Wensleydale Creamery facts for kids
Wensleydale Creamery is a famous company that makes cheese. It is located in the town of Hawes in North Yorkshire, England. They make many kinds of cheese. Their most famous one is Yorkshire Wensleydale. This cheese has a special "PGI" status, which means it can only be made in Yorkshire. The company is now part of a bigger Canadian dairy company called Saputo.
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The Story of Wensleydale Cheese
The Wensleydale Creamery has a long and interesting history. In 1897, a man named Edward Chapman started a cheese factory in Hawes. He used old-fashioned methods and milk from local farms.
Later, in the 1930s, Kit Calvert took over the creamery. He then sold it to the Milk Marketing Board in 1966.
A Time of Change and Rescue
In May 1992, a company called Dairy Crest closed the Hawes creamery. This meant 59 people lost their jobs. Dairy Crest even moved the cheese-making to Lancashire, which is a different area.
But just six months later, in November 1992, something amazing happened. A local businessman named John Gibson led a group of managers to buy the creamery. They saved it! Eleven former workers came back, and cheese-making started again in Wensleydale.
The company worked hard to protect the name Yorkshire Wensleydale. In 2013, it officially received "PGI" status from the European Union. This means only cheese made in Yorkshire can be called Yorkshire Wensleydale.
Modern Creamery and Growth
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The Wensleydale Creamery moved to its current spot in Hawes in 2015. Today, about 230 people work there. They still make the famous cheese by hand.
In 2017, the company invested £5 million to improve its dairy and cheese-making areas. By March 2017, they had sold over 4,600 tonnes of cheese. The creamery also makes money from exports and from tourists who visit.
Awards and Green Energy
The Wensleydale Creamery has won many awards. At The Great Yorkshire Show's Cheese and Dairy Show in 2018, their Yorkshire Wensleydale won the "Reserve Supreme Cheese" title. They also won many gold, silver, and bronze awards.
In 2019, the creamery started a cool project. The waste from making cheese, mostly whey, helps create "green gas." This gas can heat about 4,000 homes in Yorkshire! A special plant uses a process called anaerobic digestion to turn the waste into methane biogas.
In July 2021, the Canadian company Saputo bought the Wensleydale Creamery.
Delicious Cheese Products
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The Wensleydale Creamery makes many different kinds of cheese. Besides their famous Yorkshire Wensleydale, they also make Cheddar and Red Leicester.
Their Yorkshire Wensleydale comes in several versions. You can find the traditional kind, a smoked version, and even one mixed with sweet cranberries. They also make some Blue Wensleydale.
