Home to some of the world’s great confectionery brands, Terry’s is still a household name.
But its beating York heart stopped more than ten years ago when global owners Kraft closed the Bishopthorpe Road chocolate works and transferred production to the likes of Poland and Slovakia.
Now being turned into 170 luxury apartments by PJ Livesey, the site was visited by the adventurous photographers from the Abandoned Yorkshire Explores before the work started.
And these pictures will evoke many memories from those who worked here when it was buzzing with life and industry.
The Abandoned Yorkshire team go into old and closed industrial sites and document what they find there.
Getting in to Terry’s wasn’t easy: they were caught more than once by security before managing to explore the old factory undetected.
Photographer Martin (we’re not using his full name) thought the wait was worth it. He wrote:
Really glad I got to see these buildings before the residential development started. One of my top ten this place!
I still have my Uncle, Fred Graham’s Black and White staff picture, from Terry’s. Lots of my Mum’s family worked at Terry’s. I had another relation called Ada Graham, who was very young. She had gone home from a shift one day at Terry’s complaining of a headache. Sadly, the next day, it was found that she had passed away. It was a brain tumour. The families were very close and lived at River Street and round and abouts clementhorpe. My Great Great Grandma had a tiny two up, two down house and used to look after other people’s children even though she was riddled with osteoporosis, had lost 2 Sons in the war, and as poor as a church mouse. My Mum, who is now 83, is in a nursing home in Sunderland, near to myself and my Husband, loves to talk about those days. Sometimes you can almost hear the old tug boats on the river or imagine the local characters in your mind. She always says they were good people. Only downside was that when her Father, Alexander ‘Andy’ Duncan had his fatal fall from Terry’s clocktower, she and her Mum had to be out of their house the next day and had to wheel their stuff in barrows round to a relative’s house. Not quite the kindly image which Terry’s was popular for. My Uncle Fred felt bad because he got Andy the casual steeplejack work before he was due to go to Dunkirk to fight. He was friends with a Jewish family on their street nicknamed Rosie ( short for Rose or Rosen possibly?) whose Son was Fred’s friend and a Lawyer. They took Terry’s to court and won a payout for my Mother when she came of age.
I am a student carrying out an architectural project on the former terry’s clock tower. I was wondering if anyone had any information or stories, which would guide me to create a good brief. I have read that some of you had family members working there. This would be very helpful
Great shots & video. Thanks for sharing. Much appreciated! (P.S. Ignore the rude pratt’s comments. It costs nothing to be appreciative and polite)
I worked on the twilight shift in the enrober room and cake-wrapping (chocolate oranges) in the ’70s. The parquet floors upstairs were beautiful, the sense of history very strong and the workmates were the best. The chocolate was pretty good too.
I would love to hear all your stories of working there.
Lovely old buildings. A few of my relations worked here on my Mum’s side of the family. Sad memories too. My Grandfather, Andy Duncan, was killed when my Mother was aged 4. He fell from the clock, I believe, and died of a fractured skull.
This,was,where my Mum worked during WW2 and then we lived on Bishoptborpe Road many years,later and loved,Friday night’s,when we could get the odd broken chocolates from Terry,s !! Happy memories !!
The pictures do not show the part of the factory that was producing before it shut down. The photographs are the old factory that did not meet H&S after we joined Europe. The production areas were at the rear, staff walked through the above to work. Get it right.
No need to be so rude about it, you could have just explained politely what you knew, instad of the sarcastic “get it right”…
I agree. A lot of work goes into articles like this one. Please appreciate that someone went out of their way to produce this, free for us. Just play nice!
Yes this is partly true we did work in the rear part of the factory but I remember working in the other rooms shown in the pictures in previous years I worked there from 1989 to 2005 and its great to see the old rooms I first worked in when I started there when I left school.
Wow!!! That staircase is absolutely beautiful, both my grandparents used to work there, it’s where they met, all just memories now ????
The stairs ar fabulous. It show how great archetype lasts. I hope they keep as many features as possible I would love to live there. It’s so sad how many British institutions have gone esp. From York my beloved home.