Preston cheesemakers Carron Lodge acquire Singletons of Longridge after it went into administration

Family-run farm Carron Lodge have successfully acquired the Singletons premises in Longridge, as well as the majority of its brands, including the famous ‘Grandma Singletons brand’.

Singletons Dairy was founded in 1934 by Dullia and Robert Singleton, whose family has been making cheese since the 18th century. The company had been handcrafting award winning cheeses in the UK for more than 80 years, until they went into admistration in August this year

Following the news that Singletons were entering administration, Carron Lodge say they “had no choice but to act.” Before marriage, Grandma Singleton, Dullia, was from the Rhodes family and used to make cheese for them from a young age. These recipes were handed down through generations to allow Adrian and Annette Rhodes to start making cheese in 1988, and start Carron Lodge.

The company have been based at Park Head Farm in Inglewhite for over thirty years now, and have become renowned in their own right. Carron Lodge is particurarly well-known for its unique Inglewhite Buffalo Cheddar. The award-winning cheese is made from the milk of their home-reared buffalos, and landed them an appearance on a Hairy Bikers episode last year.

Tom Rhodes, Operations manager at Carron Lodge said: “We simply could not see the Grandma Singleton brand disappear from the industry. Not many people know that Grandma Singleton was a relation to the Rhodes family, and therefore this brand was very important to Carron Lodge. Her recipes helped Carron Lodge to start our wonderful cheese journey, and we felt that her legacy had to live on.”

Carron Lodge are looking to put investment into the Longridge site, as well as creating jobs and opportunities to the local community. They say the site will continue as a working cheese dairy with a “real emphasis on quality”, and they also plan to launch some new and existing products for both the retail and foodservice industry.

Carron Lodge have grown 55% in 2021 and this is their third acquisition in 2022, with the acquisition of Cheddar Gorge Cheese Co. and Ribblesdale Cheese Co. earlier this year proving to be a roaring success according to the company.