About Godminster
Godminster was born of a passion for organic farming and wildlife conservation. Ever since Richard Hollingbery bought Godminster Farm in 1993, he and his team have been pursuing an environmentally friendly and ethical approach to farming. Their approach incorporates the organic principles to the land and the livestock.
There have been people living and working the land at Godminster, in Bruton, Somerset, for over 5 centuries. Records show that there has been a dairy farm here for over 100 years. Since Richard bought the 600-acre farm, there have been projects for woodland creation and to support wildlife. Godminster has become an integral business in Bruton and part of the renaissance of the town.
Sustainable Farming
With Richard’s commitment to sustainable farming, organic was the only way. The farm was certified organic in 1999 by the Soil Association. With 1300 acres of beautiful landscape, the farm is home to 320 organic dairy cows. It also boasts fruitful orchards filled with a variety of delicious fruits and herbs which inspired many of the Godminster products. As well as the cheddar, and a stunning oak-smoked version of our Vintage Organic Cheddar, we offer a range of delicious gifts to cater for the foodie in your life.
Richard made the first cheddar in 1999 as a thank you to friends and neighbours who had helped in the organic certification process, and once they tasted it, it soon became clear that cheese-making would be the way forward using the milk. The Vintage Organic Cheddar has gone from strength to strength winning numerous awards at prestigious cheese shows across the world.
You can buy our milk both locally in bottles in Devon, Somerset, Bristol, Bath and Gloucestershire. We use the remainder in our organic cheddar production. Today, we sell our cheddar from our shop in Bruton, just off the town centre. The shops has plenty of free parking to support the town. Our sales and marketing teams work from new offices beside the shop. Our finance and operations teams work just a few hundred metres away at our warehouse.
Cheese and Gifts
You can also buy our cheddar and gifts online through this website, or from various independent farm shops and delis up and down the country, and through some other carefully selected partners nationwide, as well 21 countries (and counting!) globally. You will also meet us at various shows and events throughout the year for both consumers and traders – it’s always lovely to meet our customers in person, so do come and say hello!
Our logo represents the cyclical nature of our vision of creating a self-sustaining environment. It’s an environment where our delicate ecosystem can regenerate and flourish, free from the effects of artificial, intensive farming.
The cows at Godminster Farm enjoy a simple and wholesome life and as a result produce a deliciously creamy milk. The freshness of the milk and the sustainable approach to farming is a major contributor to the delicious and distinctive taste of our award-winning Godminster cheese. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Read more about our farm here.