Heritage
Look down from Glastonbury Tor to the lush green meadows below. Here you will find the lush grazing and sweet green pastures of Brue Valley Farms. The Clapp family has been farming here for generations. The family can actually trace their roots in Somerset as far back as the 11th century. Parish records show an unbroken line of yeoman farmers, initially in Wedmore , then in Baltonsborough to the present day.
Returning from Australia in the 1920s, our grandfather started making cider alongside his parents' farm on the edge of the Somerset Levels. A small cider orchard remains here to this day. In 1958 our father, Robert Lewis Clapp, added a cheesemaking enterprise to the business, which grew to become the family’s main source of income.
Today, the farms are run by brothers Bob and Simon Clapp, both skilled cheesemakers, with Bob's son Rob responsible for the farm and herd, other family members are closely involved. Producing our cheese by hand in enough volume to meet demand while maintaining a high quality is quite an undertaking, so we now employ 22 people full time on the farm and in the dairy.
There is a family feel elsewhere; our original cheesemaker, Bill Melluish recently retired but we were fortunate that he took the time and care to pass on his skills to his son William and to the Clapp family.
The Brue Valley herd of 490 Holstein-Fresian cows produce one third of the milk needed for the cheesemaking. The balance comes from other local farms delivered direct. The cheesemaking happens at West Town House farm. Two other farms, Burnett’s and Northwood, are used for rearing young stock and growing winter feed.
Brue Valley comprises three farms set on the edge of the Somerset Levels. The lands were originally farmed by monks from Glastonbury Abbey in the 10th century who drained the area with a network of channels which exist to this day. Farmers in the area are still committed to the maintenance of this drainage system to retain the unique features of the famous and beautiful landscape.