The Shropshire breed was developed in the West Midlands in the early 19th century from hardy native sheep that roamed upland and heath areas of Shropshire and neighbouring Staffordshire. Sheep of the region were already famed for the quality of their wool as long ago as the Middle Ages. In the mid 17th Century, wool from Shropshire was still described as …“choicest and dearest in England”.

Following in the footsteps of livestock breeding pioneer, Robert Bakewell, farmers in Shropshire set about improving the indigenous sheep. Although their breeding programmes altered certain characteristics – such as removing horns from rams – care was taken to retain high quality wool and heavy fleeces. The meat producing abilities of the new “Shropshire Down” were also greatly enhanced.

This emerging breed quickly made an impact on the agricultural scene: It was popular enough to be mentioned in the livestock schedule for the first time at the Royal Agricultural Show in 1853. By 1860, Shropshires were given their own class at this most prestigious of agricultural events. The popularity of Shropshires continued to grow and The Farmer’s Magazine of the mid-nineteenth century described them as … “one of the most profitable and best of the modern breeds.” In 1882, the Shropshire Sheep Breeders’ Association and Flock Book Society was formed. A year later, the society became the first in the country to publish a flock book of its rams, and so the Shropshire has the distinction of being Britain’s oldest pedigree sheep breed.

The dual purpose nature of the breed, with its high quality wool and excellent meat, led to a great many exports.  Between 1900 and 1920, nearly 7,000 Shropshire rams were exported to all continents of the world where they were used to improve the indigenous sheep populations. Shropshire flocks are still to be found to this day in North America, Australia and New Zealand, and they are also fairly numerous in Northern Europe, where they are used to graze Christmas tree plantations. The fate of the Shropshire in Britain has, sadly, not been as rosy. As wool became less important, the breed lost ground as a meat producing animal to imported European breeds.