Scotland’s oldest sweet shop and a 193-year-old secret recipe
The shop has passed through several owners - some who still live in the town today
They have all but disappeared from high streets across the land. But in one corner of Angus the humble sweet shop is still going strong – powered by a 193-year-old secret recipe.
The Star Rock Shop, the oldest in Scotland, was established in 1833 by David Ferguson, a mason from Brechin. He travelled to Kirriemuir to establish a confectioners following an accident that nearly left him blind.
In the mid-19th century, David passed the shop to his daughter, Jean, who would then pass it on to her own daughter, Jean "Jessie" Morrison Ramsey.
The shop passed through several owners - some who still live in the town today - until falling into the hands of Liz Crossley-Davies in 2018.
As per tradition, Ms Crossley-Davies says she was taught the famous Star Rock recipe - which has been passed down from owner to owner for 193 years, and remains the shop's most popular sweet.
The shops sells a range of sweets and still makes the rock, humbugs and tablet.
"That's one of the most unique things about the shop - the Star Rock recipe," she said.
"It's still the one that I sell today. The recipe gets handed down to every owner, and I honestly believe that if that recipe didn't exist, the shop wouldn't still be here."
The most popular flavour is Horehound, which has medicinal properties - and Ms Crossley-Davies says that during cold and flu season, she can shift up to 4.5kg of the sweets.
"Horehound oil is medicinal, mixed with real aniseed oil, with properties for coughs and colds, and treacle, which coats your throat and stops a tickly cough," she said.
"I think that's probably been the most popular flavour, not just for me, but for a lot of owners in the past as well."
Ms Crossley-Davies, who has a background in marketing, as well as chef experience, was intrigued when she first heard about the opportunity to take over - but quickly fell in love with the shop after visiting for the first time.
She spent around two months learning the shop's recipes before officially taking the reins.
"It took me a week to decide I wanted it, and that started the ball rolling," she said.
"It was quite different to any other kind of business purchase - I needed to start coming in and learning the recipes.
"That all happens before you actually buy it, which is quite unique."
Ms Crossley-Davies quickly became a familiar face in Kirriemuir, where she welcomes customers six days a week - some of whom have been visiting The Star Rock for decades.
She says she was "very mindful" of the place the shop already had in the local community, and wanted to let the town know she had no plans to make major changes.
"I wanted to improve it, but I didn't want to change anything - I'll preserve it, keep it going, and hopefully keep expanding in enough of a way that it's got a secure future.
"When it came to taking over, I had to be very mindful that the shop already belonged to the community.
"They all had these memories that I needed to make sure I didn't spoil.”
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