Sweet ecstasy

YOU can smell the sugar in the air when you walk into The Oldest Sweet Shop in England. The next thing that hits you is the kaleidoscope of colour, texture and shape, as you’re faced with row upon row of hundreds of sparkling glass jars, filled with a mind-boggling range of confectionery.

There are sweets here I haven’t come across for decades and others I never knew existed in the first place. Owner Keith Tordoff prides himself on never being caught out. If you have been searching for the rarely seen soft, crumbly Berwick Cockle, or attempting to hunt down the lesser known Hawick Mint Ball, you are in the right place.

Even if he can’t lay his hands on a particular product, this Willy Wonka of the Dales has been known to have special sweet factory orders, or “boilings”, made up to his own unique recipes if he feels there is a demand. Such is his knowledge of traditional recipes and cooking methods, large sweet manufacturers have employed him as a taster and consultant on new projects.

Keith spends his life immersed in Pear Drops, Sherbert Lemons, Mint Humbugs, Coconut Mushrooms and Pink Shrimps. He recently acquired a batch of dusted Milk Teeth – “the ones dusted with flour, they are really difficult to get hold of,” he beams, as if he has just bagged a handful of precious jewels.

He confides that he also has a box of original Sherbert Fountains in their original paper packaging. “They’re a bit of a collector’s item these days,” he enthuses. “I’ve also got a box of old Texan bars – a full box, unopened”.

For a man who simply loves sweets, Keith must have one of the best jobs in the world.

For years, the former business banking manager dreamed of owning a sweet shop. When, 16 years ago, he heard a sweet shop was about to come on the market in the picturesque market town of Patelely Bridge, he couldn’t believe his luck.

For this wasn’t just any old sweet shop, it was the Oldest Sweet Shop In England. With its polished, wooden counter, original Avery scales and antique cash register, it felt as if he was stepping back in time. And just like one of his favourite sugary confections, it was a temptation that proved impossible to resist.

Keith gave up his job and he and his family moved from Leeds to the Dales. His wife Gloria, son Alexander and his partner Kirsty – all sweet lovers – now work in the shop, which has been serving a grateful public since 1827.

With its low ceiling, open fireplace and creaking wooden floorboards, and dating back to 1661, this former farmhouse is the oldest building in Pateley Bridge.

Particularly popular with the Japanese ever since it featured on the front cover of a glossy magazine, the shop attracts tourists from all over the world as well several generations of local customers, many of whom Keith and Gloria first knew as youngsters. “They are back now buying sweets with their own children,” says Keith.

One local lad bought a giant, three-inch gob stopper when he was 14 and he still has it. “He’s now in his early 20s. He rinses it under the tap and puts it back in the fridge every time he uses it,” says Keith.

They have their share of celebrity customers too. Actor Robbie Coltrane once spent more than £30 on a selection of sweets, many of them unusual Scottish mixtures. Chef Nigel Slater has popped by, and Vic Reeves and his family have been in a few times. They also see quite a few soap stars.

But the youngster who wants to spend his pocket money on a few penny treats like Black Jacks or Cola Bottles is afforded the same care and attention as any big name star. “We treat everybody the same,” says Keith.

What the couple loves most is that everyone smiles once they walk through the door. “People are always in a happy mood,” says Gloria.

“In tough economic times, everyone is drawn to a treat. Times may be hard but you can always afford a quarter of sweets.”

Keith says there has been a renewed interest the sort of traditional sweets that ignite childhood memories. “People feel nostalgic about confectionery because it reminds them of happy times in their childhood.”

Four of his regular customers are dentists.

“My own dentist says I’m his best client. But when I ring to make an appointment, he asks me to bring a bag of Sports Mixture. If I get the receptionist, she says bring fudge.”

Keith and Gloria take regular exercise to balance out their love of sweets. “If you have a sweet tooth, it’s impossible to resist,” says Keith. “I quite often don’t eat anything but sweets all day. People say you will get fed up, but there are too many to ever get fed up with them.”

Best sellers include Lions’ Midget Gems, Fruit Salad and Sports Mixture gums. “They’re not too chewy, but full of flavour,” says Keith.

The family always takes samples home to taste before they sell them in the shop. “It helps us to know what we’re talking about.” If they’re not up to scratch, Keith will contact the manufacturer and tell them why.

He has been asked to produce reports on new recipes. “The wholesalers and makers know me, they respect me,” says Keith, who has also had some old sweets, like Jap desserts, brought back into production. “They stopped making them for 14 years, I lobbied to have them reintroduced four years ago,” he says.

HE goes to great lengths to source the best version of each sweet, many of them still produced by traditional sweet makers in Yorkshire and Lancashire, using original moulds and recipes. In some cases, his sweets are still made in authentic1920s steam boilers. “I could get ten makes of Pear Drops, the secret is to get the ones that have been done to the original recipe for as long as possible,”

he says. “I get Soor Plooms, a type of Sour Apple, from Scotland. They do the original and the best. Copies are not as good.”

The Tordoffs still measure sweets – which are put in paper bags, twisted in both corners – out in quarters, not grams. “We are still operating as if it were years ago. The only concession to the modern era is electric lights,” says Keith. “It’s an original old cash register, converted to decimal currency about 40 years ago.”

He and Gloria don’t go on holiday. In their spare time, they travel the country visiting sweet shops and have clocked up about 60 trips to date. “We are not driven by making money, we enjoy what we do. It keeps us one step ahead of everyone else,” says Keith.

Many of the traditional-style sweet shops that have opened in recent years are modern stores fitted out in retro style. But Keith is particularly proud that his shop, which has featured in a number of history books and is due to appear in the next edition of the Guinness Book of World Records, is the real thing.

“The origins of sweets goes way back. They used to be used as a form of medicine. Humbugs were developed from medieval cold cures and liquorice was used to treat bad throats and for breathing problems. Aniseed was used to help digestion,” he says.

“People have been buying sweets in here for nearly 200 years. That is what makes it so special.

It’s totally unique.”

One old lady came in recently, having last visited when she was five years old. “ She said the shop was virtually unchanged, apart from the counter being in a different position,” says Keith. “She was 97 years old.

• The Oldest Sweet Shop, 39 High Street, Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire HG3 5JZ.

T: 01423-712371; W: oldestsweetshop.co.uk