With ample rolling green hills perfect for grazing livestock, England had a rich tradition of farmhouse cheesemaking from Roman times until WWII.
Over 90% of traditional cheesemaking ceased with the centralised food production introduced during the war years. Thankfully a number of the most classic English cheeses survived – and many more have been resurrected by passionate producers in the past few decades. Here are the stories of some of the most classic English cheeses, along with a couple of newcomers made in traditional styles.
Cheddar
While over half the cheese in English-speaking countries is called cheddar – squeeze tubes and plastic-wrapped slices are a far cry from the authentic cloth-wrapped cheddar made in Dorset, Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall under the West Country Farmhouse Cheddar appellation. The Somerset village of Cheddar gave its name to cheddaring, the traditional process of stacking blocks of curd on top of one another to drain.
Stilton
Blue-veined, sheep’s milk cheese was once made all over England. In the early 1700s an enterprising Leicestershire woman supplied it to the Bell Inn in nearby Stilton, an important stagecoach stop on the London–Edinburgh road. So word of ‘the cheese from Stilton’ spread far and wide – though it has never actually been produced in Stilton. Today Stilton cheese is made by just seven dairies in Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, and Leicestershire.
Red Leicester
Semi-hard British cow’s milk cheeses are traditionally named for their native counties. Annatto seed was traditionally used to dye Leicester cheese deep orange-red, but it became white during the austerity measures of WWII. Post-war, when dying resumed, the name became Red Leicester to differentiate it from the pale wartime version. Cheshire, Britain’s oldest named cheese, is also often dyed orange with annatto.
Cornish Yarg
This semi-hard cow’s milk cheese from Cornwall in England’s southwest is covered in local nettle leaves, which develop a dusting of white mould. It was created in the 1980s based on a 17th century recipe that Alan and Jenny Gray found in the attic of their old farm – and today it’s made by nearby Lynher Dairies. Its slightly crumbly, ivory-coloured interior tastes buttery and lemony (like Welsh Caerphilly), becoming creamier near the rind.
Stinking Bishop
The rind of this cow’s milk cheese is washed with perry (pear cider) during ageing — a traditional technique once used by Cistercian monks in the region. Created by Charles Martell in Gloucestershire in 1972, it’s wrapped in a strip of beechwood and, although the sticky orange rind develops a pungent whiff, the flavour is milder than the name and smell suggest. Stinking Bishop is actually the name of the pear cultivar used for the perry.
Published 17 May 2026
