Keasden

Named after the local hamlet of Keasden, which is five miles from The Courtyard Dairy, the cheese is made from local organic raw milk produced and collected from Keasden — the milk is collected fresh, right after Colin and Alan (his 85-year-old dad) finish milking their 40 cows.

Keasden means “Valley of Cheese” in old English/Norse and would have been called that because, historically, there were so many small farm cheesemakers situated in that valley.
Keasden cheese initially began as an experiment. A one-off batch was made as part of The Courtyard Dairy’s commitment to reviving and understanding historic British cheese recipes, through their micro research dairy and Northern Dairy Seminar series.
But everyone liked the cheese so much, the cheese continues to be made.

The cheese was been developed using a detailed hand-written booklet from 1912 (that can still be viewed in the museum at The Courtyard Dairy).  The booklet is from Courtyard Dairy owner, Andy’s, great grandma, Mary Reid.  Over 100 years ago, Mary apprenticed at the Royal Dairy in Windsor Castle for several years, making cream cheese and butter for King George V, the Royal family and Royal banquets.  Here she learned how to make farmhouse Gloucester cheese as part of her studies.

In 1913 she returned to the family farm in Cam near Dursley and continued to make Gloucester cheese. She continued making cheese until the Second World War, when farmhouse Gloucester cheese died out and recipes evolved into newer production methods.

Four generations later, Andy & Kathy have tried to recapture her traditional methods and recreate an example of historic Gloucester Cheese, with a touch of Yorkshire about it.  Gloucester uses more heat in production and a longer maturation than a Northern-style cheese (such as Wensleydale or Lancashire); this gives it a firmer, chewy-texture and stronger, sharper flavour as it matures for at least seven months.

This product will have two weeks’ shelf life from the date of delivery.  Conveniently, at checkout you can choose a delivery date even well in the future if you would like your cheese delivering for a specific event.