How did it all start?

It would be nice to be able to say that the event is “as old as the village” or that its origins have been lost in “the mists of time” but really no one knows how far back the tradition of rolling cheese goes.

By mid-20th Century, Stilton had become a rather quiet place having been by-passed by the A1. The inns and businesses had seen a big drop in their trade, so an enterprising landlord of The Talbot Inn decided to revive an ancient tradition. Or so he told everyone! He could be seen rolling a Stilton Cheese along the road outside his pub. People came to stand and watch and eventually joined in. And so the sport began – again. Teaming up with the landlord of The Bell it became a competition between the 2 pubs before eventually evolving into a village wide competition.

In the competition, teams of four rolling cheese along 50 meters, they start in the High Street and roll to Church Street where the  finish line  is. Teams can not kick or throw their cheese or invade their opponents route, teams can be men or women and each team member has to roll the cheese at least once during the competition. The cheeses are actually sections of painted telegraph poles. It was found out in the early years that there was just a pile of crumbs by the time the finish line was reached. Participants are encouraged to use colourful clothes or fancy dress. The prizes in the festival  include: a whole Stilton cheese and beer to the team winner. A whole stilton cheese is donated by The Stilton Cheese Makers Association, and crates of beer from the local pubs.

Sadly, the last full on event was held in 2017 and was cancelled from then on due to increased insurance cost, security issues and only 2 teams entering for that year.

A smaller version was resurrected for 2024 at the village Pavilion but was limited in space for the course. Perhaps eventually it may grow again to the large scale festival it once was.

Click here for videos of the event.

Robbie Coltrane and Warwick Davis at the Cheese Rolling 2007