What a fleece !!!!! courtesy of Oxfordshire Churches on Flickr
As I was researching Devon sheep I found some interesting facts. There are in fact 2 kinds of Devon sheep the Devon Closewool and the Devon Longwool. The Devon Longwool was originally the Devon Longwool and the South Devon Longwool or Cornwall Longwools. Talk about confusion!
It seems that the South Devon Longwool , the Cornwall Longwools and the the Devon Longwool have become one breed. The registries were even combined. They are now the Devon and Cornwall Longwool Association. So for clarity I will refer to them as Devon and Cornwall Longwools.
Where are the front and back? Shared by Give Fleece A Chance on flickr
Devon and Cornwall Longwools are considered to be primitive sheep as there hasn’t been any new bloodlines introduced for quite some time. They are considered a dual-purpose sheep. Both sexes are polled. Ewes weight from 165 pds to 170 pds. The rams weigh in 220-245 pds. I’m impressed these are big sheep!
Ewe and Lamb shared by soupsake on flickr
This breed of sheep is quite hardy and does great with just grazing. They are a bit shorter in the body and more compact than other similar breeds. Devon and Cornwall Longwools are rarely seen out of their original area. As a result this breed is on the watchlist at level 3 for the rare breeds survival trust. Being on the watchlist at level 3 means that there are only about 500-900 known breeding females. You can check out this information and information about other at risk domesticated animals at www.rbst.org.uk.
How cute is this little on with that curly fuzzy face???? Thanks to Bill Boaden of flickr for sharing.
Information from https://www.rbst.org.uk/sitemanager/uploads/attachments/83_gallery.pdf and The Fiber and Fleece Sourcebook by Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius
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Hi, Really like your website and your Cornwall Longwool post. Would you know where in the US one might be able to purchase one of these wonderful fleeces ? I live in the Rhinebeck NY area and of course go to that show and many smaller fiber festivals but have never seen a Cornwall fleece. Any suggestions would be great !
Rob ~
I had picked up some top at worldofwool.uk , however I think you may be able to get some if you don’t mind buying from the UK. This farm http://www.brexworthyfarm.net/index.php?id=11 seems to have fleeces all year round. I’ve seen a few etsy sellers with the top also.