Vale of Belvoir to produce true Stilton cheese under the terms of its protected origin status, only one is not located in the area. The vale is the historic centre for the production of this king of English cheeses and until the end of the 19th century all Stilton cheese was being produced within 20 miles of Melton Mowbray. However, the cheese took its name from the Huntingdonshire village of Stilton, where it was served at the coaching inns on the Great North Road. Melton is also the home of the Melton Mowbray pork pie, produced by traditional methods using uncured pork and
Melton Mowbray Navigation recorded as 1730 in the census of 1801. The main cargoes were coal, supplemented by barley, oats and wheat, granite, lime, wool and manure. Coal traffic amounted to 16,781 tons in 1797, although of this, 77 per cent was carried up the canal, and the rest was carried down the canal, so it appears that coal was resold to the Leicester market when prices fluctuated. The Oakham Canal, when it opened in 1802, was never a success financially, but generated extra traffic for the Melton Mowbray Navigation, with around half of the coal passing up the canal continuing on to