Hampshire Down
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (September 2022) |
.jpg) An ewe | |
_(cropped).jpg) A ram | |
| Conservation status | |
|---|---|
| Other names | Hampshire |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Distribution | 21 countries world-wide[2] |
| Standard | Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association |
| Traits | |
| Weight | |
| Height | |
| Wool colour | white |
| Horn status | polled (hornless) in both sexes |
| |
The Hampshire Down or Hampshire is a British breed of sheep. It originated in the early nineteenth century from cross-breeding of the new Southdown breed with the traditional tall, horned, white-faced sheep native to the open, untilled, chalk downland of the Hampshire Downs – the Wiltshire Horn, the Berkshire Nott and the old local Hampshire sheep.[5]: 820 It is much used as a terminal sire.
History
[edit]John Twynam, a Hampshire farmer, crossed his then-Hampshire flock with Cotswold rams around 1829. The resultant half-bred rams were compact and blocky animals, and from around 1835 were sold into six or more of what were to become the first recognised pedigree Hampshire Down flocks in the United Kingdom. An important flock was kept at Downton Agricultural College in the late nineteenth century.
The Southdowns had long dark brown or black legs, matured early, produced the best of mutton and a fine quality of medium wool. The original Hampshire was larger, coarser, but hardier, slower to mature, with inferior flesh, and a longer but coarser wool. The Southdown had always been remarkable for its power of transmitting its special characteristics to its progeny by other kinds of sheep, and hence it soon impressed its own characteristics on its progeny by the Hampshire. The horns of the original breed have disappeared; the face and legs have become dark, the frame has become more compact, the bones smaller, the back broader and straighter, the legs shorter, and the flesh and wool of better quality, while the superior hardiness and greater size, as well as the large head and Roman nose of the old breed, still remain. Hampshires of the 1890s matured early and fattened readily. They clipped from 6 to 7 pounds of wool, suitable for combing, which was longer than Southdown wool, but less fine.
The resultant mutton had a desirable proportion of fat and lean, and was juicy and fine flavoured; the lambs were large and were usually dropped early and fed for market. Indeed, the Hampshire may be considered a larger and trifle coarser and hardier Southdown. The breed was occasionally crossed with Cotswolds, when it produced a wool more valuable for worsted manufacturers than the pure Cotswold. In addition to Southdown, the Hampshire likely has a dash of Cotswold blood in its composition. Considerable importations of the breed were made to the United States in the 18th century, but it did not become so popular as the Southdown and some other English breeds.
The sheep have been exported to many countries on all five inhabited continents.[2] The Hampshire Down has contributed to the development of many other breeds, among them the other Down breeds including the Oxford Down and Dorset Down, and also the German Schwarzköpfiges Fleischschaf, the Black-Headed Polish of Poland and the Gorki of the Russian Federation.[6]: 494 [5]: 820
Characteristics
[edit]It is a large sheep: average weights are 80 kg for ewes and 120 kg for rams;[5]: 820 heights at the withers are usually in the ranges 55 to 70 cm and 95 to 115 cm respectively.[7]: 15 The fleece is thick and white, extending over the upper part of the face; the face, ears and legs are brown or black, the skin fine and unpigmented.[5]: 820 [8]
Use
[edit]The Hampshire Down is reared principally for meat. Rams are much used as terminal sires in the three-generation cross-breeding system commonly used by commercial breeding operations.[9]: 75
Ewe fleeces usually weigh some 2.5–4 kg greasy, with a staple length of 60–100 mm and a fibre diameter of 25–33 μm, equivalent to a Bradford Count of 56/60s.[7]: 15 [5]: 820 The wool may be used to make knitting wools or in the manufacture of hosiery, felts and flannel, or for blending with wools of other types.[5]: 820 [9]: 75
References
[edit]
- ^ a b Barbara Rischkowsky, Dafydd Pilling (editors) (2007). List of breeds documented in the Global Databank for Animal Genetic Resources, annex to: The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Rome: Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. ISBN 9789251057629. Archived 23 June 2020.
- ^ a b c Transboundary breed: Hampshire Down. Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2025.
- ^ a b c Breed data sheet: Hampshire Down / United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (Sheep). Domestic Animal Diversity Information System of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Accessed September 2025.
- ^ Watchlist 2025–26. Kenilworth, Warwickshire: Rare Breeds Survival Trust. Archived 21 August 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Valerie Porter, Lawrence Alderson, Stephen J.G. Hall, D. Phillip Sponenberg (2016). Mason's World Encyclopedia of Livestock Breeds and Breeding (sixth edition). Wallingford: CABI. ISBN 9781780647944.
- ^ Michael Lawson Ryder (2007 [1983]). Sheep and Man. London: Gerald Duckworth & Company. ISBN 9780715636473.
- ^ a b David Cottle (2010). International Sheep and Wool Handbook. Nottigham: Nottingham University Press. ISBN 9781904761860.
- ^ Breed standard. Looe, Cornwall: Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association. Archived 15 September 2025.
- ^ a b Susannah Robin Parkin (2015). British Sheep Breeds. Oxford: Shire Publications. ISBN 9780747814481.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Scientific American Supplement, No. 623, 10 December 1887.