Sheffield retro: 26 sweet photos of city's confectionery history, including Bassetts and Simpkins

Sheffield is still best known for its steel but the city also has a proud history of making sweets.

Bassetts Liquorice Allsorts and Jelly Babies were born in Sheffield, and the city is also home to the world's original travel sweets manufacturer, Simpkins, and to Maxons, which makes Yorkshire Mixture.

George Bassett & Co, better known as Bassett's, was founded in Sheffield by George Bassett in 1842 and the factory in Owlerton is still churning out confectionery. It is today owned by Mondelez International, which merged it with Maynards to form Maynards Bassetts.

Simpkins has been making sweets at its home on Hunter Road, Hillsborough, since 1921 and today produces around five million every week.

Maxons, on Bradbury Street, Meersbrook, is another traditional sweet manufacturer whose roots go back to 1885.

This retro photo gallery, guaranteed to give you a sugar rush, shows all three firms over the years, including staff at work and play. You can see how the factories have evolved over the years and how the sweets themselves have changed, though in many cases the techniques involved have barely altered.

The images give a fascinating insight into the sweet-making process, showing the sugary treats being boiled, coloured and stretched into shape.

Even the old moulds used to make Jelly Babies, themselves forged in Sheffield, are featured, as is the famous Bertie Bassett mascot, shown meeting younsters in the city.