Melton Mowbray the base. Stilton cheese originated near Melton Mowbray, and is still made in the town today. Stilton cheese takes its name from the village of Stilton in Huntingdonshire, where it was marketed to travellers on the Great North Road, though no Stilton was ever made there. Melton Mowbray pork pies are made with a specific "hand-raising" process and recipe. On 4 April 2008 the European Union awarded the Melton Mowbray pork pie Protected Geographical Indication status, following a long-standing application made by the Melton Mowbray Pork Pie Association. As a result of this ruling pies made only within a designated
Melton Mowbray Navigation per year in the 1830s. Cargoes benefited from the connection at Syston to the very successful Leicester Navigation. The Oakham canal had never been so profitable, paying dividends of around 3.8 per cent, and lack of water during the dry summer of 1844 resulted in it closing for five months. When the Midland Railway sought to build their Syston and Peterborough Railway, the Oakham company negotiated, and the railway bought the canal on 29 October 1847, with a view to closing it and using part of the bed for their line. The effect on the Melton Mowbray Navigation was dramatic.