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 (Express News, September)
1960 George Wood retires from Brailsford after 35 years. (Express News Summer)
1961 Long Service Dinner at The Edinburgh Suite, Belle Vue, Manchester, staff from Rowsley, Brailsford and Barnoldswick. (LSA Annual Review)
1961 Long Service Dinner at The Edinburgh Suite, Belle Vue, Manchester, Mr R.W. Garratt (Rowsley), Mr A.E. Bainbridge (Brailsford) and Mr Frank Wilkinson. (LSA Annual Review)
1961 Long Service Dinner at The Edinburgh Suite, Belle Vue, Manchester, Mr W.F. Lowe with Creamery Managers Mr David Allsop (Rowsley), Mr J.H. SUTTON (Reapsmoor) and Mr J.R.H. Budibent (Brailsford) (LSA Annual Review)
1962 Joe Wood retired as Brailsford cheesemaker after 41 years. (Express News Spring)
1960's? Brailsford from the air. (Courtesy Alan Salt)
1964 Sheffield Long Service Dinner, with staff from Sheffield area, Rowsley and Brailsford Creameries. From August 'Express Extra' newsletter (Courtesy Paul Luke)
1997 Interesting letter about the history of Brailsford Creamery, from Mrs Marjorie Davies, who worked at the creamery from 1940-46. (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.
1914 Glutton Bridge Dairy. Alan Salt comments "Earl Sterndale and Longnor Dairy Association Cheese factory at Glutton Bridge - Official opening event June 22nd 1914-Many local names i.e. Cundy, Slack, Mellor, Heathcote, Garnett, etc in attendance" (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".
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)
1956 Pipegate Director Harold Wallis retires after 51 years, previous service with Henry Edwards and Son Ltd. (Express News April)
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)
1964 Shrewsbury Long Service Dinner with guests from Minsterley: Miss M. Wright, Mr Arthur Gurden, Whittington: Mr R. Austin and Mr G.D. Shenton, Pipegate: Mr K. Rowley and Ruyton: Mr. A. Jones . From August 'Express Extra' newsletter (Courtesy Paul Luke)
1965 Creamery Closures announced at Holywood, Dumfries and Pipegate, Shopshire. (Express News Spring)
1974 Pipe Gate. Simeon comments "This is one of the few photographs I have found of our local station, Pipe Gate, between closure and demolition. The station was on the North Staffs Market Drayton to Stoke line, and passenger services were withdrawn in 1956. Specials continued to run until 1963 serving the local racecourse, before the line officially closed in 1967. The photograph was taken in 1974 and shows the signal box and the Express Dairy Creamery on the right." (Courtesy Simeon Gaskell)
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)
1957 Matlock Dinner for Dutton Bridge, Rowsley, Brailsford and Reapsmoor creameries. (Courtesy Belper News 27 December)
1961 Long Service Dinner at The Edinburgh Suite, Belle Vue, Manchester, Mr W.F. Lowe with Creamery Managers Mr David Allsop (Rowsley), Mr J.H. SUTTON (Reapsmoor) and Mr J.R.H. Budibent (Brailsford) (LSA Annual Review)
1961 Express News photo competition winner-Mr John H. Sutton (Reapsmoor) (Express News Autumn)
1960s? Reapsmoor Cheese Factory -Mrs and Mrs Mellor's anniversary. Mr Mellor was 76! and was still working at Reapsmoor cheese factory as cheesemaker. (Courtesy Alan Salt)
