Loddington Longwools

 

• The Leicester Longwool, improved by Robert Bakewell and a number of his colleagues, was a faster maturing sheep than many contemporary breeds. It's longwool and meat found favour in feeding and clothing the 18th and 19th Century population.

• The sheep developed two main centres, in Yorkshire and not surprisingly Leicestershire. The flock is distributed across the United Kingdom and can be also found all over the globe.

• A number of Yorkshire breeders continued to expand their flocks in the 19th and 20th Century and in 1834 the link between the Leicester Longwool and the Coleman family began. The Coleman's Speeton flock became world renowned exporting animals and succesfully 'showing' animals in the United Kingdom.

• A switch from mutton to lamb and more modern breeding techniques saw Leicester Longwool numbers dwindle and the breed is currently 'Vulnerable' on the rare breeds watch list.

• In 2014 Ruth and Phil Jarvis purchased 5 Speeton ewes for Chis Coleman and started the Loddington Longwools flock. The flock has grown to about 40 animals in 2016.

 

• A full article on the Speeton Flock, by Chris Coleman, can be found on the New Dishley website. Click here

 

• The article details the movement of sheep from Leicestershire to Yorshire and the formation of the Speeton flock.

 

• You can view pictures of our flock here

 

• You can contact us here