Cheese Course History

In Georgian times, cream was eaten in abundance and cheese was so popular that cheese mongers ran their own fleet of ships to distribute the cheeses from Liverpool to London. Stilton was named after a village near Peterborough. The landlord of the Bell Inn at Stilton was supplied by his sister- in-law, a farmer’s wife who made a variety of cheese now known as Stilton. Back then, it was eaten with a spoon so that you didn’t miss the maggots! Cheese was, for the fashionable set the end of the meal with it being eaten in pieces, or in savoury dishes such as Welsh Rabbit.

Eating is laden with booby traps. Which fork to use? Which glass? Should I use the cutlery laid for my asparagus or my fingers? Finally, and hopefully after dodging the landmines that are buried under the damask, we come to cheese...

The history of the cheese course starts in the beautiful Dairies of the great houses. The Royal Dairy at Windsor Castle, designed by Prince Albert in 1848 is one of the finest, with beautiful tiles from floor to ceiling. “The milk would be brought in, and gone in the settling pans. These pans would have kept cool throughout by water running from three fountains; a mermaid, a merman and a lady holding a jug. The water would have been running constantly under the marble trestle tops, keeping the milk at a temperature where the cream could be skimmed off and taken in the jugs and delivered to the Palaces.” Emma Clarke, Custodian of the Royal Creamery.

Dairies were a huge source of pride on Country Estates great and small, and dairymaids were well known for their beautiful complexions and soft skin. In 1796 it was discovered by Edward Jenner, the doctor who developed the first successful vaccine, that the diary maids who had contracted cowpox were protected from smallpox which killed so many and left those who lived horribly scarred. Dairymaids were so highly prized that one Gentleman in his 70’s with a fine Dairy courted and eventually married the dairymaid.

In Georgian times, cream was eaten in abundance and cheese was so popular that cheese mongers ran their own fleet of ships to distribute the cheeses from Liverpool to London. Stilton was named after a village near Peterborough. The landlord of the Bell Inn at Stilton was supplied by his sister- in-law, a farmer’s wife who made a variety of cheese now known as Stilton. Back then, it was eaten with a spoon so that you didn’t miss the maggots! Cheese was, for the fashionable set the end of the meal with it being eaten in pieces, or in savoury dishes such as Welsh Rabbit. – From The Cheese Course, by Amy Willcock @copyright 2023 reproduced with permission only

Author Amy Willcock is our newest contributor. Amy was the Best in Show Winner for the Etiquette Community in our 2nd Annual Etiquipedia Place Setting Competition. She is most well known for her books on AGA Stove cooking. Her books, "The Aga Bible," "Aga Cooking," "Aga Seasons," "Amy Willcock's Aga Baking," "Amy Willcock's Aga Know-How,"" At Home with Amy Willcock," and "B&B Know-How” are available on Amazon.

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