Lord Nelson is a wonderful English goat’s cheese made exclusively for us by Neal’s Yard Creamery, which overlooks the River Wye in Herefordshire. The legend behind the cheese name says that Napoleon became so sick of the sight of pyramids after his defeat by the English at the Battle of the Nile that when he was served the French Pouligney St Pierre (famously pyramid shaped), he cut the top of it off with his knife, thus creating the flat topped Lord Nelson.
Charlie Westhead of Neal’s Yard Creamery makes the Lord Nelson using goat’s milk from Andrew and Diane Goodwin’s herd at Wychmoor Farm in Titley, Herefordshire.
Neal’s Yard Dairy began life as an actual dairy in Covent Garden, making a few young cheeses alongside yoghurts and creme fraîche, however, as the business grew, Neal’s Yard Creamery was established as a separate business and moved to Herefordshire in 1996 to do all of the cheese production. Neal’s Yard Dairy continues life as a highly successful shop.
Neal’s Yard Creamery are very small scale producers and keep sustainability at the heart of what they do. The electricity they use is almost entirely generated on site by windmill and photovoltaic solar panels and their heat requirements are mostly handled by their hot water solar panels alongside their custom furnace, which burns local wood. They also have a custom planted wetland system that naturally purifies their drain water.