Down breed
Staple: 6-10 cm
24.5-32.5 microns
[1]Conservation Breed
Rare breed timeline
·
1973
Shropshire Sheep numbers 'critical' on the RBST's watch list
·
1984
Increasing numbers mean Shropshires move to the watch list 'endangered'
category
·
1991
Shropshires move further to 'at risk' on the watch list
·
2005
More increases see Shropshires move to 'minority breed'
·
2013
Shropshires removed from the conservation watch list
Shropshire Sheep are the oldest breed of
British farm livestock to have officially recorded pedigrees. Descendants can
be traced back to 1792, where Morfe Common sheep were found grazing the rolling
pasturelands of Shrewsbury in Shropshire County, England. The native Longmynd
also contributed to its ancestry, as well as the Cannock Chase, Whittington
Heath and Clun Forest.
Originating from the
hills of Shropshire and North Staffordshire, England, during the 1840s, the breeders in the area used the local horned black-faced sheep
and crossed them with a few breeds of white-faced sheep. Southdown (to breed
out coarseness and horns), Cotswold, and Leicester (to improve size and wool
length). This produced a medium-sized polled (hornless) sheep that produced
good wool and meat. In 1855 the first Shropshires were imported into the US and
was primarily raised for meat.
The breed's adaptability
to most environments and their dual-purpose nature led to them quickly becoming
a popular breed.
1940s US breeders began
producing Shropshires with more wool cover and decreased size which led to
problems resulting with loss of popularity to becoming increasingly rare around
the world, even in its homeland. By the 1950’s they were again being bred back
to their original popular traits. Today the traditional Shropshire sheep is
considered a rare breed in most countries. Canada's Heritage Shropshire sheep are
close to extinction with less than 125 registered breeding animals remaining.
The Fiber: Shropshires
are covered with fine, dense wool, elastic to touch, medium fine, well crimped, with evenness of texture throughout. Shropshire are primarily white and free from black fiber. Coloured strains exsist
My
Spinning Experience: [2] My
sample was
from a coloured strain. A pleasant medium soft, shorter staple spin with
resulting next-to-Princess-skin softness of yarn
[1] Whilst
this breed was on the conservation list, at time of spinning and initial research, Shropshires had just
been removed from the conservation watch list . The Shropshire Sheep Breeders'
Association welcomed the news and confirmed the breeding population had
increased from fewer than 500 in the early 1970s to over 3,000 in 2012. This is
an increase of 500%
[2] A lot of my British Breed samples were obtained through Caroline’s Etsy store, Woolforbrains
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