Dewlay Cheesemakers was founded by George Kenyon in 1957. A keen dairyman, he decided to set up his own cheesemaking dairy in the heart of Garstang. Since then, Dewlay has earned a reputation for producing the very best Lancashire cheese.
Neil Kenyon joined his father after leaving school and carried on the tradition of consistently producing the highest quality Lancashire cheese. With great foresight and vision, Neil moved the business to its current site in 1997, designing and building Dewlay’s dedicated dairy and packing site, nestled on eight-acres of land just outside of Garstang.
Dewlay is now run by third generation brothers, Nick and Richard Kenyon, who are carrying on the fine tradition laid down by their grandfather and father, producing Lancashire’s finest cheese.
Ever wondered where the name Dewlay came from? Dewlay’s founder George Kenyon derived the name from the French ‘du lait’, which means ‘of the milk’. But as he was born and bred in Wigan he pronounced and spelt it Dew-Lay! And so Dewlay came about.
Cheesemaking has a rich heritage in Lancashire due to its lush, green pasture lands. Traditionally, farm holdings would not have enough milk to make a 20kg cheese, so they would make the curd on one day, store overnight and then make more curd on the second day, mixing the two together to create a 20kg cheese. This unique system gave rise to the Lancashire cheese, two-day curd method that is still proudly being used by Dewlay today.
“It cannot be denied that both cheese and butter making involve a great deal of downright hard work, some of which is more or less sloppy and untidy”
Professor Sheldon 1882
Located on the outskirts of the market town of Garstang, Dewlay Cheesemakers produce cheese five days a week from milk sourced directly from our local farmers.
Our team of cheesemakers have a wealth of knowledge, with our head cheesemaker working for Dewlay for over 35 years… so there isn’t anything we don’t know about Lancashire cheese! Consistently producing high quality cheese is what we do best, and all our cheeses are made from pasteurised milk and suitable for vegetarians.
Alongside our dairy, we also have a state of the art cutting, packing and cold store facility. With grating, slicing, pre-pack and foodservice lines, we are able to meet the demands for supplying quality, handcrafted cheese in convenient packs. We can house 2000 pallets; which is equivalent to 2000 tonnes of cheese, in our purpose built cold store, allowing Dewlay to offer a complete farm to fork service.
Our factory is powered by a 2MW wind turbine. Standing at 126 metres tall, it was installed back in 2010 and only took 48 hours to erect. The wind turbine has reduced carbon emissions by 2992 tonnes per annum; this is equivalent to the annual usage of over 1,100 homes.
Committed to continuing the family legacy and history of Lancashire cheese, Dewlay Cheesemakers strives to promote Lancashire cheese, in our local area and beyond, by ensuring it continues to be made in Lancashire using milk from our local farmers.
With our roots firmly planted in Garstang, we aim to support and work with our brilliant farmers to ensure we use only the best quality milk for our products, as quality milk means quality cheese.
Continuing our expansion into new technologies and equipment, we continually aim to look at new packaging and developments, whilst still offering hand-crafted, authentic cheese. We are continually moving Dewlay Cheesemakers forward, whilst remaining true to the ethos of Lancashire Cheese by continuing to offer traditional cheeses on deli counters, so you can experience the theatre of seeing a 20kg waxed cheese being cut for the first time.
Sustainability will always be taken into consideration as we prepare the business for generations to come, so our future is simply to continue producing quality Lancashire Cheese.
The Cheese Shop at Dewlay pays homage to all things cheese and you can find a wide selection of our award-winning cheeses available for purchase. From our best-selling Lancashire range to Garstang Blue and a great selection of territorials and blends, we are bound to have your favourite cheese here! Not only that, we stock a range of delicious chutneys, crackers, spirits, wines and cheese accompaniments, as well as cheese boards, knives, gifts and kitchen essentials.
We also offer pre-booked group tours for social groups, primary schools and coach parties. Please click here for details.
