(Image: TRIPADVISOR)
Tucked away in the heart of Helmsley is a traditional sweet shop where rows of colourful jars are designed to take customers straight back to their childhood.
Helmsley Traditional Sweet Shop opened in July 2013 and has built its business around a deliberately old-fashioned approach to selling sweets.
Instead of relying on pre-packed confectionery, the shop sells many of its treats from large jars, with customers choosing how much they would like before the sweets are weighed out into paper bags.
For owner Lynn Hempsall, the business also has strong links to Yorkshire’s confectionery heritage.
Helmsley Traditional Sweet Shop
(Image: TRIPADVISOR)
Her family background includes relatives who worked for three of York’s biggest former sweet manufacturers, Rowntree’s, Terry’s and Craven’s.
That history helped inspire the shop, which aims to track down manufacturers still producing traditional sweets that taste much as customers remember them from years gone by.
Many of those suppliers are based in Yorkshire.
The shop’s Yorkshire Mix, for example, is made by Maxons of Sheffield, a confectionery company with a history stretching back generations.
The shelves at the Barkers Yard shop are packed with jars containing traditional sweets, with the owners saying one of the greatest pleasures of running the business is seeing customers recognise favourites from their childhood.
The shop describes itself as being particularly popular with “grown-up children”, with adults often recalling memories prompted by sweets they have not seen for years.
Owner Lynn says on the website: "The lovely thing about the shop is that everyone smiles on entering as the rows of sweet jars trigger many nostalgic memories."
Customers regularly share stories about the sweets they bought when they were younger, and the shop even encourages visitors to send in their own childhood memories.
For some, a stop at the shop has become a regular part of visiting the area.
According to the business, customers have arranged holidays and day trips around returning to Helmsley to stock up on their favourite sweets.
The little shop has also attracted attention beyond North Yorkshire.
In November 2021, Helmsley Traditional Sweet Shop appeared on BBC One programme Escape to the Country.
The exposure introduced the business to viewers around the country while highlighting its traditional approach and distinctive setting in one of North Yorkshire’s best-known market towns.
The shop has also expanded online.
Its website was created shortly before the Covid lockdown and now allows customers to order sweets for delivery, although the owners say the physical shop stocks far more varieties than can be listed online.
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Customers can also request special selections for birthdays, anniversaries and parties.
Despite selling online, the focus remains on recreating the experience of an old-fashioned sweet shop.
Gift bags are made using compostable cellulose, while customers who return small gift jars to be refilled receive a discount on the sweets.
Online orders are sent in cardboard packaging using compostable tape, while bubble wrap from incoming deliveries is reused.
The shop continues to trade seven days a week from its Helmsley premises.