Rowntree slavery links Workers packing chocolates at the Rowntree factory in Haxby Road in the early 1900s. Picture: Nestlé archive/ Borthwick Institute. Inset: Joseph Rowntree in the 1890s. Picture: Explore York The Quaker philanthropist and chocolate magnate Joseph Rowntree is a man revered in York - and much further afield - for his passionate commitment to improving the lives of the less well off. In many ways, he was far ahead of his time. He set up one of the first-ever occupational pension schemes for employees at his chocolate factory, and provided workers with a library, free education, a social welfare officer, a doctor and a dentist.