In his publication The Great British Cheese Book, Patrick Rance describes the breed of Old Gloucester cows as “strikingly beautiful with a chiseled profile, long un-swept horns and a mahogany body that glows chestnut red when the sun lights up its flank.”

Thanks to a handful of farmers this local breed can still be found grazing on the Cotswold Hills and the Severn Vale.  In fact, fewer than fifty head of the Old Gloucester breed could still be counted in the early seventies.  The Gloucester Cattle Society was reformed by Charles Martell (Stinking Bishop & Gloucester cheeses) and herds have been regenerated.

Old Ley Court is a traditional working family farm near Churcham on the edge of the Forest of Dean.  Diana & Douglas Smart bought it in 1963 and started producing cheese 25 years later after seeing an advert for second-hand cheese-making equipment in a local paper. Included in the purchase of the vat and presses came lessons in Gloucester cheese-making from the vendor as well as recipes from a long line of cheese-makers going back to the early nineteenth century.

To this day Diana Smart produces both Single and Double Gloucester cheeses in the time honoured tradition.  Now in her nineties, Diana doesn’t think of retiring. Cheese is her passion. Her son Rod helps her in making both Gloucester cheeses and she still sells them in as many as eight local markets each month.

Diana’s cheeses may well be used for the cheeserolling at Coopers Hill on May Day but they should not be thought of as a wheel to be dangerously chased down a steep hill. Smart’s cheeses are recognised as the best in their categories.  

Single Gloucester is known as a “two meal” cheese not because it should be eaten twice a day (don’t let us stop you!) but as it is made from the skimmed milk of the evening session with the addition of the full fat milk of the following morning’s milking. At Old Ley Court, this cheese is just that. Lower in fat, this lean, unpasteurised cheese is lactic and its gentle acidity teases the palate with tangy floral flavours.

In contrast, her Double Gloucester is made using full fat milk from one milking session (single meal) with the addition of annatto. The cheese develops strong yet mellow flavours as it ages. These will be complemented by earthy attributes and hints of smokiness on the finish upon reaching full maturity.

Few turn their retirement pastime into a full time job. Diana Smart’s cheeses have rolled over the hills of Gloucestershire and crossed many borders both on a national and international level. Their place in the counters of many of the best delis and cheese shops is rightly justified.