Collection: Boiled Sweets

Sugar first started coming into Scotland from the West Indies in the 1600s.  By the 19th Century sugar refineries could be found across the country. This led to a dramatically dropping sugar price and "Sweetie Wives" became a growing cottage industry boiling sweets in their kitchens and selling them in the street. 

By the beginning of the 20th Century sweet factories were a growing manufacturing industry and "sugar boilers" were significant skilled members of the Scottish workforce, in turn leading to more and more shops feeding the Scottish sweet tooth.