Stuart GouldenDoes your family have connections to the old Terry factory, or are you simply proud of York’s famous chocolate heritage?
If so, then the National Trust are looking for you to join other volunteers as Goddards, the former home of Noel Terry, prepares to open to visitors this summer for the first time.
Goddards is the house and garden Noel Terry built for his family in 1927, close to the Terry’s of York factory. When the house opens on Saturday 21 July, in six weeks time, the National Trust will be telling the story of the family, their factory and presenting a chocolate box of memories for York’s 1930s hey days. The Terry family lived at Goddards until 1980 when it was acquired by the National Trust for use as their regional office for Yorkshire and in 2006 the Trust opened the gardens to visitors.
To help visitors enjoy their visit, four new volunteer roles have been created: Welcomer, Visitor Experience Volunteer, Engagement Gardener, and Tearoom Host.
The new roles at Goddards have visitors at their heart, as Holly Brett, general manager of Goddards, explained:
“We’re looking for people that want to help us welcome our visitors and offer them a great day out.
“The Terry family name is well-known thanks to their famous chocolate factory, but Goddards is truly one of York’s hidden gems. We’re delighted to be opening some of the house’s rooms and a tearoom alongside the garden, which has been open to visitors since 2006.
But we can’t do it without help from volunteers. We’re looking for people to help in the garden, in the tearoom or to help us tell the story of Noel Terry, his wife Kathleen and of course, life at the famous Terry’s of York Chocolate factory.”
The National Trust will be holding an open day for anyone interested in finding out more about volunteering at Goddards on Saturday 23 June from 11am – 3pm. Booking your place on the open day is essential and can be done so via the “booking” button on the right hand side of this article.
