Wearside Echoes: The best retro sweets and the Sunderland shops you used to visit to buy them

A trip to the local sweet shop with your pocket money was definitely a childhood highlight, and one we really miss.
Debra Fox
By Debra Fox
Published 23rd Feb 2023, 04:55 BST

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But making a decision on what you wanted 2ozs or a quarter of was the hardest bit – everything in those glass or plastic jars just seemed irresistible! From bon bons to kola cubes and wine gums; the sheer variety of great choices still has our mouths watering.

What we wouldn’t give for one more bag of our traditional favourites. Anyone for a bag of liquorice torpedoes or a handful of Mojo penny chews?

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At Wearside Echoes, we love going on a retro shopping trip. So we have been asking Sunderland’s people to shout out their favourite sweet shop from the city’s past, along with their top pick for the mix-up bag.

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Our readers certainly have got a sweet tooth! Some of their favourites included; sarsaparilla tablets, floral gums, sherbert lemons, sweet peanuts and cherry lips. Here are some of the most popular treats for your pick n mix and the Sunderland places you visited to buy them. See if any of your favourite sweets – and shops – get a mention below.

Pauline Bainbridge: “I always got a quarter of midget gems on my way to school, at the ‘bottom shops’ at Farringdon, opposite the Infants and Junior schools.”

Moira Brown: “Sarsaparilla tablets, acid drops from Glendennings in Hendon.”

Browsing at the Woolworths' pick n mix section. But what was your favourite sweet?Browsing at the Woolworths' pick n mix section. But what was your favourite sweet?
Browsing at the Woolworths' pick n mix section. But what was your favourite sweet?
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Peter Henderson: “Pineapple chunks [from] Millfield papershop, on the bridge next to the gym.”

Brenda Crosby Scott: “2oz of milk bottles from Maynards in Palmers Arcade.”

Kati Anne: “Lawson's on Tunstall Road, changed most weeks but I liked sherbert pips, floral gums, cola cubes and a 20p mix-up, gave you loads!”

Alan Frost: “It was 2oz. Never got 4oz until I could pay for them myslf. Lion's Midget Gems was (and still is) my sweetie of choice from Billy Lewis's next to the Ropery on Hendon Road.”

Maynards in Crowtree Road, pictured in 1958. Was it your go-to place for a bag of sweets?Maynards in Crowtree Road, pictured in 1958. Was it your go-to place for a bag of sweets?
Maynards in Crowtree Road, pictured in 1958. Was it your go-to place for a bag of sweets?
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Kathy Blackburn: “2oz of aniseed balls or black bullets (to wreck your teeth) . Can’t remember the name of the shop, but it was on the corner before Hudson Road school in the ‘50s.”

Jackie Brannagan: “When I was young we couldn't afford a quarter of anything. We used to get 2 ounces of sweets so we picked the smallest ones so you got more.”

Enjoy more pictures and memories from Sunderland’s past with our nostalgia email newsletter. It’s free to sign up, and you’ll get a round-up of retro highlights sent straight to your inbox each month. Visit our website here to sign up, and you can also join the conversation on our Wearside Echoes Facebook group here.

Related topics:Sunderland