Candy lovers are always looking for the next great sweet treat to try and fall in love with. But one of the sweetest surprises is stumbling upon a nostalgic candy they can still enjoy today, one that brings back childhood memories.
And that’s exactly what is sold at the world’s oldest candy shop, The Oldest Sweet Shop. Located in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom, the candy store opened in 1827 and has been continuously in business ever since.
The building it’s housed in was built in 1661. The candy store proudly boasts that it has kept its doors open through two world wars and the COVID-19 pandemic. Owner Ben Howie showed off the shop’s extensive candy collection, including its bestsellers.
Highlights of the shop
A friendly bell welcomes customers into the store, where the walls are lined with candy displayed in glass jars.
“Coming into the shop is a bit of a time machine for people,” Howie tells SWNS. “It takes people straight back to their childhood, straight back to all the nostalgic sweets that they [knew] and loved as a child.”
The candy is also measured by weight in an old-school way, which Howie notes is “in pounds and ounces and or by the quarter, which is as traditional as you get, really.”
“We’ve still got the Avery Scales, which are so iconic and obviously still work and we use them everyday,” he adds.
The shop also uses a stunning antique cash register with a long history in the area. “And then we’ve got the till (a cash register) here which also still works. This has actually been in Pateley Bridge for over 200 years, I believe, in various different shops,” says Howie.
Best-selling nostalgic candy
Howie says that the shop’s top sellers are “any of the hard-boiled range,” also known in the United States as hard candy. The candy is made locally in Yorkshire, and the shop’s website notes that most are “made to the original recipes dating back to the 19th century (boiled in copper pans, the way sweets should be made).”
He adds that the shop’s Rhubarb and Custard flavor is one of the most popular boiled candy flavors. Other bestsellers include chewier candies from a brand called Lion’s, including licorice, Wine Gums (a chewy yet firm fruit candy), and Mini Gems (formerly called Midget Gems, hard gummies that are still soft enough to chew).
Howie’s personal favorites are the Raspberry Bon Bon and Dolly Mixture (a mix of fondant and sugar-coated jellies that he notes is a bit more traditional).
Besides candy, the shop also sells chocolate, caramels, and fudge. And if you can’t make it to The Oldest Sweet Shop in person, its sweet treats can also be purchased online. Other bestsellers include Yorkshire Mixture, Sherbet Lemons, Pear Drops, Dusted Milk Bottles, Jelly Babies, Strawberry Bon Bons, Milk Chocolate Caramels, and Fresh Luxury Vanilla Fudge.
