teas.co.uk
Tea and coffee from the brands you know
A short history of sweets in Britain
Britain's sweets have a long and sometimes surprising history, from medicines sold by apothecaries to the pick and mix counter. Here is the story in brief, century by century, with links to the full stories.
In this article
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Sweets in Britain began as medicine and luxury, became an everyday treat, and passed through rationing to the pick and mix of today. This is the story in brief, with links to the full articles.
Medieval: a costly spice
Sugar reached Europe in the Middle Ages, brought back by crusaders and traded through Venice. In Britain it was an expensive fine spice, and physicians prescribed it as a medicine: see how sugar came to Britain
1500s and 1600s: comfits and marchpane
In Renaissance England, confectioners and apothecaries sold comfits, seeds, spices and nuts coated in layers of sugar, along with preserves, syrups and marchpane, an old name for marzipan. From about 1500, sugar from the Americas began to make sugar cheaper, and syrups and preserves spread beyond the rich: see what is the oldest sweet in Britain?
1700s: sugar for everyone
Caribbean plantations, built on the labour of enslaved people, made sugar cheap, and Britain ate five times as much in 1770 as in 1710. In Pontefract, liquorice was a medicine sold as small stamped cakes, and in 1760 the apothecary George Dunhill added sugar: see the history of liquorice in Pontefract
1800s: boiled sweets and the first bars
In 19th century England, old favourites such as barley sugar gave way to an array of new sugar sweets in a wide variety of flavours. Humbugs are recorded from the 1820s, and Doncaster butterscotch was being sold by 1851: see humbugs and butterscotch. Food was often adulterated, and in 1858 peppermint lozenges made with arsenic by mistake killed around 20 people in Bradford: see the Bradford sweets poisoning of 1858. Chocolate changed too. Fry's of Bristol made what is often called the first chocolate bar in 1847, and Fry's Chocolate Cream followed in 1866: see what is the oldest chocolate bar in the UK?
Early 1900s: pick and mix and chocolate bars
The first British Woolworths opened in Liverpool in 1909, selling sweets at tuppence a quarter pound, and its counter became known as pic'n'mix: see Woolworths pick and mix, the story. The Mars bar was invented in Slough in 1932: see Forrest Mars and the Mars bar
1942 to 1953: rationing
Sweets were rationed from 26 July 1942, starting at 2 oz a week, and rationing did not finally end until February 1953: see sweet rationing in Britain
Late 1900s to today
Loose sweets went metric in 2000, Woolworths closed its British shops in January 2009, and in October 2022 new rules stopped larger shops in England from placing less healthy sweets by checkouts: see the history of pick and mix and why sweets were moved away from the checkout
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
What are the oldest sweets in Britain?
Comfits, seeds, spices and nuts coated in sugar, are among the oldest, sold by confectioners and apothecaries in Renaissance England. Pontefract cakes have a stamp dating from 1612, and humbugs are recorded from the 1820s.
When were sweets invented in Britain?
There was no single moment. Sugar reached Britain in the Middle Ages as a costly spice and medicine, and sweets grew from medicines and preserves as sugar became cheaper from the 16th century onwards.
When was the first chocolate bar made in Britain?
Fry's of Bristol made what is often called the first chocolate bar in 1847, and Fry's Chocolate Cream, from 1866, is the oldest chocolate bar brand still sold.
Sources
- History of sugar, Wikipedia
- Confectionery in the English Renaissance, Wikipedia
- Pontefract cake, Wikipedia
- Barley sugar, Wikipedia
- 1858 Bradford sweets poisoning, Wikipedia
- Rationing in the United Kingdom, Wikipedia
- The early history of Pic'n'Mix, Woolworths Museum
Keep reading
- History and originsHow sugar came to BritainSugar reached Britain as a rare medicine and spice. Caribbean plantations built on slavery made it cheap, and by the 1700s Britons of every class ate it.
- Questions people askWhat is the oldest sweet in Britain?Comfits, sugared seeds and nuts, are among the oldest sweets. The Pontefract cake stamp dates from 1612, and humbugs are recorded from the 1820s.
- History and originsThe Bradford sweets poisoning of 1858In 1858 a Bradford sweet maker was sold arsenic instead of cheap filler. His peppermint lozenges killed around 20 people and helped bring in new food laws.
- Questions people askWhat is the oldest chocolate bar in the UK?Fry's Chocolate Cream, from 1866, is the oldest chocolate bar brand still sold. Fry's also made what is often called the first bar, in 1847.
- History and originsSweet rationing in BritainSweets were rationed in Britain from July 1942 to February 1953, starting at 2 oz a week. A false start in 1949 ended in shortages within months.
- History and originsThe history of pick and mixPick and mix grew from sweets weighed out of jars by the quarter. Woolworths made it a British high street habit, and Sweden gave the world candy walls.