Ancient and Heritage Sheep Breeds
Conservation Breed
Ancient Sheep Breeds
Ancient sheep breeds are likely to be the wild ancestors of domesticated sheep, and their genetic diversity has been studied through the analysis of ancient DNA.
Cotswold Longwool Ancient Conservation Breed
13th Century A direct descendant of the sheep imported during the roman invasion 1st Century AD. Initially from the Cotswolds area, it’s fine wool was ...
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Manx Loughton Ancient Conservation Breed
11th Century Descended from a primitive mountain breed thought to of been on the Isle of Man for more than a thousand years. The word ...
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Ryeland Ancient Conservation Breed
12th Century One of the oldest sheep breeds, said to once of rivalled the Spanish Merinos in the fineness of their fleece. Contemporary Ryelands have ...
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Romney Longwool Ancient Conservation Breed
13th Century Part of the English longwool group. Originally from the Romney Marshes in the South East of England. These sheep are hardy and large ...
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Heritage Sheep Breeds
These breeds have been raised since pre-industrial times. Heritage breeds retain the qualities for which they were bred, from coarse, double-coated carpet wool to fine, elastic wool suitable for elegant garments.
Wensleydale Longwool Heritage Conservation Breed
19th Century The Wensleydale, bread in North Yorkshire, it is one of the finest wools from the English wool group. This breed can be traced ...
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Teeswater Longwool Heritage Conservation Breed
19th Century The Teeswater, bred in Teesdale County Durham. Known for its longevity and prolific breeding ability Fleece Details Breed History The Teeswater sheep is ...
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Blue Faced Leicester Longwool Heritage Breed
18th Century Evolved in the Tyne and Wear area specifically to breed with hardy hill sheep, producing a high quality meat and wool sheep. Sometimes ...
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Jacob Sheep Heritage Horned Breed
17th Century The Jacob sheep breed from American smaller sheep to produce a larger animal for meat. Kept for their picturesque fleece and horns by ...
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Border Leicester Heritage Conservation Breed
18th Century A cross produced by mixing English Leicester (now extinct) with the Cheviot. Large hornless, with characteristic long ears and Roman nose. Fleece Details ...
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Portland Heritage Conservation Breed
13th Century This heritage breed originated from the Isle of Portland off the southern coast of England, possibly the reason it escaped the ‘improvement’ efforts ...
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Modern and Rare Sheep Breeds
Modern sheep breeds are domesticated sheep that have been selectively bred for specific purposes such as meat, wool, milk, or landscape management.
Castlemilk Moorit Modern Conservation Breed
20th Century Developed in Scotland by Sir Jack Buchanan-Jardin, at his estate in Castlemilk. Crossing Shetland, Manx Loughton, Soay, and Wiltshire horn to create this ...
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11th Century Descended from a primitive mountain breed thought to of been on the Isle of Man for more than a thousand years. The word ...
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13th Century This heritage breed originated from the Isle of Portland off the southern coast of England, possibly the reason it escaped the ‘improvement’ efforts ...
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British Milksheep Modern Conservation Breed
20th Century Developed by Lawrence Alderson in the 1960s and 1970s as a high yielding dairy ewe. Many fine cheeses are made from sheeps milk, ...
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