.

Continuum was founded in 1984 and ran the Jorvik Viking Centre for 18 years on behalf of the York Archaeological Trust. More than a million visitors go to its other attractions each year including the Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh and The Canterbury Tales in Canterbury.

Anyone who wants to share their memories of York’s chocolate industry for the new attraction can visit www.sweethistoryofyork.com

History stretches back two centuries

FOR nearly 200 years, the confectionery trade has remained at the foundation of York’s economy.

The industry has supported thousands of jobs and also led to world-renowned brands such as Rowntree’s and Terry’s, with products including Kit Kats, Aeros, All Gold selection boxes and the iconic Chocolate Orange.

But fears mounted that York’s links with chocolate production were in major decline when Terry’s confirmed the closure of its factory in 2005 with the loss of more than 300 jobs.

Nestle, which took over Rowntree’s in the 1980s, then revealed in 2006 it was shedding 645 jobs as production was moved abroad. However, the firm has since re-affirmed its commitment to York by investing more than £30m in its Haxby Road site.