The World's Oldest Candy Shop Has Been Open Since 1827 and the Best Sellers Haven't Changed

By Jon Tharp, Broker  ·  May 12, 2026

A candy shop in a small English market town has been selling the same sweets since before the American Civil War, and the best sellers today are identical to the ones from the 1820s.

The Oldest Sweet Shop in Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire has been open since 1827. That puts it older than the Oregon Trail, older than the telegraph, and older than most of the buildings in western North Carolina's mountain towns. The Guinness Book of Records made it official in 2014.

The shop is run now by Ben Howie, 29, who took it over in 2021 along with his younger brother James. They inherited a room roughly the size of an average living room, large glass jars on dark wooden shelves, and an antique till that a previous owner had tracked down in an antique shop after recognizing it. None of that has changed. That is intentional.

The best sellers: pear drops, humbugs, bonbons. Same as they were in the 1800s. Ben stocks modern candies too, Haribo gummy bears move well, but the hard-boiled classics are what people come for.

"There are candy shops everywhere, but you never find one like ours with old-fashioned jars and the antique till," James Howie said. "There is a lot of nostalgia in here."

About 20,000 people make the trip to Pateley Bridge each year specifically for this shop. Some have come from Sydney. Some from China. The town is small, off the main tourist routes, and the shop is tiny. That is part of the point.

Running a 199-year-old business is not without friction. The brothers had to raise their penny candy to five cents after COVID. "It was a staple for a lot of people, but it just wasn't sustainable," James said. They have since built out online sales to offset the limits of a room that holds 30 people at a time.

Ben's goal is straightforward: keep it going. "Hopefully, we can keep going for another 200 years."

It is a good reminder that the things people return to are often the simplest ones. The mountains of western North Carolina work the same way. People who visit tend to come back, and a lot of them eventually decide to stay. If you are thinking about what that looks like, Jon Tharp is glad to have that conversation.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the world's oldest candy shop?

The Oldest Sweet Shop is located in Pateley Bridge, a small market town in North Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1827 and has operated continuously since, surviving two world wars and a global pandemic. The Guinness Book of Records officially recognized it as the world's oldest candy shop in 2014. The shop occupies a 400-year-old building and is known for its large glass jars on dark wooden shelves and an antique till that was rescued from an antique shop by a previous owner.

What are the best-selling candies at the world's oldest candy shop?

The best sellers at The Oldest Sweet Shop are the same hard-boiled candies that have been popular since the 1800s: pear drops, humbugs, bonbons, midget gems, cola cubes, and rhubarb and custards. Current owner Ben Howie says these classic candies consistently outsell everything else, including modern options like Haribo gummy bears, which the shop also stocks. The store carries sweets from across different centuries, but the traditional varieties remain the draw.

Who owns the world's oldest candy shop now?

The Oldest Sweet Shop is currently owned by Ben Howie, 29, who took over in 2021. His brother James, 21, works behind the counter and helps manage online sales, which the brothers added to grow the business beyond foot traffic. Ben is originally from Knaresborough, North Yorkshire. The brothers are focused on preserving the shop's character while adapting to the costs of running a small retail business, including raising the price of individual penny candies to 5 cents after COVID made the original price unsustainable.

How many people visit the world's oldest candy shop each year?

The Oldest Sweet Shop draws approximately 20,000 visitors per year. The shop's interior is roughly the size of an average living room and seats about 30 people at a time, which naturally limits throughput. Customers have traveled from as far as Sydney and China specifically to visit. The combination of its Guinness World Record status, unchanged interior, and nostalgia factor makes it a destination for travelers passing through North Yorkshire, despite Pateley Bridge being a small market town rather than a major tourist hub.