IN DEPTH
The histories of creameries in Dumfries & Galloway - Holywood and Kirkcudbright
VIDEOS
Watch this illustrated video about Ecton Creamery, served by the Leek and Manifold Railway, constructed in 1904 and was built to a narrow track gauge of 2ft 6in to reduce costs. Ecton Creamery was the mainstay of the railway, where wagons were filled with milk churns, again manhandled at Waterhouses and transferred to standard gauge wagons for transport to London. Later, the railway introduced transporter trucks which "piggybacked" standard gauge wagons through to Ecton. Eventually, glass-lined tank wagons were introduced.
1930's Compliments slip (King George V died in January 1936), showing the Express Creameries at that time: Appleby, Billingshurst, Faringdon, Horam, Rowsley, Frome, Seaton Junction, Leyburn and Brailsford. (Courtesy Keith Sweetland)
Larger scale map of location of Brailsford Creamery. Also shown on 1890's map. (Courtesy Matthew Pinto)
1923 GWR map of Oswestry area, with Express Creameries marked. (Original courtesy Michael Armstrong-Smith)
1800's Brailsford Cheese Factory; milk vats and cheese presses. (Courtesy Universal History Archive/UIG.)
1885 Brailsford Dairy ground plan. Illustration from 'Dairy Farming' by J P Sheldon (Cassell, c 1885)
1900's Thornycroft Steam Wagon at Brailsford Dairy (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1914 Advert for Brailsford Cheese in Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal 05 June 1914 (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1950's? Brailsford Dairy. Alan comments "not sure of the date-later in its life the site became a pottery, now sadly pretty much all gone." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1956 Demolition of the chimney at Brailsford Creamery, Derbyshire
1957 Matlock Dinner for Dutton Bridge, Rowsley, Brailsford and Reapsmoor creameries. (Courtesy Belper News 27 December)
1958 Brailsford depot in Derbyshire
1960 George Wood retires from Brailsford after 35 years. (Express News Summer)
1962 Joe Wood retired as Brailsford cheesemaker after 41 years. (Express News Spring)
1960's? Brailsford from the air. (Courtesy Alan Salt)
2025/ 1950's Brailsford Creamery redevelopment. Alan Salt comments "Brailsford Dairy on the way to Derby-again mainly Derby cheese. At least the building survives and looks like its being converted to offices or housing." John Irish adds "It looks as though the building at bottom left on the old photo is now also the modern office centre. It also looks like they have retained a vestige of the loading dock." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
2025 Brailsford Creamery redevelopment.
Ecton Creamery location kindly provided by Alan Salt
1930's? Ecton Cheese Factory. Alan Salt comments "Churns being delivered, or picked up-parts of the concrete dock remaining now are about the only sign there was ever a dairy there." John Irish adds "The building to the rear with the circular opening in the gable is the former 'clock house' smelter from the Ecton copper mine workings. This formed the basis of the dairy when first opened by F W Gilbert." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1930 Video still from 'A Quaint Little Railway' - https://
1920's? A milk wagon on a short transporter wagon and one of the railway's two bogie open wagons loaded with milk churns. Dalkeith Trade Card No.75 (Courtesy Transports of Delight)
1930c Ecton Dairy. View from river level, one of the churn wagons in the background. John Irish comments "... the wagon is one of only two open wagons that the railway possessed and was usually employed carrying churns." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1930's Ecton Cheese Factory. Transporter wagons in use with main line milk tanks.
1930's? Mainline gauge Rail milk tanker at Ecton, on a narrow gauge transporter wagon. Alan Salt comments "Farmers and contractors would bring milk to Ecton-some may have been used to make cheese but when excess milk was available, or when liquid milk was worth more to the Company, these tankers would take the milk to Waterhouses, then on to Manchester or London. Wilts United Dairies who ran Ecton were doing similar at their Uttoxeter site so these rail tanks could well end up at Uttoxeter for onward travel." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1934 Ecton station, next door to the Cheese factory. John Irish comments "I think that this was taken two months after closure, by the famous railway photographer H. C. Casserly." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1940's ? Ecton Creamery. Alan Salt comments "Most of the old mine buildings and the Cheese factory have gone in this photo, I can remember going in the remains of the little shed-think it finally went altogether in the late 80's, just a bit of concrete base left last time I looked," (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1940's ? Ecton Creamery. Alan Salt comments "Most of the old mine buildings and the Cheese factory have gone in this photo, I can remember going in the remains of the little shed- I think it finally went altogether in the late 80's, just a bit of concrete base left last time I looked," (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1914 Glutton Bridge Dairy. Alan Salt comments "This serious looking crew are being photographed at the opening ceremony" (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1957 Glutton Bridge win the Wensleydale Cheese trophy at the Dairy Show. (Express News March)
1960's Express Dairy-Glutton Bridge, Derbyshire Alan Salt comments "Only a small site but made some good Derby Cheese. The building is still there but a garage nowadays." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1960 Glutton Bridge cheese factory staff. (Express News Spring)
1970c Dairy Crest Hartington. Alan Salt comments "Picture is from a MMB magazine showing John Gilman testing the curd, the article also pointed out that John came to the Dairy from Express Glutton Bridge, Derbyshire".
