he art of cheese making, perfected by the monks back in 1150, was passed down to local farmers wives who continued to produce the cheese in their own farmhouses. In 1897 a local corn and provisions merchant of Hawes began to purchase milk from surrounding farms to use it for the manufacture of Wensleydale cheese on a large scale.
Back in the 1930's the industrial depression made trading conditions difficult, leaving the creamery in significant debt to farmers and the dairy faced closure.
In 1935 local businessman Kit Calvert rallied support from local farmers, raising enough capital to rescue the only dairy producing cheese in the heart of Wensleydale. In 1966 Kit Calvert sold his now well established cheese business to the Milk Marketing Board. In 1979 the creamery title passed to Dairy Crest and in May 1992 the creamery closed with the loss of 59 jobs.
Six months later, following many offers to rescue the creamery, four ex-managers together with a local businessman completed a management buy-out.
It was then, with the skilled help of eleven members of the former workforce, that cheese making recommenced and Real Yorkshire Wensleydale was produced in time for Christmas.
Over the following years increasing demand for Wensleydale, added-value and speciality cheese
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Every effort is made to make sure that all the information is correct but we strongly recommend that you call Wensleydale Creamery before you set off on your day out to confirm opening times and admission prices.
Please also note that the position on Google maps for Wensleydale Creamery is a rough estimate using their postcode in the database and might be slightly out.
It may also be worth clicking the web link for Wensleydale Creamery to see if there are any special events coming up or currently on.
Dales Countryside Museum