Herdwick (sheep)

Herdwick (sheep)

The Herdwick is a traditional breed of domestic sheep native to the mountainous Lake District of Cumbria in North West England. The name "Herdwick" is derived from the Old Norse "herdvyck", meaning sheep pasture.cite journal
last = Bryson
first = Bill
authorlink =
coauthors = Photographs by Annie Griffths Belt
title = Beauty Besieged: England's Lake District
journal = National Geographic Magazine
volume = 182
issue = 2
pages =
publisher = National Geographic Society
location =
date = August 1994
] Though low in lambing capacity and wool quality when compared to more common commercial breeds such as Merino sheep, Herdwicks are prized for their robust health, their ability to live solely on forage, and their tendency not to stray over the difficult upland terrain of the Lake District. An integral part of the cultural identity of the Lake District, the breed is for the most part found in the central and western dales of the region.

Severely threatened by the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in England and Wales, the breed has survived due to the intent to preserve this unique animal as a crucial part of traditional Lakeland agriculture. Still far less in number than most commercial breeds, Herdwicks survive largely due to farming subsidies and the aid of the British National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty.

History

The root word of the breed's name, "herdvyck", "sheep pasture", is recorded in documents dating back to the 12th century. [cite web
title = Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association
url = http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/index.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-10-31
] The origin of the breed itself is unknown, but the most common theory is that the ancestors of Herdwick sheep were introduced by early Norse settlers. According to this, it was brought to the region somewhere between the 10th and 11th centuries during the Viking invasions of western England. Alternatively, a piece of local folklore once suggested that it came from a wrecked Spanish Armada ship. [cite book
last = Ferguson
first = Richard Saul
title = A History of Westmoreland
date = 1894
url =http://books.google.com/books?id=gV4JAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA290&dq=Herdwick+sheep
]

For centuries, the husbandry of Herdwick sheep has been a large factor in shaping the culture and terrain of the Lake District. Topographically, grazing by sheep continues to keep the hillsides of fells largely treeless, and the ubiquitous dry stone walls of the valleys were built to protect grazing land and to confine livestock. Linguistically, many words of Lakeland speech relate to sheep husbandry. The ancient "Yan Tan Tethera" counting system for sheep is a survival of Brittonic counting systems.cite book | last = Brown | first = Jules | title = The Rough Guide to the Lake District | publisher = Rough Guides | date = 2002 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=FGAdAyitVvIC&dq=Herdwick+sheep | isbn = 1858288940]

In the latter half of her life, the children's author Beatrix Potter was involved with keeping and breeding Herdwicks, even acting as president of the breed association for a time. Between 1930 and 1938 she won a number of prizes for Herdwick ewes at shows across Cumbria. [cite book | last = Denyer | first = Susan | title = Beatrix Potter: At Home in the Lake District | publisher = frances lincoln ltd. | date = 2004 | url =http://books.google.com/books?id=eci3pND1iTgC&dq=Herdwick | isbn = 0711223815 pg. 124] Upon her death in 1943, she bequeathed fifteen farms – approximately a total sum of 4,000 acres (16 km²) - to the National Trust, and per her instructions all continue to graze Herdwick flocks.

In the modern era, the main industry of the Lake District has shifted from agriculture to tourism. The subsequent influx of tourists to the District has at times conflicted with traditional life, including the raising of Herdwicks. One Lake District farmer summed the problem up as, "We get 100,000 visitors across our land every year...If just one in a thousand forgets to shut a gate or can't be bothered, that's a hundred times we have to go out and round up our sheep." In the late 20th century, the keeping of Herdwicks became economically unviable without outside support; open market prices for Herdwick fleeces sometimes drop as low as a penny a kilogram (which is about the weight of wool from a single sheep). Without direct monetary guarantees for wool prices from the National Trust, it actually costs farmers a considerably larger amount of money to shear their Herdwicks than they would receive in compensation; the majority of farmers once burned their fleeces as waste products.cite web |title = The secret to farming carpets | publisher = National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty | url =http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-food_farming/w-food_farming-hill_farmers/w-food_farming-herdwick_carpets.htm | isbn = 1858288940] The Trust now acts as a wool merchant itself, thus being able to bargain for better prices directly with the British Wool Marketing Board and operate a Herdwick wool trademark. Most farmers survive through the sale of lambs, as well as both National Trust and European Union farm subsidies. Lake District farmers in particular receive subsidies for operating in a designated Less Favored Area from the England Rural Development Programme. Those who agree to maintain their land in accordance with sustainable farming practices also receive additional subsidies.

The outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in 2001 led to the destruction of many flocks, and to fears for the survival both of the breed and of the typical Lakeland sheep farming industry. [cite news | title = UK begins mass animal burial | work = CNN | date = March 26, 2001 | url =http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/europe/03/26/foot.and.mouth/index.html | accessdate = 2007-10-31] Of the estimated 100,000 Herdwick sheep present before the outbreak, a full 25% were lost. They were not easily replaceable because long-standing herds are hefted so the introduction of new stock to the fells would have required extensive fencing. The call for vaccination rather than culling to preserve what is considered a part of the traditional identity of the fells and moors was led by parties – such as the Duke of Westminster, Earl Peel, Lord Barnard and Lord Lonsdale – who wished to save the hill sheep on their lands. [cite news
last = Jones
first = George
title = Blair puts off use of vaccination in second U-turn
work = Daily Telegraph
date = March 26, 2001
url =http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2001/04/05/nfnm205.xml
accessdate = 2007-10-31
] Many Lake District residents saw the breed as an indispensable icon of the region. Longtime resident and writer for "The Guardian" A. Harry Griffin expressed this feeling:

There are other mountain sheep on the Lakeland fells, notably Swaledales and Rough-Fells, but the hardy Herdwick is the sheep most likely to be seen in and around the Duddon valley, the Coniston fells, the Buttermere fells and, through Borrowdale or Wasdale, up to the highest land in England, the Scafells. More than the old drystone walls that quarter the fells, the packhorse bridges or the whitewashed farmsteads, the little grey Herdwick sheep typify the Lakeland.

If they and their shepherds go, that is the end of the Lakeland where I have climbed, walked, skied and skated for nearly 80 years; of the Lakeland I have written about nearly all my life. [cite news | title = If they go, it is the end of Lakeland | work = The Guardian | date = April 11, 2001 | url =http://www.guardian.co.uk/footandmouth/story/0,7369,471588,00.html |accessdate =2007-11-02]
The destruction of entire flocks meant that the shepherds were forced to undergo the process of again "heafing" (the local term for "hefting") their new sheep to the hills. Normally, ewes teach this behaviour to their lambs, but with no more ewes left acquainted with a particular heaf the behavior had be taught all over again to new ewes, inevitably involving much rounding up of flocks that had strayed over the often inaccessible fells. Unheafed sheep might also cause overgrazing by wandering if they replaced the original Herdwicks. [cite web |url= http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/eng/arca/dettaglio.lasso?cod=630&prs= |title= Ark of Taste|accessdate=2007-10-31 |publisher= Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity ] The Cumbria Hill Sheep Initiative was set up to "reassess the position and circumstances" in the aftermath of the disease; tough government restrictions in order to prevent another outbreak are still in place.cite web
title = Herdwick Sheep Breeders' News
work =
publisher = Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association
date =
url = http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/herdwick_breeders_news/index.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-10-31
] [cite news
last = Jopson
first = Earnest
title = Quite a show...even without sheep
work = Whitehaven News
date = 2007-10-18
url =http://www.whitehaven-news.co.uk/unknown/viewarticle.aspx?c=397&id=554309
accessdate = 2007-10-31
]

