Blackpool Rock

I suppose I had better be a bit careful in writing about Blackpool as it is just down the road and most, if not all, of my colleagues on the Dead Good Poets site live there. So the most neutral thing I can think of is that hard lettered rock. I must have had one at some time or other and maybe in Gt Yarmouth or Brighton or other sea side resorts. I was more of a toffee apple sort.

There are various stories about how the first idea to make this form of rock but it seems the idea did originate in Blackpool. Or rather from a young man called Ben Bullock, an ex-miner from Burnley, who conceived the idea whilst holidaying in Blackpool. He began producing sticks of brightly coloured, lettered candy sticks at his Yorkshire-based sweet factory in 1887. He sent his first batch of lettered rock to retailers in Blackpool where it was a success.

An ex-employee of Bullocks Toffee Works, George Seniors was probably the first person to make Blackpool rock in the town in 1902.

Rock was being sold from stalls on the beach. Some stalls were regulated by Blackpool Corporation whilst others, below low tide mark, were outside their jurisdiction. Although illegal, hawkers sold rock from baskets in the streets whilst their accomplices warned of the approach of the police.

World War II had a huge impact on the confectionery trade. A sharp rise in the price of sugar, rationing, and a rise in the cost of the greaseproof paper created problems and by 1946 production was at about a third of its pre-war level. Some unscrupulous street traders duped customers with pieces of old walking stick in cardboard tubes whilst the Ministry of Food was ever-vigilant over any illegal supply of sugar into the factories or the selling of the end product without collecting the required coupons. Queues would form from 5.30am outside rock shops, so keen were visitors to use the family’s coupons and take home their traditional Blackpool souvenir.

Rationing of sweets continued until 1953 and then the sales rose spectacularly with up to fifty factories in the town making traditional rock. The 1960s and 70s saw new problems with first Purchase Tax and then V.A.T. Then followed a world shortage of sugar and, going into the 1980s some more food production legislation. I’ll cover the present day in a minute as I want to mention the following.

I was surprised to learn that machines are still unable to master the skills of making rock, even in the 21st century. Craftsmen of seaside rock are called Sugar Boilers and, as the name suggests, they start the process by boiling sugar and glucose in a copper pan heated to 300 degrees centigrade. 

It is poured out onto a cooling table, then pulled and separated into smaller sections. While the flavourings are being added, the remaining outer layer and lettering sections are coloured. Getting the lettering correct is a skill that can take up to 10 years to learn.

The letters are made individually before they are lined up and stuck side by side, with white filler in between. Square-shaped letters (B, E, F, K) and triangle-shaped letters (A, V) are made first, while round-shaped letters (C, D, O, Q) are made last to prevent loss of shape before the rock sets. The lettering, filling and core are rolled together before they are wrapped in the outer casing. The whole slab is then pulled, stretched and rolled into smaller, longer strips by machine and then, by hand, before being cut, wrapped and labelled ready for sale.

So, today orders come from all over the world - for sticks with place names, sports teams, charities, promotional logos and special events. The range of flavours available is equally varied - chicken tikka, pizza and prosecco are sold alongside the more traditional mint, aniseed and fruit varieties. The Coronation Rock Company make a presentation stick of rock for the celebrity chosen each year to switch on the illuminations.

Some of the above information comes from Kathryn Thompson, Showtown and The History of British Seaside Rock Sticks web site.

I haven’t got any stick of rock poems but I have the following that references Blackpool and the rocks involved in fracking .

Wakes

Smoke from excursions
would be shaping these fields
with whispers of summer
as girls in scarves
and boys with severe haircuts
got close
to catch what might be true.

In today’s paper there’s a sketch
of what might pass for a view
lines of track
cutting through acres
of cheap souvenirs of the Tower
drilling deep into memories
of the Pathe News
those kids would have watched
where nodding donkeys
gushed black oil
over guys in overalls.

As the train slows
for Pleasure Beach station
I shake off the past and present
tense for the future
where those donkeys strike
under pressure
not daring to nod
with their hooves planted
in fields of gas
as solid as candy floss
bought by the boys and girls
in their week of summer.

First published in ‘To Have to Follow’ by Julie Maclean & Terry Quinn

Thanks for reading, Terry Q.