Ryeland Sheep in Reepham Road - geograph

The Ryeland is one of the oldest English

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

breeds going back seven centuries when the

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s of

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster i ...

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthsh ...

bred sheep and grazed them on the rye

pasture Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or sw ...

s, giving them their name. It was introduced into Australia in 1919 and are classified as an

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

breed by the Rare Breeds Trust of Australia and also are one of the nine heritage breedsHeritage Sheep Australia
/ref> that were the foundation of the sheep and wool industry in Australia. The Ryeland was one of the breeds used to introduce the poll gene (no horns) to the

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

breed in the development of the

Poll Dorset The Poll Dorset, a short-wool, meat-producing sheep, was developed in Australia between 1937 and 1954 with the aim of breeding a true Dorset type sheep without horns. The poll gene was introduced into Dorset Horn flocks from two other polled bre ...

. This breed is raised primarily for meat.

Breed characteristics

Ryelands are docile with high

fertility Fertility is the capability to produce offspring through reproduction following the onset of sexual maturity. The fertility rate is the average number of children born by a female during her lifetime and is quantified demographically. Fertili ...

. Due to their blocky build they are easy on fences compared to many breeds. They are ideal sheep for small properties. Ryelands are also 'good -doers' –

William Youatt William Youatt (1776 – 5 February 1847) was an English veterinary surgeon and animal welfare writer. Life Youatt was the son of a non-conformist minister. He was educated for the nonconformist ministry, and undertook ministerial and scholastic ...

wrote that Ryelands "endure privation of food better than any other breed" and

Sir Joseph Banks Sir Joseph Banks, 1st Baronet, (19 June 1820) was an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. Banks made his name on the 1766 natural-history expedition to Newfoundland and Labrador. He took part in Captain James C ...

wrote "Ryelands deserve a niche in the temple of famine". Ryelands have a smaller head than most terminal sires which makes them a good choice for maiden or

Merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

ewes but they have a fast growth rate and early maturity. In Australia the wool is always white and free of kemp. A coloured gene does occur in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

but appears to be unknown in Australia. The

hooves The hoof (plural: hooves) is the tip of a toe of an ungulate mammal, which is covered and strengthened with a thick and horny keratin covering. Artiodactyls are even-toed ungulates, species whose feet have an even number of digits, yet the rumi ...

are black and they are said to have good resistance to footrot. Naturally hornless, the Ryeland was the major breed used in the development of the poll gene in the

in Australia. The wool resists felting. The staple length is generally , with a fibre diameter of 25 to 28

microns The micrometre ( international spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures; SI symbol: μm) or micrometer (American spelling), also commonly known as a micron, is a unit of length in the International System of Unit ...

.''Preparation of Australian Wool Clips'', Code of Practice 2010–2012, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX), 2010 The fleece on average weighs .

Queen Elizabeth I's favourite stockings

They were considered to have the finest

wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. ...

of all British breeds of the time.

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

was given 'Lemster' wool

stocking Stockings (also known as hose, especially in a historical context) are close-fitting, variously elastic garments covering the leg from the foot up to the knee or possibly part or all of the thigh. Stockings vary in color, design, and transpare ...

s and liked them so much that from then on she insisted only on 'Lemster' Ryeland wool. An Elizabethan observer wrote that 'among short-wools, Ryeland has pre-eminence with Leominster as the centre of its trade'. The Ryeland is featured in David Low's book ''The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the British Islands'', published 1841 and a famous pioneering work illustrating the forerunners of all of the days' most important breeds of horses, cows, sheep and pigs. David Low was a professor of

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

and was concerned that the relatively simple basic concepts of matching a breed to its environment whilst improving its productivity were not understood by the majority of farmers or breeders. With the help of a government grant from Earl Spencer, Low set up the agricultural museum in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and commissioned

William Shiels William Shiels (3 December 1848 – 17 December 1904) was an Australian colonial-era politician, serving as the 16th Premier of Victoria. Biography Shiels was born in Maghera, County Londonderry, a town in the centre of Ulster in the north of ...

of the Royal Scottish Academy to produce these beautiful paintings of all the significant breeds of economic significance in

at that time.

References

External links

The Ryeland Flock Book Society
– UK

– UK
Dolwen Ryelands Home Page
– UK
Ryeland Sheep In Australia
– Australia {{British livestock, R.1 Sheep breeds Sheep breeds originating in England