Lymeswold cheese facts for kids

Lymeswold cheese was a special type of cheese made in England from 1982 to 1992. Unlike many English cheeses named after places, Lymeswold got its name from a public contest. The winning name might have come from the village of Wymeswold.

This cheese was a soft, mild blue cheese. It had a white rind that you could eat, much like Brie cheese. Lymeswold was inspired by popular cheeses from France. It was also similar to other cheeses sometimes called "Blue Brie." When it first came out, people celebrated it as "the first new English cheese in 200 years." For selling outside England, the cheese was sometimes called Westminster Blue. This was because some people found "Lymeswold" hard to say.

How Lymeswold Cheese Started

The idea for Lymeswold cheese began in 1979. The Milk Marketing Board and a large dairy company called Unigate talked about how to use extra milk. In 1981, they reorganized their dairy business under the Dairy Crest brand. One of their new ideas was to launch Lymeswold cheese in 1982.

The name Lymeswold was chosen through a public competition. The cheese was first made at the Cannington creamery in Somerset. Peter Walker, who was the Agriculture Minister at the time, praised the new cheese. He believed it would help England by reducing cheese imports and becoming a successful export.

Why Lymeswold Cheese Disappeared

An advertising company helped create the idea for Lymeswold. They realized that England didn't have its own soft blue cheese. The idea was to use more milk and fill this gap in the market. They even created the idea of a village called Lymeswold as part of the brand.

At first, Lymeswold was very popular, and people wanted more of it than could be made. Some people think that the Milk Marketing Board might have sold the cheese before it was fully ready. This could have given Lymeswold a reputation for not always being the best quality. Its early success didn't last, and sales eventually dropped.

Lymeswold also faced strong competition from Cambozola, a similar cheese from Germany. Because of this, Dairy Crest stopped making Lymeswold in 1992. They said they "could not sustain demand," meaning not enough people were buying it anymore.

Lymeswold's Lasting Impression

Even after it stopped being made, the name Lymeswold has appeared in jokes. For example, it's been a running joke in the magazine Private Eye.

The cheese was also mentioned in a British TV show called Men Behaving Badly. In one episode, a character named Gary points at someone and jokingly shouts, "Lymeswold!"