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There isn’t a cheese shop or a deli in sight in the small village of Stilton, Cambridgeshire.



This might come as a surprise - the famous blue-veined cheese is named after the village after all.



But, as it turns out, it’s against the law to produce Stilton in the village of Stilton.



While Stilton cheese was originally produced elsewhere, it shares its name with the village because it was first sold there.



It's generally accepted that the cheese was brought from elsewhere in the country, likely Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire.

The semi-soft cheese, made from pasteurised cows milk, is known for its blue veins radiating from its centre.



Makers of Stilton applied for Protected Geographical Status in 1996 and production of the cheese has been limited to these counties ever since.

Shailesh Vara, MP for North West Cambridgeshire, told Parliament that EU law banned Stilton from being made in other areas but that myth has been debunked, according to the Press Association.

Mr Vara said: "I am proud that the village of Stilton is in my constituency, but despite a local historian finding evidence that Stilton cheese was originally made in the village, EU rules and bureaucracy have prevented the cheese from being made locally."

Matthew O'Callaghan, chairman of the UK Protected Food Names Association, said it is actually English law that decrees this rule.

"It's actually not EU law which protects Stilton, it's English law, and it was the High Court of England in 1996 that decided that Stilton cheese originated in and around the Melton Mowbray area," he told the BBC.

"It was the High Court's decision that restricted production to Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.

"It matters because Stilton has a history and heritage and the dairies that have been continuously making this cheese for 250 years... have the knowledge and the links to the landscape."



John Smith, landlord of the Talbot Inn, said: “There’s an argument as to where it was first produced, and it’s ongoing.”



The 37-year-old added: “The cheese was originally brought from Melton Mowbray to be sold at The Bell Inn because Stilton was on the main coaching route on the way from London to Edinburgh.



“It wasn’t made here, but it was sold here. Every year you do get some tourists coming around looking for the cheese factory, but there isn’t one.”



“The name’s never going to do any harm. Any publicity is good publicity.



“We do serve it here on some of the dishes. I love Stilton myself.”

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The battle to make Stilton in Stilton



In 2013, The Original Cheese Company sought to have the ruling amended to allow the village of Stilton to make the cheese.



But, despite the best efforts of Stilton campaigner Richard Landy, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs rejected the application.



While the battle to produce Stilton in Stilton rages on, some residents consider the namesake cheese to be a fairly minor part of village life.



“I’ve never even tried it,” Nathan Baker, 21, co-owner of the S Bar admitted. “I’ve been here 21 years, and I've never tried it.



"There’s a guy that’s been campaigning for permission to make Stilton here, but he’s been going through it for years."









The faintly audible roar of the A1 hanging over Stilton is a constant reminder of the thriving village it once was.



Historically, Stilton was a popular stopping place for travellers and traders on The Great North Road.



But, after an A1 bypass diverting traffic out of the village was opened in 1958, passing trade in Stilton was drastically reduced.











“Stilton used to be on the main coaching route from London to York,” 65-year-old Stilton resident Steve Smith said.



“The A1 used to run through the village too. You do get a few tourists but since the road was shut, you don’t get through traffic. That was a long time ago now.”





Falling on tough times



With little passing trade, the village has struggled in recent years.



Clock repairer Marvin Richards, 61, said: “Stilton is going through a bit of a change because there’s lots of things closing down. The newsagents is closed and the Stilton Cheese Inn is closed. I’m just so used to everything being open.”



Marvin’s wife, 67-year-old Carol, said the town should wear its history more proudly in order to attract more visitors.



She said: “We need a sign on the A1 saying ‘the home of the Bell Inn, Stilton', so people think ‘Oh, I’ve heard of that.’”



“At one time, there were 15 pubs in the village - now there’s only three.



“It’s sadly not as much of a tourist destination anymore. I think it would be a big thing for the village if we were allowed to make the cheese here.”

Sonnet to a Stilton cheese

G. K. Chesterton

Stilton, thou shouldst be living at this hour

And so thou art. Nor losest grace thereby;

England has need of thee, and so have I —

She is a Fen. Far as the eye can scour,

League after grassy league from Lincoln tower

To Stilton in the fields, she is a Fen.

Yet this high cheese, by choice of fenland men,

Like a tall green volcano rose in power.

Plain living and long drinking are no more,

And pure religion reading "Household Words",

And sturdy manhood sitting still all day

Shrink, like this cheese that crumbles to its core;

While my digestion, like the House of Lords,

The heaviest burdens on herself doth lay.