| What actually is
it?
A form of “pulled sugar.” The recipe is not much different from
a classic boiled sweet in content – just sugar and glucose. But after it has cooled
slightly, the mixture is repeatedly worked until it becomes aerated and takes on a white,
cloudy appearance. Because of the way it is made, the most obvious shape it takes is a
long rope, which is cut to form the classic “stick of rock.”
Where does it
come from?
The first sugar canes were
exactly that – little strips of raw sugar cane cut straight from the field and given
to children to suck. The Americans make something
very similar – barber’s pole-style candy canes – which are best known as
Christmas decorations. When sugar first came to Britain, it was very expensive, but by the
19th century it had become plentiful. Rock as a “pulled sweet” was
first peddled at fairgrounds and is still known as “Fair Rock.” It is cut into
small colourful squares and still breaks many a milk tooth…
How did it
become associated with the seaside?
 A day at the seaside was the closest that most 19th
and early 20th century factory workers would get to a holiday, and they desired
a cheap and cheerful gift to bring home as a souvenir. Legendary Victorian figure Dynamite
Dick (rumoured variously to have come from Morecombe or Blackpool) borrowed the idea of
Fair Rock and added a flourish of his own – lettering. This ensured rock’s
association with individual resorts.
Has it ever
been “classy?”
Not really. “All seaside towns catered for the masses of working
people,” says Stephen Docwra, whose grandfather founded “Docwra’s Rock
Shop” in Great Yarmouth in 1896. “With the cheap railways, people came down from
the collieries, steelworks and factories, and they just wanted to have fun,” explains
Docwra, whose shop still boils up 150 tonnes of sugar a year in front of the hundreds of
people who come to watch it being made on the premises. “It’s never been
sophisticated.”
When was rock’s heyday?
The 1950s and 60s were THE boom time for seaside rock. A period when
holiday camps were at their zenith, before foreign package holidays had kicked in, rock
was an acceptable – and expected – present. Even today, “Bring us back a
stick of rock” is a familiar office phrase, and Fridays and Sundays are still
Docwra’s busiest days – just before people go home. Rock has stayed at
pocket-money prices – still costing around 25p a stick.
Any famous fans?
Most of the “end of the pier” performers had rock with their
names through the centre in their day. 1950s heartthrob Eddie Calvert (of “Cherry
Pink and Apple Blossom White” fame) had a golden trumpet design. More recently Sandi Toksvig, Michael Barrymore and
Matthew Kelly have all been immortalised in sugar. We can only pray that Judith
Chalmer’s version, emblazoned with “Wish You Were Here”, didn’t get
confused with the batch destined to advertise the work of HM Prison Service…
Is it popular
abroad?
Seaside rock is a peculiarly British phenomenon. You’ll find it in
places that British people frequent – Benidorm, Gibraltar, etc.- but look closely at
the label and you’ll see that it’s all been made here. “The Americans still
do candy canes,” says Docwra, “but they never cottoned on to putting letters
through it.”
So how do the letters get into it, then?
Firstly, a batch of sugar is boiled in a large copper pan to 295°F
and poured onto a giant cooled table. Any colour is added at this point. By far the most
popular is the classic pink – though the depth of hue depends on the area – in
the East, it’s traditionally a bright fluorescent rose, in the West it is much darker
– almost crimson. Flavour is also added – in most cases, mint. When it is cool
enough, it is placed on a pulling machine which churns it around until it assumes a satiny
sheen.
Now it’s ready for the lettering. Each
letter is formed by a sort of “cut and paste” process using white and pink sugar
mass. This is fiddly – and, sadly, impossible to describe accurately without
complicated diagrams. At this point the
rock is a huge, floppy cylinder weighing about 40kg. It is then rolled into shape, cased
in more pink sugar and pulled again by special “batch rollers” which gradually
make it thinner. The final rolling is still done by hand, before it is cut and wrapped in
cellophane (with a photographic “view” inserted), all done by deft fingers which
have, in most cases, been doing it for over 40 years.
Is it still popular today?
Yes, but in a different form. Seaside Rock has gained a new market –
corporate advertising. “It is the ideal giveaway for companies,” says Stephen
Docwra, “as it has the name all the way through, and it comes with a label
“view” inside.” IcelandAir, MacDonald’s, The Lottery, Daf and the BBC
are all clients. Another growth area is in wedding favours – a bride and groom will
have their names put through rock instead of presenting guests with the more bog-standard
sugared almonds.
Is it only available in sticks?
No – rock has always been
formed into different shapes. Ever-popular are replicas of “Full English
Breakfast,” and, for some strange reason, babies’ dummies. More recently,
Stephen Docwra has been forced to expand. “We now make ladies’ legs
and…well, this line was brought in due to popular demand,” he blushes, waving at
a range of “big knockers” and “willy on a stick” novelties.
Nothing new about that though. The seaside has long been a traditional place
for the British nudge-nudge wink-wink.
 Docwra’s Rock Shop is at 13, Regent Rd, Great Yarmouth.
Tel. (01493) 844 676
It is open
every day and rock-making takes place Monday to Friday. www.handmadechocolates.co.uk
A version of this article first appeared in the Times
|
Everything you ever wanted to know
about seaside rock 
