Soor plums, lucky tatties, humbugs, pear drops, aniseed balls, bonbons, cherry lips, jelly spogs, barley sugar, iron brew frying pans… the list goes on.
I’m like a kid in a sweetie store when I enter the legendary Star Rock Shop in Kirriemuir and no wonder.
My eyes are wide, my nostrils are twitching and I can’t wait to try some of the emporium’s vast collection of retro delights.
The Star Rock Shop is the oldest sweet shop in Scotland, having been established by David Ferguson in 1833.
Originally a stonemason, Ferguson had to give up his job when an accident left him almost blind.
Instead, he turned his hand to boiling up sugar rock sweets in his kitchen – and it turned out he was pretty good at it.
He needed to earn a living to support his family, so friends urged him to turn his home into a shop – with the legendary ‘Star Rock’ soon flying off the shelves.
Recipe handed down through generations
This unchanged recipe has been handed down through the generations ever since and is taught to each new owner of the shop.
Almost 200 years on, the Star Rock Shop trades from the same premises in The Roods, making it the oldest producing and continuously trading sweet shop in Scotland.
I popped in recently – for the first time in my life.
I knew I wanted to sample the famous Star Rock sticks, following in the footsteps of Peter Pan author JM Barrie, who stopped at the shop on his way home from school to buy the sweet treats.
But with so many different types of confectionary on offer, I’d surely have to experiment with a few other items.
Treasure trove of sweet treats
I cast my eyes around the seemingly endless jars (there are estimated to be around 400) that line the groaning wooden shelves and eventually settled on: a bag of rhubarb rock, fudge, a waffle cone of ice cream slathered in chocolate sauce, and of course, Star Rock.
To my shame, I devoured the lot in less than 24 hours. It was way too tasty to resist!
I’d been tempted to also buy chewing nuts, blue raspberry bon bons, rhubarb and custard chews, acid drops and fizzy cola bottles, but decided to wait – it would be a great excuse to return soon.
Secret of success
So what’s the secret behind the shop’s success?
I caught up with current – and 14th – owner Liz Crossley-Davies to find out.
She’s lived near Alyth since 2002, and was well aware of the shop’s legendary status when she took it on in 2018.
“If it wasn’t for our local customers who’ve been coming in for 60 years and more, the Star Rock Shop wouldn’t be here,” she told me.
“The one constant thing is the Star Rock recipe. We think it’s probably the oldest rock recipe in the world!”
The iconic sticks are handmade and flavoured with natural lemon oil. They’re hand-pulled and rolled on a marble slab in the very same kitchen they were first made.
The mix is cooled to harden and then hand-cut into 10cm long rods, or sticks, and tossed in sugar powder to stop them from sticking.
Liz says the original 1833 packaging had seven sticks of Star Rock in paper, but there was also a bumper pack of 12 in cardboard. These days they’re only produced in paper packs of seven.
JM Barrie was a huge Star Rock Shop fan
Born in May 1860, Peter Pan author JM Barrie called in to the shop on his way home from school to buy some rock – and when he moved to London he had the sweet treat delivered there.
During both World Wars, men were gifted boxes of Star Rock as reminders of home.
And in 1919, when Queen Mary and her daughter stayed a few miles from Kirriemuir at Airlie Castle with the Dowager Countess, they were presented with a gift of Star Rock by the owner Jessie Morrison Ramsay (Ferguson’s grand-daughter).
The traditional flavours are original lemon, butterscotch, cinnamon, clove, ginger, mint and horehound – the shop’s “medicinal” wonder humbug, originally made in a hand-cranked machine.
I have to admit, I have no idea what ‘horehound is’.
Liz was happy to explain. “It’s a plant extract that reputedly soothes sore throats and coughs
“I’m the only person in the UK who still makes horehound humbugs. When our supplier stopped sending the oil to us during lockdown, I found a new one – in Serbia.
“We’re testing new oils but they can be extortionately expensive.”
Trips down memory lane
What Liz loves best about her job is meeting customers and taking trips down memory lane.
“People say: ‘When I was a kid, I ate this and that’, and I love that!” she enthused.
“Everyone remembers the old favourites, whether cola cubes, pear drops, soor plums or 10p mixes, and it’s amazing to see people so animated.
“I deliberately keep penny sweets and 5p bubblegum for kids. It should be as fun as it used to be. I try to take the money concept out of it so that the joy stays and everyone can afford something.”
Story of Star Rock
The story of how Star Rock was born is brilliant.
It was common for people to make their own sweets in the 1830s – there were wee sweet shops everywhere.
“David Ferguson made sweets for people in Kirrie and when they knew he’d lost his job, they encouraged him to open his kitchen and start selling his goods,” said Liz.
So the big question – what’s Liz’s favourite sweet? She laughs. “I’ve more of a savoury palate!
“I’ve always loved food and have been a qualified chef for donkey’s years but I’ve just not got a sweet palate!
“I like creating things and seeing if they work. I prefer a classic toffee bar or maybe a dark chocolate and coffee sweet.
“I’ve got a son with a viciously sweet tooth – he’s my chief taster.”
Liz is always delighted to welcome visitors and is amazed by how far some travel.
“I had a family in recently telling me they’d travelled four hours to get here!
“Another couple told me the sweet shop was the deciding factor in where they’d stay during their holidays.
“I feel responsible because they’ve made so much effort, and want to be able to tell customers as much about the history of the shop as possible.”
From Iron Brew frying pans to lucky tatties
Some of the strangest sweets available, in my opinion, include Iron Brew frying pans and lucky tatties.
The tattie used to feature a small toy or lucky charm in the middle, but health and safety put an end to that quirk.
The shop, which also produces bespoke sweets for Bonfest, the annual celebration of AC/DC frontman Bon Scott, survives thanks to its huge following of loyal customers.
But it’s facing the toughest challenge yet in its 191-year history, with the price of ingredients, gas and electricity rocketing.
Liz reckons bills have quadrupled as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
“I make Star Rock recipes in the kitchen at the back of the shop.
“That means using the large gas rings every few days as fresh batches are made and pulled by hand and then rolled and shaped.
“It’s not cheap to run the business, but I’m determined it’ll survive.”
The shop boasts myriad options for vegans, diabetics and those with sugar or dairy-free diets.
- Visit the Star Rock Shop website for more info.
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