Bath Soft Cheese Co., Park Farm

The Padfield family has a rich and storied history in dairy farming, with four generations of cow-milking expertise. In August 1914, Edward Ernest Padfield took on the 240 acres of Park Farm and started a dairy operation. His wife made Cheddar cheese in a building that adjoined the farmhouse, using the milk from a small herd of Shorthorn cows. The cows were hand-milked in a separate building across the yard.

Fast forward to 1990, when Graham Padfield decided to revive the family cheese-making tradition. He was able to make cheese in the same buildings that his grandmother had used nearly 80 years before. However, production has since moved to a new cheese dairy closer to the cattle dairy and milking parlour, now less than 50 yards away. This ensures that the cheese is made as fresh as possible from the milk of the family's own herd of cows.

Bath has a long history of cheese-making, with the local Bath Cheese being well-known in the 18th and 19th centuries. The recipe for Bath Cheese was tracked down by Graham Padfield in an old grocer’s recipe book and stipulates that the cheese must be made with full cream milk, sprinkled with salt using a feather, and have a soft, white mould-covered rind. Which later turned into Bath Soft Cheese.

Graham has now passed the baton onto son Hugh Padfield, whose passion for cheese-making is evident in the quality of their products, using the milk from their own herd of Holstein Friesian cows to create cheeses with rich, deep flavors.

The Padfield family's long history in dairy farming, combined with their passion for cheese-making, has resulted in a delicious and unique line of cheeses. Whether you're a fan of nutty and sweet flavors or rich, earthy tastes, the Padfield family has something for everyone.