Conserving heritage British sheep breeds
A short history about British sheep
Sheep have grazed in Britain for thousands of years, providing one of our greatest natural resources - wool. The UK has more sheep breeds than any country in the world - over sixty different breeds cared for by more than forty thousand sheep farmers on hills and lowlands.
But where did it all begin? We take a more detailed look at the history and evolution of sheep and wool.
Timeline
|
Prehistoric |
Primitive man clothes himself in wool from wild sheep. |
|
6000 BC |
Sheep domesticated in Europe. |
|
4000 BC |
Sheep introduced to the UK by Neolithic settlers. |
|
1900 BC |
Wool is spun and woven into cloth in Britain in the Bronze Age. |
|
55 BC |
Romans invade, bringing hornless, white-face sheep. |
|
700 AD |
Export of woollen fabrics to the continent. |
|
865 |
Danes invade, bringing horned black-face sheep. |
|
1066 |
Industry expands with Norman invasion. |
|
1100 |
Wool becomes the backbone and driving force of the economy and the largest flocks of sheep belong to abbeys and monasteries. |
|
1331 |
Edward III encourages Flemish master weavers to settle. |
|
1349 |
Black Death decimates the population, leading to increase of sheep flocks and not enough people to cultivate arable land. |
|
1500 |
England is largely a nation of sheep farmers and cloth manufacturers. |
|
1750 |
Industrial Revolution causes upheaval with new inventions to speed up the processes of spinning and weaving. |
|
1760 |
Robert Bakewell introduces selective breeding – his improved New Leicesters exist today as the Leicester Longwool. |
|
1770 |
Output of worsted from the West Riding of Yorkshire equals that of East Anglia. Manufacturing conurbation begins to take shape – Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Wakefield. |
|
1812 |
Luddite riots – equipment destroyed by organised bands of workers who feat they will lose their jobs. East Anglia, where opposition is most bitter, never recovers. Yorkshire thrives where machinery is more readily accepted. |
|
1847 |
Lancashire & Yorkshire railway stretches across the country from Liverpoole to Goole, providing outlets for exportation all over the world. Yorkshire thrives with local supplies of soft water, coal, sandstone and sheep. |
|
1939 |
Wool Control established so industry can provide clothing for the forces. |
|
1950 |
British Wool set up to collect, grade, sell and promote wool. |
Interesting facts
10 Facts About British Wool
-
Britain is one of the largest wool producers in the world, yielding nearly 70,000 tonnes per year.
- Payments to farmers have jumped to an overall average of 36.4p per kilo for their wool. That’s a 135% increase on 2020 prices, with a further price improvement to come in 2022.
- There is only one farmer in the UK (Lesley Prior) that produces Merino wool (a type of very fine fibre used for clothing).
- There are 45,000 sheep farmers in the UK. Employment in the sheep industry is worth approximately £290 million to the economy.
- 34 million sheep reside in the British Isles.
- Britain has more than 60 different breeds of sheep, 25 of which are rare breeds. That’s more than any other country in the world.
- There are only two wool scourers left in the UK.
- There are many shows that celebrate wool including Yorkshire Yarn Fest in York, Woolfest in Cumbria and West Wales Wool Show just to name a few.
- It takes at least ten processes to get wool from sheep to cloth. They are shearing, grading, auction, scouring, carding, combing, spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing.
- Companies such as Romney Marsh Wool and Izzy Lane commit to using British wool from flock to finished product ensuring a truly 100% British product.