IT IS the end of an era for an iconic Hereford dairy that has served the county for a century and a half.

The city’s Bartonsham Farm Dairy, set on the banks of the River Wye near the former General Hospital has now changed hands to Cotteswold Dairy, one of the largest independent dairies in the UK.

A statement on the Bartonsham Farm website said: “Cotteswold Dairy work with local farms and suppliers in Hereford and surrounding areas, so you can be sure that you will still be receiving fresh and local produce.”

The dairy has been producing and supplying milk and dairy products to Hereford and its surrounding counties for over 149 years, and their milk floats, vans, and printed bottles will be a familiar sight to many.

But it has now been rebranded, with milk arriving on doorsteps in Cotteswold bottles – and the new owners are thrilled.

Cotteswold Dairy processes more than 80 million litres of milk a year and have four different service depots in Cheltenham, Shropshire, North Wales and Hereford, as well as a main production site in Tewkesbury.

It also said it works with more than 40 different family farms that are local to the dairy.

And, the company confirmed, they will be continuing services previously run by Bartonsham Farm Dairies, with a focus on doorstep deliveries.

Cotteswold Dairy director Louise Woodward said: “We are really pleased to have taken over Bartonsham Farm Dairy.

"We will continue to run the site as one of our delivery depots with the plan to build up sales and the customer base, particularly doorstep deliveries which is a valuable service for many customers.’’

The company’s business vision is to become the “Leading Environmental Family Dairy by 2025”.

Anne Millichip, who lived in nearby Park Street in the 1940s remembered unpasteurised milk from the dairy being delivered in milk churns and needing scalding to kill bacteria.

“When the horse and cart started one of the neighbours waited to see if the horse would do his business and then get a shovel to put it on the roses. It must have worked as they had lovely. Happy memories,” the 83-year-old said.

And Avril Morgan remembered milk being delivered to her home by a milkman in a black beret with a horse and cart, before the dairy upgraded its transport to an electric pull-along cart.