Dear Kirwan,
Below is the extra/summary I have with other references as well
"STILTON CHEESE: Bradley first published his recipe to make Stilton in A
General Treatise of Husbandry and Gardening (volume I, 1726, p. 118), i.e.
c. 1721-2. He explained that Stilton was in Lincolnshire on the coach road
to Lincoln from London and that he had received the recipe from the Sign of
the Bell, 'the Man of that House keeping strictly to the old Receipt, while
others thereabouts seem to leave out a great part of the Cream, which is the
chief Ingredient. The recipe ran as follows: 'Take ten Gallons of Morning
Milk, and five Gallons of sweet Cream, and beat them together; then put in
as much boiling Spring-water, as will make it warmer than Milk from the Cow;
when this is done, put in Runnet made strong with large Mace, and when it is
come (or the Milk is set in Curd) break it as small as you would do for
Cheese-Cakes; and after that salt it, and put it into the Fatt, and press it
for two Hours.
Then boil the Whey, and when you have taken off the Curds, put the cheese
into the Whey, and let it stand half an Hour; then put it in the Press, and
when you take it out, bind it up for the first Fortnight in Linen Rollers,
and turn it upon Boards for the first Month twice a Day.'
The same recipe was reprinted when A General Treatise of Husbandry and
Gardening appeared later as a book, in three volumes (see volume I, 1726, p.
118). It was again reprinted, with due attribution, in John Laurence's A new
system of agriculture (1726). Laurence, who shared Bradley's publisher
Thomas Woodward, could not refrain from remarking (quite correctly) that
Stilton was not in Lincolnshire, 'but a great way off in Huntingdonshire'.
Bradley later made some additions to the recipe in The Gentleman and Farmer'
s Guide (1729), pp. 141-4. He explained that the mace needed to be boiled
with the rennet liquor rather than infused, suggested moistening the cheese
with sack, and stated that the perfect Stilton should be about 7 inches in
diameter, 8 inches in height and 18 pounds in weight. (Richard Bradley,
1736)"
I believe the location of the letter(s) to be in the Archives of the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley.
As far as I am aware most of the people claiming to be originators Stilton Cheese do so at least 70 years after Bradley and of course they have a commercial interest in doing so.
Your 'Lord Harley' quote supports Bradleys claim that the outsourced cheese was inferior to the local. As far as I am aware, the Land Lord of the Bell did not produce large quantities for general sale but only for his customers and those who gave him small orders. I believe this happened once or twice a year only and may have been influenced in part by the season/recipe itself and that this informations dates from the 1690's. (I cannot currently locate the source of this information. However I found it in something I read about 3 months ago. When I find it I will post in this thread.).
The statement that "but there is no evidence in Stilton that the Bell ever made its own cheese" does seem to be contradicted by what I have read. I personally believe in the addage "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence". All processed foods started somewhere as a very small scale cottage/farm industry most likely for home consumption. I cannot believe that the dairy farmers (who may also have been innkeepers) of Stilton were the only people in the country not to extend the use of their milk by practicing the ancient art of Cheese & Butter making. That would indeed be a statistical anomaly worthy of investigation in its own right. Was cheese made in Stilton, 'Stilton Cheese' as we know it today? I doubt it, not in the 16th/17th centuries. I think one of the original ingredients was Mace/Nutmeg, an incredibly expensive spice that probably couldn't have been added until it became affordable. Was cheese made in Stilton? Almost certainly on a small scale.
Of course the above just my opinion, which is as valid as the next persons and is not meant to cause an argument, so please don't read any of this as a challenge, its just another point of view, albeit different to the traditionally accepted one.
The one thing I do take exception to in todays world is the EU legislation that now makes it illegal for a person in Stilton to make cheese and call it Stilton Cheese. How mad is that? Long may, the cheese makers of Stilton continue to produce their highly valued cheese in secret and unnoticed by the rest of the world!!
ATB - FS
PS - The cheese room at the Bell was demolished in the early 1980's when the Bell underwent extensive modernization after standing derelict for a long time. It is debateable that the room was not big enough to make much cheese it. It was of some considerable age and was one of the few parts of the Bell not to be rebuilt exaclty as it was using the all the original materials. It had a separate window and door that fronted onto North Street (the old A1/great North Road) and was, by tradition, the place where, in later years, Stilton Cheese was sold from to the passing public.
Added : Another quoted source : Bradley's Monthly Writings of 1721-2 contains references to the Letters of John Warner. This was a monthly Jornal/Magazine that started in 1721 and ceased in 1722 See
http://catalogue.nla.gov.au/Record/3215270