At Bath Soft Cheese, the farm and the family story are inseparable. Today, the farm is run by Hugh Padfield, the fourth generation to work this land at Park Farm. The Padfields first arrived here in August 1914, and for over a century the family has been farming these fields.
Back then, Park Farm was a small mixed farm of just 240 acres, with dairy cows, pigs, chickens, and cereal crops. Hugh’s great-grandfather would have milked the cows by hand alongside a team of farm workers, while his great-grandmother Lillian made cheese in the farmhouse kitchen—most likely a simple cheddar.
Cheesemaking has always been part of the Padfield story. In those days, it was simply what every dairy farmer did: turning milk that had started to sour, or was no longer sellable, into something nourishing and full of flavour. What began as a practical necessity has, over the generations, become a family tradition—and today, Bath Soft Cheese continues that heritage with pride.
It was in the 1990s that Hugh’s father, Graham Padfield, revived the art of cheesemaking at Park Farm in a more deliberate way. While researching the farm’s past, he tracked down the original recipe for Bath Cheese in an old grocer’s recipe book. The instructions were wonderfully precise: the cheese must be made with full-cream milk, salt should be sprinkled on the young cheeses with the aid of a feather, and the finished cheese should be soft and cloaked in a delicate white mould.
To Admiral Nelson from his father, July 16, 1801:
My dear Horatio, – On Tuesday next I intend (God willing) to leave Bath and tho’ not very strong, yet, hope to reach Lothian on Thursday, as I must remain a few days in London, let me not interrupt any of your engagements.
Recollecting that Sir William and Lady Hamilton seemed gratified by the flavour of a cream cheese, I have taken the liberty of sending 2 or 3 cheeses of Bath manufacture.
I am my dear Son your most affectionate Edmund Nelson
Inspired by this discovery, Graham set about bringing Bath Cheese back to life, crafting cheeses that echoed the traditions of centuries past while using milk from the farm’s own herd.
The years that followed brought exciting milestones. Around 1993, Bath Soft Cheese was officially relaunched, reviving an 18th-century recipe once enjoyed by Admiral Nelson himself. After its warm reception, Graham set his sights on creating a hard cheese.
In his reading about traditional cheesemaking, he learned that farmers of the past would often rescue milk that was beginning to spoil by turning it into a simple curd. The curd would be gathered into a cloth and hung from a beam or placed into a basket, forming a beautiful round cheese. Left unpressed, these cheeses developed a naturally sweet, gentle flavour. It was this age-old method that inspired the creation of Wyfe of Bath, a cheese that remains one of the farm’s most beloved today.
A blue cheese was the missing piece in the collection, and both Hugh and Graham—keen fans of Stilton—set about developing a recipe of their own. Around 2007–2008 they began experimenting, determined to make their blue cheese in the most traditional, hands-on way possible. Curds were formed in buckets, poured into cloth-lined crates to drain overnight, then carefully milled and hand-ladled into Stilton moulds. This gentle process gave the cheese just the right level of compression, creating the perfect conditions for its rich, tangy character.
In 2014, the farm celebrated 100 years of Padfield family farming. That same year brought an extraordinary moment: Hugh received a phone call from the organiser of the World Cheese Awards with the news that Bath Blue had won the top prize—crowned the best cheese in the world. It was a remarkable accolade and a proud milestone for the family.
The following year, in 2015, the Padfields opened a purpose-built, modern creamery at Park Farm—combining state-of-the-art facilities with the knowledge and traditions passed down through generations.
Today, Hugh carries this legacy forward, ensuring that every cheese made at Park Farm is not just food, but a taste of history, heritage, and the rich Somerset pastures.
