Goddards House and Garden facts for kids
View of the south side of the house
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| Established |
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| Location | Dringhouses, York, England |
| Type | Arts and Crafts Historic House Museum |
| Visitors | 24,500 (2015/6) |
| Architect |
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| Owner | National Trust |
| Public transit access | Buses from York Station to Dringhouses |
| Nearest parking |
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Listed Building – Grade I
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| Official name | Goddards and Attached Gateway, Terrace and Loggia to Side and Rear |
| Designated | 24 June 1983 |
| Reference no. | 1256461 |
| Client | Noel Goddard Terry |
| Completed | 1927 |
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Listed Building – Grade II*
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| Official name | Number 25 Including Carriage Entrance |
| Designated | 24 June 1983 |
| Reference no. | 1256505 |
Goddards House and Garden is a special house in Dringhouses, York, England. It's built in the 'Arts and Crafts' style, which was popular for its beautiful, handmade designs.
It was built in 1927 for Noel and Kathleen Terry. They were part of the famous Terry's chocolate family! Walter Brierley designed the house, and George Dillistone created the garden.
Today, the National Trust looks after Goddards. They bought it in 1984. You can visit the beautiful garden during certain times of the year. The house is a very important historic building, called a Grade I listed building.
Contents
Discovering Goddards' Design
The House's Unique Style
Goddards was the last big project for Walter Brierley. He sadly passed away in 1926 while the house was still being built. His own home was very close to Goddards.
One cool feature of the house is the vaulted ceiling in the drawing room. It looks like the ceiling in Brierley's own home. The fancy plasterwork in both houses was done by George Bankart.
Experts describe Goddards as a top example of Brierley's work. It still has many original parts. These include its Arts and Crafts wallpapers, wood panels, and the carved oak staircase.
The outside of the house uses special handmade bricks. They are arranged in cool patterns. The decorative chimney stacks are also typical of Brierley's buildings. The house was built by William Anelay. Copies of the original plans are on display inside.
The Beautiful Garden
In 1925, George Dillistone was hired to design the garden. He was a landscape architect who also worked on Castle Drogo. His plans for the garden kept changing until 1935.
The four-acre garden at Goddards has many different areas. These include a terrace and several "rooms" made by shrubs and hedges. There's also a herbaceous border with lots of plants. All these parts show the Arts and Crafts style of the garden.
The garden used to have a tennis court and a bowling green. The bowling green is now a croquet lawn. The main part of the garden is a cross-shaped lily pool. It gets water from a half-circle reflecting pool. This area used to be a rose garden.
Beyond this, the garden slopes down towards York Racecourse. From there, you could walk to the Terry's chocolate factory. Its famous clock tower could be seen from the garden. The garden becomes less formal further from the house. Paths lead down through a rock garden.
The garden was home to some interesting animals. These included midwife toads, also called bell toads. In the 1930s, exotic pets like axolotls and green lizards lived there too! In 2016, the National Trust planned to replant the garden as Dillistone first designed it.
The Carriage Entrance
Walter Brierley also designed the gatehouse at the entrance to Goddards. This building is also very important, listed as Grade II*. It's made of red brick and has small turrets with stairs.
It also includes a motor house with a flat roof. This building was originally where the Terry's family chauffeur lived. It is still used as a home today.
The Terry Family's Life at Goddards
Noel Terry (1889–1980) was the great-grandson of Joseph Terry. Joseph started the famous Terry's chocolate business. Noel grew up near Goddards. Kathleen Leetham (1892–1980) lived nearby too. Her family owned a large flour-milling business in York.
In 1915, Noel's brother married Kathleen's sister. Then Noel and Kathleen also got married! Kathleen's father first didn't want them to be together. Soon after they married, Noel went to France for the First World War. In 1916, he was hurt in the Battle of the Somme.
After Noel came home, they started a family. By 1925, they had two sons, Peter and Kenneth, and a daughter, Betty. They needed a bigger house, so Goddards became their family home in 1927. Their youngest son, Richard, was born there later. The house was named Goddards after Noel Terry's grandmother, Frances Goddard.
In the 1930s, Noel became a managing director at Terry's. This was when the company created two of their most famous products: Terry's All Gold and the Chocolate Orange.
During the Second World War, chocolate production stopped. Noel became a Controller for the Royal Observer Corps. He received an award in 1943 for his service. His son Kenneth served in the RAF and also received an award in 1942. Sadly, Kenneth died in 1944.
Noel kept working at Terry's until 1970. His son Peter joined the company in 1945 and became a deputy managing director.
Even though Goddards was built in the Arts and Crafts style, Noel Terry filled it with Georgian furniture and clocks. He collected these throughout his life. His interest in old things might have come from his father-in-law, who collected porcelain and jade.
Noel also loved history. He was involved with the York Civic Trust for many years. After Noel and Kathleen passed away in 1980, Noel's collection was shown at Fairfax House in York. This is a Georgian house museum.
Goddards with the National Trust
When the National Trust took over Goddards, it was first used as offices. It wasn't open to visitors at first. However, the garden opened to the public in 2006. The house then opened in 2012.
The rooms in the house were set up to look like the 1930s. This was when the house was busiest and the chocolate business was doing great. Terry's also had its own tearoom and shop in York. The cakes from their shop inspired the food served in the dining room at Goddards.
Exhibits at Goddards included old chocolate wrappers from Terry's. There was also a small model of the Terry's factory. In 2014 and 2015, Goddards was a finalist for a tourism award.
Visitor numbers grew a lot after the house opened. In 2011, before the house opened, there were 5,608 visitors. By 2015/16, there were 24,500 visitors! Because of this, the National Trust planned to expand the cafe and show more chocolate items.
The property closed in late 2016 for some important work. It reopened in April 2017. In March 2020, it closed again to the public. Only the gardens have reopened for special visitor days since then.
