The Yorkshire cemetery which tells the tales of confectionery history

There are the rogues, and the slanderer, and the unsung apprentice who was to make a fortune in the making of Liquorice Allsorts.

A volunteers' project, for the first time, shines a light on Sheffield's confectionery history, with an exhibition, book, and soon guided tours.

"As far as we can tell, there hasn't been any attempt to write a history of confectionery in Sheffield before," said project lead and book author Andrew Littlewood. "It gives this really good insight into the world of the Victorian confectioner right through to the Second World War."

Mr Littlewood is among long-serving volunteers at Sheffield General Cemetery Trust. The project was propelled after a Heritage Open Day in 2021. The cemetery is best known as the resting place of George Bassett, and so there was a small exhibition featuring its three most famous confectionery names. It proved so popular volunteers delved deeper.

"We got the Victorian plans, and they led us on a real treasure hunt," said Mr Littlewood. "There were some really exciting finds."

Examining the stories of 174 graves, they discovered that 112 of them belonged to people who had been active in Sheffield's confectionery past. Many graves from the Victorian period had become derelict in the 1970s, others were covered in undergrowth and hard to find.

Among the tales rediscovered were of Charles and Samuel Butler, family names now associated with Maxons company, still selling high end sweets today.

There's Simpkins, known for the round tins you might find for travel sweets. Annie Elizabeth Burr, who caused a scandal by eloping with a bigamist. Then Reckless, with two sons who got themselves into a 'bit of a tangle' in the courts and had to hide in Australia. And Melhern, a sugar boiler, who opened old fashioned spice shops with rows and rows of jars.

He was a rogue as well, said Mr Littlewood: "The only date that was consistent was when he was born and when he died - at all other times he claimed to be 10 years younger.”

And of course, the Bassetts, of Liquorice Allsorts and Jelly Babies fame. The wider tale, said Mr Littlewood, is even more fascinating, featuring a failed business venture, share swaps, and the apprentice - Samuel Meggitt Johnson - who was to build the business success.

The book also explores the confectionery trade, while the research has been presented to Sheffield archives and libraries for people to explore.

A free exhibition, Sweet Remembrance, has opened at Weston Park Museum to share the hidden secrets, after Sheffield City Council was awarded funds for the wider project from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund.

There are leaflet tours online at www.gencem.org, while a virtual app is set to launch with recordings of an oral history. Later this year, from June, there will be guided tours.

"It's not that we've found everything," added Mr Littlewood. "We just stopped pulling threads, because it goes on and on."