Did you know when Joseph Rowntree toured his brother’s confectionery factory at Tanner’s Moat, York, he found both a parrot and a donkey roaming the grounds?
By the 1860’s, Joseph could see that Henry’s attempts to run the family firm’s sweet factory had begun to run aground, and so he agreed to step in and help manage production. As Quakers it was imperative to business that they should not fall into debt or risk being ostracized from the religious community.
However, much to his surprise he found a parrot in the work room – which did nothing but squawk and distract the workers – and a donkey that refused to do any work! Instead it would stand next to the hot steam pipes around the buildings in order to stay warm.
Joseph implemented a variety of changes at the factory to enable better production and the manufacturer of better products, including their famous fruit pastilles.
Eventually the donkey was replaced by a handcart…but who knows what became of the chatty parrot?