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How York chocolate boss used to live – pictures

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Goddards: home to Sir Noel Terry, of chocolate orange fame. Photograph: National Trust / Kippa Matthews
It was where Noel Terry relaxed after a hard day plotting chocolate-flavoured world dominance.

Now everyone can enjoy a flavour of Goddards, the family home of the Terrys factory boss, just as it would have looked in the 1930s.

Noel Goddard Terry (1889-1980), was the grandson of Sir Joseph Terry who gave the business its name. Noel started working for the family business, initially as a salesman at St Helen’s Square, in 1911.

He married Kathleen Leetham in 1915 and they went on to have four children: Peter, Kenneth, Betty and Richard.

Noel and Kathleen Terry
In 1923 he was made joint manager-director at Terry’s of York with his step-uncle Francis. Under their control, Terry’s production and revenue almost doubled in the inter-war period,

Not least, the 1930s saw the introduction of the chocolate orange which would ensure Noel’s influence on the Terry’s brand continues to this day. In 1970, Noel retired after 59 years in service at Terry’s.

The house off Tadcaster Road was where Noel Terry and his family lived from 1927-1980.

Built in the Arts & Crafts Style, the house has been the Yorkshire HQ for the National Trust for 30 years. But this month saw seven rooms of the house opened for the first time.

The sumptuous drawing room in Goddards
The house is not a complete recreation of how it looked when the Terry’s lived at Goddards – original furniture from the house is now permanent display at York’s Fairfax House. Instead, the National Trust has created rooms that match a period of prosperity for the Terry family and factory, the 1930s.

One of the exhibits: a cartoon of Sir Noel
The new exhibition gives a flavour of the life of the chocolate magnate
A model of the chocolate factory is on display at Goddards
  • Goddards – the house, gardens and tearoom will be open to visitors from Wednesdays – Saturdays from 11am – 5pm (last admission 4.30pm). The house is in a residential area where access to the property means that parking is very limited. The best way to visit Goddards is to walk, cycle or come by public transport.
  • For more information, tel: 01904 771930, follow the team on Twitter @NTGoddards or visit the National Trust website