Characteristics

Herdwicks are a dual-purpose breed, producing a strongly flavoured meat and a coarse, grey wool. This slowly maturing breed is one of the most hardy of all the British hill sheep breeds, withstanding the cold and relentless rain of the Lake District at heights upwards of 3,000 feet (about 1,000 metres).cite web
title = Introduction to Herdwick Sheep
url = http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/herdwick_sheep/index.htm
publisher = Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association
doi =
accessdate = 2007-10-31
] Most Herdwicks spend winter on the fells, from approximately December to April. They are normally left to graze freely on the hillsides (without any additional feed), but each ewe tends to stay in her "heaf" (the local term for "heft"), the same small area of fell. Due to the rough conditions on fells, lambing losses can be as high as 25%.cite web |title=Topic 2 - Farming |work= Understanding the National Park|publisher=Lake District National Park Authority|url=http://www.lake-district.gov.uk/index/understanding/posters/poster2_farming.htm |accessdate 2007-11-1] This ability to thrive unassisted is part of the reason fell farmers so highly value Herdwicks over much higher-producing lowland breeds. Their grey fleece is not easily dyed, and is coarse, and so is best suited to use as carpet wool. The wool is also an excellent natural insulator; it is possible to buy sheets of fireproofed wool to fit as loft insulation. [cite web
title = Thermafleece: Sheep's Wool Home Insulation
url = http://www.secondnatureuk.com/
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2007-10-31
] Herdwick lamb and mutton has a very distinct taste, and was even eaten at Queen Elizabeth II's 1953 coronation banquet. Herdwick ewes also commonly produce desirable market lambs and mules by cross-breeding with Suffolk, Cheviot, Charollais and Texel sheep.

Herdwick lambs are born black, and after a year they lighten to a dark brown colour (the sheep are called "hoggs" or "hoggets" at this stage). After the first shearing, their fleece lightens further to grey. Rams are horned, and ewes polled. [cite web |title=Herdwick Sheep |work=Breeds of Livestock |publisher=Oklahoma State University |url=http://www.ansi.okstate.edu/breeds/sheep/herdwick/index.htm |accessdate 2007-10-31] For shows and auctions, Herdwicks traditionally have their wool "ruddied up" (the local term for "raddled") with dye. Rams are also ruddied when put out with the ewes to show which have been mated, and the dye is also one method (called a "smit") of marking sheep for ownership. Before chemical dyes became available, this dye was made from either iron ore or graphite mixed with grease. For many years the legal method of identifying a particular shepherd's sheep were notches cut out of a sheep's ear, called "lug" marks – now replaced by ear tags.

See also

* List of sheep breeds

References

External links

* [http://www.herdwick-sheep.com/ The Herdwick Sheep Breeders' Association website]
* [http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-chl/w-countryside_environment/w-food_farming/w-food_farming-hill_farmers.htm Supporting Hill Farming] The National Trust


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Herdwick — Herdwick …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sheep husbandry — Australian Merino Sheep Sheep husbandry is a subcategory of animal husbandry specifically dealing with the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. Sheep farming is primarily based on raising lambs for meat, or raising sheep for wool. Sheep may… …   Wikipedia

  • Herdwick — [ hə:dwɪk] noun a sheep of a hardy mountain breed from the north of England. Origin C19: from obs. herdwick pasture ground …   English new terms dictionary

  • herdwick — n. 1 an animal of a hardy breed of mountain sheep from N. England. 2 this breed. Etymology: obs. herdwick pasture ground (as HERD, WICK(2)), perh. because this breed originated in Furness Abbey pastures …   Useful english dictionary

  • Herdwick — n. robust sheep with thick coarse wool native to the Lake District of England …   English contemporary dictionary

  • Swaledale (sheep) — Swaledale is a breed of domestic sheep named after the Yorkshire valley of Swaledale. They are found all over the more mountainous areas of Great Britain, but particularly in County Durham, Yorkshire and the lower fells of Cumbria. [cite… …   Wikipedia

  • List of sheep breeds — This is a list of domestic sheep breeds. Domestic sheep ( Ovis aries ) are partially derived from mouflon ( Ovis orientalis ) stock, and have diverged sufficiently to be considered a different species.Comprehensive list of domestic sheep breeds… …   Wikipedia

  • Beatrix Potter — This article is about the author. For the sociologist and reformer, see Beatrice Webb. Beatrix Potter Beatrix Potter Born 28 July 1866 Kensington, London, England Died 2 …   Wikipedia

  • Lake District — The Skiddaw massif, town of Keswick and Derwent Water seen from Walla Crag …   Wikipedia

  • Troutbeck Park — is a farm to the north of Troutbeck village in South Lakeland, Cumbria. In 1923 there was a risk of it being sold for development, so Beatrix Potter bought it and kept it as a working farm. She bred Herdwick sheep there, and became president of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”