The  Vale of Berkeley  is a tract of rich pasture land at the Southern end of the Severn Vale stretching between the east bank of the Severn and a range of hills running almost parallel a few miles further inland. The actual township of  Berkeley,  was built on a small hill on the Little Avon River, which flows into the Severn. In Medieval times, it was significant as both a port and one of the oldest market towns, and is well known for Berkeley Castle, an ancient Norman fortress, completed in the 12th century. The region is famous for its dairy farms and cheese - especially  Double Berkeley  or  Double Gloucester  which is made from the milk of the Old Gloucester breed of cattle.

Gloucester cattle were traditionally bred for both dairy and beef production and in earlier times were also used as draft oxen, being both strong and docile animals. They are a deep reddish brown colour with a distinctive white stripe down their back, a white belly and tail. Cows were hand milked - usually a woman’s job - and the milk would be hand separated, the cream churned for butter and cheese. Their milk had small fat globules and a high protein content, which made it ideally suited to cheese production.

There were actually two types of cheese produced in the area; Double and Single Gloucester. The prized Double Gloucester cheese was made from the rich full cream milk to produce a hard, coloured cheese with a stronger, more savoury flavour. It was aged longer than Single Gloucester and was more durable. As such, it was sold nationally and even frequently exported to the American colonies during the 1700’s.

Single Gloucester was a thinner, more crumbly form of cheese, with a lower fat content. It was made from part skimmed milk after the butterfat had been removed for butter making, or from what was considered inferior quality milk due to the cattle being on poorer pastures or feed.

Double and Single Gloucester Cheeses

It was in the dairying community of Berkeley in the late 1700's, that local GP, Dr Edward Jenner, noticed that milk maids seemed to have an immunity against small pox, a major killer at the time, particularly among children. He made the connection that a dose of cow pox - a much milder form of the disease - created immunity against the more virulent human strain. This led to his development of the small pox vaccine, the eventual eradication of the disease worldwide and the genesis of the science of immunology. He coined the word ‘vaccine’ from the Latin word for cow - ‘vacca’ and is credited with having saved more human lives than anyone else in history.

Dr Edward Jenner Dr Jenner's home in Berkeley, now a museum

Jenner’s father was the vicar of Berkeley for 26 years, and would have conducted numerous christenings, weddings and funerals for our ancestors and relatives. St Mary’s Church is where most were married and its little cemetery is also their final resting place.

St Mary's Church, Berkeley