1959 Independent Dairies Holywood Creamery, Dumfries
1960 Lockerbie and Holywood win at the Scottish Dairy Show. (Express News Summer)
1965 Creamery Closures announced at Holywood, Dumfries and Pipegate, Shopshire. (Express News Spring)
2020's Holywood creamery buildings (Courtesy Hastings Bespoke website)
2020's Holywood creamery buildings (Courtesy Hastings Bespoke website)
2023 Holywood creamery Location (Courtesy Historic Environment Scotland)
2023 Holywood creamery (Courtesy Historic Environment Scotland)
1990's? Holywood station (Courtesy Wikipaedia Commons)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
History of Holywood Creamery and nearby Kirkudbright Creamery opening. (Express Dairy Tales publication)
Holywood Creamery, unknown artist
1949 Land Registry entry for Henry Edwards, land and buildings at Pipe Gate. Matthew Pinto comments "I believe Pipe Gate Creamery was originally built by Henry Edwards and Son, and dispatched Rotanks to supply their Kensington bottling plant. Express took over Henry Edwards and Son in the 1950's."
1954 Pipe Gate Station, near Woore in North Shropshire. Closed to passenger services in 1956, next to Express Pipegate Creamery which had its own siding for delivering milk as far away as London" (Courtesy Steven Harley)
1960's Pipe Gate Station, with creamery and siding on the left. Henry Edwards & Son had a creamery with private siding access at Pipe Gate station. During the 1930's this creamery made use of road-rail tanks which were dispatched to the company's bottling plant near Kensington Olympia, taken over by Express in 1950. Milk trains were worked via the LMS line as far as Market Drayton where they were picked up by the GWR and then ran to London via Wellington. (Courtesy Matthew Pinto, Milk on the Rails)
1960 Pipegate Creamery Dinner at the Crown Hotel, Stone, with a very youthful looking Bill Grisenthwaite. (Express News Spring)
1960 Pipegate Creamery boilerman George Holland describes in poetry the creamery's first dinner and dance at the Crown Hotel, Stone. (Express News Spring)
1960's Pipe Gate Creamery (Courtesy Lin Keska)
1962 Pipe Gate Creamery, employed 70 staff. (Express News Christmas)
1965 Creamery Closures announced at Holywood, Dumfries and Pipegate, Shopshire. (Express News Spring)
Large scale map of location of Reapsmoor Creamery. Alan Salt comments "(Courtesy Matthew Pinto)
1896 Title Page of 'British Dairying' by Prof. J.P. Sheldon, Second Edition. Alan Salt comments "Professor Sheldon was one of the people who helped to set up the first Reapsmoor Dairy - originally called the "Manifold Valley Dairy". J. P. Sheldon was very well known in dairy circles and was a lecturer at The Royal Agricultural College for a while, he lived in a village two miles from Reapsmoor Dairy, and is also buried there."
1914 Alan comments "This report re Reapsmoor Friendly Society mentions Mr Sutton and Mr Wooley, names closely related to the Cheese factory's history .(Courtesy Alan Salt, Ashbourne News Telegraph 19 June)
1920's? Reapsmoor cheeses on display in Leek (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1920's? Reapsmoor cheeses on display in Leek (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1920 Reapsmoor Dairy. Alan Salt comments "Mr Sutton and Mr Woolley cheesemaking-not sure who owned the Dairy in 1920 but the site did become an Express site later". (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1949 Reapsmoor and Rowsley creameries win awards for Derby and Cheddar. (Courtesy South Notts Echo 06 August)
1950's/ early 1960's. Reapsmoor. Alan Salt comments "Express Dairy Reapsmoor Cheese Factory, in the Staffordshire moorlands. The site was well known for its Derby and Cheddar cheese." (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1956 Rowlsey and Reapsmoor memories from Jock Shepherd, Express boiler engineer. (Express News July)
1957 Reapsmoor Creamery-cutting from the Ashbourne Telegraph, 26 April 1957. Mr John Sutton retires as manager after 42 years. Note: 'WA Mell', mentioned in the first paragraph should be ‘W A Bell’ (Courtesy Alan Salt)
