Stinking Bishop

Hereford Hop was created in 1987 by Charles Martell & Son Ltd on Hunts Court Farm in Gloucestershire, just a couple of miles from the Herefordshire border. The farm became home to the Martells in 1972 and Charles immediately began breeding the then critically endangered Old Gloucester cows and making Double Gloucester cheese, followed by Single Gloucester. He also then secured protected status for the Single Gloucester so that it can only be made in Gloucestershire with Old Gloucester cow's milk. Stinking Bishop was created in 1994.

After successfully breeding endangered cows, Charles decided to set himself the challenge of reviving old varietals of fruit trees which were going extinct. He grafted and replanted hundreds of varieties of pear tree and is now growing enough fruit to create cider and perry in the old distilling house on the farm, which dates back to 1600. His famous ‘Stinking Bishop’ cheese is washed in homemade perry.

The Hereford Hop is completely encrusted with toasted hops which are foraged from hedgerows just across the border in Herefordshire.

Alongside saving local native breeds of cow, pig and duck from extinction, as well as grafting and bringing back hundreds of varieties of pears, apples, plums and nuts, Hunts Farm have excellent environmental policies.
They have increased hedgerows by 50%, provided new ponds and seen an increase in bird numbers (87 species of bird have been recorded on site) and surveyed 100 species of plant on the farm which are cared for under a stewardship agreement.
The dairy was re-built in 2007 to include a highly efficient wood burning boiler which heats the dairy by underfloor heating, heats the milk to 40° and provides hot water for cleaning. The wood is either sourced from the farm itself or from just 2 miles away. The dairy have also added solar panels to the roof.