New Victorian sweet shop open at Preston Park Museum
Preston Park Museum has opened a new sweet shop on its Victorian Street this week.
Its opening comes just in time for the start of October half term, where visitors can step back in time and experience the sights, smells and tastes of the past.
Run by the museum's dedicated army of volunteers, family members young and old can enjoy picking their favourite sweets and watch as the shopkeeper weighs them out 'the old fashioned way'.
The shop takes its name from J.F.Smith who was a confectioner in Stockton since the Victorian times. Its best sellers include Pear Drops, Bon-Bons and Pineapple Chunks. What would your favourite sweet of all time be?
The original sweet shop was set behind a glass counter and has been on the Victorian Street since the museum first re-opened in 2012. Due to its popularity it has now moved to a bigger location which will allow visitors to enjoy a more immersive experience.
It also gives the opportunity to showcase objects from the museum's collection including, toffee tins and chocolate boxes from the late nineteenth century, a traditional Victorian till and original Cadbury advertising showing chocolate bars that you could buy over hundred years ago.
Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Cabinet Member for Arts, Leisure and Culture, Councillor Norma Wilburn, said: "The wonderful sweet shop is always hugely popular and its larger new location is just another reason to visit Preston Park Museum and Grounds this half-term. Thanks to the museum's dedicated staff and volunteers, visitors can experience what a trip to the sweet shop was like in Victorian times, meet the costumed shopkeeper and purchase some traditional favourites."
The sweet shop will be open every day throughout October Half Term from Saturday 27 October to Sunday 4 November 2018. Museum admission fees apply.
For further information visit Preston Park Museum and Grounds website