About Wensleydale Creamery
Wensleydale Creamery is the historic Yorkshire cheese producer based in Hawes, continuing a cheesemaking tradition that dates back to 1150 when French Cistercian monks first brought cheese recipes to the Yorkshire Dales. The creamery was commercially established in 1897 by Edward Chapman, who bought milk from local farmers to manufacture cheese using traditional techniques. The history of Wensleydale Creamery includes dramatic rescues. In 1933, local hero Kit Calvert led a community effort to save the bankrupt dairy, with locals raising £1,085. When Dairy Crest closed the creamery in 1992, John Gibson led a management buyout that same year to restore production to Hawes. This resilience earned Yorkshire Wensleydale Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) status in 2013. The brand gained worldwide fame through Wallace & Gromit, with the animated character Wallace declaring Wensleydale his favourite cheese. The 2005 film The Curse of the Were-Rabbit boosted sales by 23%, cementing the cheese's cultural significance. Today, the creamery welcomes up to 300,000 visitors annually. The range includes the classic Real Yorkshire Wensleydale (creamy, crumbly texture), Wensleydale Blue (returning to the cheese's original blue-veined roots), and fruit-studded varieties like Wensleydale & Apricots. All are handcrafted by 230 staff using traditional methods. In July 2021, the business was acquired by Canadian dairy giant Saputo for £23 million, but production continues at the Hawes creamery in the Yorkshire Dales National Park. UK supermarkets stock Wensleydale Creamery cheeses typically priced £2-3, offering consumers authentic, PGI-protected Yorkshire cheese with nearly 900 years of heritage.