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You are here: Things to Do > History and Heritage > Cheese Rolling in Gloucester
Now officially an extreme sport, Cheese-rolling has competitors heading to Gloucester from all over the world. The Cooper’s Hill Cheese Roll is an annual race held at Cooper's Hill, near Brockworth, Gloucester. It attracts people from around the globe who come to chase a Double Gloucester cheese down the 200-yard-long hill.
The first written evidence of cheese rolling is found from a message written to the Gloucester town crier in 1826; even then it was apparent the event was an old tradition, and is believed to be at least six hundred years old.
Some say it was all about claiming grazing rights on the common and land around Cooper's Hill, others believe it could have been a fertility ritual.
The cheese used is 3–4-kilogram Double Gloucester, a hard cheese traditionally made in a circular shape- the cheese is made by local Cheese maker Mrs Smart. Each is protected for the rolling by a wooden casing round the side, and is decorated with ribbons at the start of the race.
The cheese can reach speeds of up to 70mph, contestants run down the hill - the first runner to the bottom wins and the cheese is the prize.
Cooper’s Hill in Brockworth is near vertical with a 1:2 gradient and is 200 yards long.
Anderson is a from Brockworth and first competed in 2004 at the age of 17, placing second. He won his first race in 2005 and beat the record, held by Stephen Gyde, he has won an impressive 22 races, that’s a lot of cheese!
Florence, who is from Stroud, first ran the race when she was 17 and is the 4-time champion of the Ladies’ Cheese Rolling race. The Cheese Rolling episode of the documentary We Are The Champions on Netflix follows Florence on her journey to victory for the fourth time before announcing her cheese chasing retirement.
Multiple winners are listed below:
Men's Race
Chris Anderson 22, Steve Gyde 21, Steven Brain 18, Izzy (Islwyn) John 13, Ryan Fairley 5, Hugh Atkinson 5, Aaron Walden 3, Jason Crowther 3, Craig Fairley 4, Craig Carter 2, Craig Brown 2,
Ladies' Race
Flo Early 4 (2008, 2016, 2018, 2019), Rosemary Cooke 3 (1953, 1955, 1956), Amanda Turner 3 (1981, 1982, 1983), Dionne Carter 3 (2004, 2005, 2006), Lucy Townsend 3 (2012, 2013, 2014), Kirsty Shepherd 2 (2000, 2002), Keavy Morgan 2 (2015, 2017).