"Historic Cheeses" discusses the production of cheese in Leicestershire and the Midlands and looks at how it has developed and expanded over many centuries. This is a must read for anyone with a love for fine cheese! When Trevor Hickman published the first history of Stilton cheese in 1995, he had spent over 30 years researching the manufacture of the 'King of English Cheeses'. He has encountered much opposition from local politicians and cheese makers. They argued that Stilton cheese was never made in the village of Stilton in Huntingdonshire on the Roman road called Ermine Street, but was instead made around the district of Melton Mowbray. In this book the author has attempted to correct this. A blue-veined, pressed cream cheese was made in the town of Stilton by 1721, and it was called Stilton cheese. A different type of cream cheese which developed blue veins was produced in the farm dairies in the village of Wymondham, Leicestershire, before 1600, and was marketed in the name of the producers. Frances Pawlett of Wymondham and Cooper Thornhill, an entrepreneur living in Stilton and trading into London, changed the manufacture and marketing of this world-famous cheese. Another influential individual, Shuckburgh Ashby, an entrepreneur with connections with the banking community in London, began dealing with Leicestershire cheese from Hinckley, Leicester and eventually Quenby Hall. This pressed cheese developed in the Sparkenhoe Hundred in Leicestershire, off the Roman roads known as the Fosse Way and Watling Street. The marketing of the pressed wheels of Leicestershire cheese brought many competitors. In the 1740s Ashby became aware of a new cheese that was being marketed in London, Stilton cheese, which was sold out of Cornhill, London, by Cooper Thornhill. After Thornhill's death, Ashby controlled much of the Stilton cheese trade into London, which was by then being made at Quenby Hall. The production of cheese in Leicestershire and the Midlands has developed and expanded over many centuries. In the 20th century cheese production came under the control of national Government, which stipulated that all blue-veined cream cheese must be produced from pasteurised milk. There was considerable opposition to these controls and protests surfaced again in 1989 when the Minister of Agriculture intended to ban the sale of unpasteurised cheese. The Specialist Cheesemakers' Association was formed in opposition, with Randolph Hodgson as chairman. Nowadays a fine Leicestershire cheese is made near Hinckley and Stichelton cheese is made in Nottinghamshire from the original Stilton cheese recipe. Both are made from organic, unpasteurised milk.

In 1831 Edward Adcock began wholesaling his 'Melton Mowbray pork pie' in London. He made use of the daily Leeds to London stagecoach to convey his pies to the city centre. In 1840 Enoch Evans set up a rival business, and the fame of the pork pie began to spread. The opening of the Nottingham to Peterborough railway in 1847, and the building of Melton Mowbray station, further encouraged the pie's development. A number of specialist bakehouses were commissioned, and one of these specialists was John Dickinson. In the late 1840s Dickinson started making pies closes to the station in Melton Mowbray. In 1851 he leased a shop for the business on Nottingham Street - and the Melton Mowbray pork pie is still made there today. Trevor Hickman is without doubt the greatest expert on the history and development of the Melton Mowbray pork pie, and this lavishly illustrated book is a fascinating record of the people and places associated with the origins, development and production of this famous foodstuff. For this new edition the text has been completely updated and almost 30 previously unpublished photographs have been added.

Oakham, the county town of Rutland, has a fascinating history. Oakham Castle's Norman hall was built by Walkin de Ferrers around 1190, and also houses the famous horseshoes, which were collected from members of royalty and peers of the realm who passed through the town. The impressive tower of All Saints church dominates the skyline from miles around. Rutland County Museum on Catmose Street was constructed in 1794 to be the home of Rutland Fencible Cavalry. Walking around the lanes and minor roads that crisscross Rutland today is still a trip back in time. This unique selection of old and new images, compiled by local historian Trevor Hickman, is essential reading for anybody who knows and loves Oakham and the surrounding villages. Featured alongside Oakham are Cottesmere, Langham, Empingham, Whissendine and many more.

Local history of Hackney