Scotland’s Larder: The story of Scotland’s original sweet shop
From AC/DC rock to Peter Pan drops Liz Crossley-davies tells Cat Thomson what it like running Scotland's oldest, continuously trading sweet shop, The Star Rock Shop Kirriemuir
Sir J.M Barrie was born here, and had a long association with the town, he gifted The Camera Obscura and cricket pavilion after he had moved to London. Whilst visiting Kirrie, he would stock up with a local delicacy, 'Starry Rock.' The Star Rock Shop still makes and sells it and the current guardian, Liz Crossley-davies explains Sir J.M. Barrie was born 30 years after the shop opened, "so he would have grown up like the kids now, with the shop on the corner."
The shop was established in 1833 by Mr David Ferguson, he was a stonemason but an accident at work, left him blinded. Mrs Crossley-davies said, "he made rock because he needed an income, and the demand was so great he opened a shop in his front room."
At the time, cheap sugar was exported from the West Indies and every street would have a sweetiewife who made sweets. She said, "it was a tradition at the time but it was normally women who made rock." It was then owned by relatives of David Ferguson for 140 years and ever since by a series of different owners. She is originally from Warrington but has lived nearby on her parents farm for the past 20 years, with husband Darren and two sons, Josh (18) and Louis (16). Mrs Crossley-davies met her husband when she was as a catering manager in Warrington, "he worked on the security gate and on our first date we just decided to get married." Her father owned his own haulage business, in Widnes, but after it was compulsory purchased he decided to be a farmer in Scotland, "although he has now retired, it is an idyllic place to live."
She has had a varied career: as a surveyor then a professional chef, "I was very fortunate I was always told, if you work hard enough, you can do whatever you want." Learning to cook professionally she said, "was the best thing I ever did, you can always fall back on cooking."
Being a stay at home mum wasn't entirely for her, so she enrolled as a mature student for a second degree in Economics and Marketing, at Dundee University graduating in 2010 but by the end of her course, she admits, "I just wanted a job." So she then had a series of different roles; working for a seed potato company, marketing company, and a start up company The Gin Bothy. She reflects, "I learned everything about business from these jobs, from accounts to marketing and everything in between." She said, " I'd always wanted to be self employed but I was worried I wouldn't get an opportunity." However, The Star Rock Shop came up for sale.
Initially she dismissed it, "but when I looked at it a bit more, I saw the potential for the business and I was really excited about it," she said, "I never thought I'd be a retailer, but I found out about its historic recipes." She mulled it over and realised, "the shop, was combining everything from my cooking to my marketing and my business skills, so it was a dream opportunity." Her father worked incredibly long hours in his own company, she explains, "my dad would go out before we all got up and come in after we had gone to bed so we saw him at weekends and holidays." She said, "I know that
feeling now, every day is a work day when it is your own business."
They had childhood holidays in Cornwall and she remembers buying white Bon-bons, she said "they are still my favourite, it is funny that memory has stuck in my head." Another memory is of Everton mints being thrown into the crowd at Goodison Park, as the family were season ticket holders, she said, "so they were one of the first things I restocked."
Entering the Neverland of The Star Rock Shop, the first thing you notice is the smell. She said, "everybody says they wish you could bottle that aroma or make it into a candle."
Rock has been made in the shop for 188 years so the sweet sugary smell is in the walls, a combination of tablet and rock and the different herbs and spices that are used. Then there is visual overload, she said, "I have got about 300 jars around the walls and they are all brightly coloured." Mrs Crossley-davies explains, "it is a really happy kind of place. For many people, they walk in and their age disappears, the smell takes them back to their childhood." She said, "During lockdown, it has been horrendous and really sad to be in a dark closed shop. I just grinned from ear to ear when we reopened. The support we've had has been fantastic. You just don't get grumpy people in a sweet shop, it just doesn't happen."
Having decided to buy the shop, the hand over process then started, and she had to learn the secret recipes, Liz explains, "there is a lot of trust involved, as the sale was not finalised." One of her first jobs was to research the history of the owners and create a timeline. In the 1980's Ken and Minnie Little owned it, and she said, "I would like the children that come in now to remember me like that in 40 years time." She has also been visited by the daughter of former owner Fred Brown, who remembered moving
into the flat above the shop aged 5, in the 1940's. Star Rock humbugs and Star Rock Sticks are the two products, still made onsite, which date back to the original owner's recipe. The most popular flavour of these is horehound, other rock flavours are lemon, mint, clove, cinnamon, butter scotch, ginger as well as honey and eucalyptus and she always uses natural oils. The horehound oil, anecdotally is good for the stomach and tickly coughs Liz said, "everyone in Kirrie lives on it during the winter months." She tells us, "I nearly I didn't have it post lockdown, because my regular supplier stopped stocking the oil." A worldwide search ensued and she eventually tracked some down to Serbia. Making Rock n Roll
The ingredients are boiled to 155 degrees and it is poured onto a steel slab to cool slightly, then it is folded initially with a palate knife because it is hot. When it has cooled down more you can then start to manipulate it with your hands . You take a portion of the mixture, and you pull it on a double ended hook in the wall. (You never know JM Barrie might have taken inspiration from that for a certain pirate.) This process changes the structure of the sugar. The Rock is then rolled on the marble counter top until it is a long sausage shape, and it is then pushed through the humbug machine or rolled into sticks. The hand cranked humbug machine predates the 1940s. Mrs Crossley-davies explains, "I don't add any colour so you get a pale golden colour which is verging on cream." She also buys a huge range of traditional favourites
direct from other sweet producers. To stand out from the crowd she just stocks the things you can't buy anywhere else, and has also launched her online shop. It is a small shop with a finite amount of space, so she added more shelving during lockdown, "but it was overflowing again the day after," she said.
The other well known son of Kirriemuir, is Bon Scott, and the town host an annual festival to celebrate his talents. She said, "I wouldn't say I was an AC/DC fan but I definitely like some of the music. I'm actually a fan of Bonfest fans." The event has been cancelled for the last two years, due to Covid, but she always brings out a special edition Rock for Bonfest.mrs Crossley-davies also supports the local school, Webster's High and has commissioned a blue raspberry and sherbet sweet to help their fundraising efforts. She also invented a sweet to support Maggie's. She said, "people going through chemo often feel sickly or have a metallic taste so I made a sweet with a strong orange taste with ginger in the middle to quell sickness, and again profits from sales of that go to the charity." She tells us that the shop will never move, but that she now needs to find more space to support it. Liz is also hoping to find a local apprentice to help keep The Star Rock Shop's future shining brightly.
The Star Rock Shop, 25 Roods, Kirriemuir, DD8 4EZ
01575 218518 starrockshopkirriemuir@gmail.com