White was writing from Ringmer, where he often stayed with his aunt and her ancient tortoise, Timothy, the long-suffering recipient of various experiments by the inquisitive Hampshire vicar.
The visits also facilitated his observations on the distinctive hornless (or polled) sheep, black-faced and with a white tuft of wool on their foreheads, that grazed the eastern ranges of the Downs across East and West Sussex. Different from the coarser, horned animals further west, these were Southdown sheep, later famous around the world.
As his walks took him up Mount Caburn, the striking, wedge-shaped hill that rises above the Lewes brooks, White almost certainly saw the Southdown flocks of the Ellman family, shortly to be inherited by the breed’s great improver, John Ellman (1753–1832), on succeeding his father to his Glynde farm tenancy in East Sussex in 1780.
The Southdowns were the linear descendants of sheep that had been grazing the Downs since Neolithic times. Even in the 13th century, the flocks on the hills running from Lewes eastwards to Eastbourne were noted for the quality of their wool. Ellman, however, whose farm complex was in a fold of the hills directly west of Glynde Place, also wanted to improve it as a sweet mutton animal. His selective breeding programme focused on using rams and ewes noted for the quality of their wool and carcass shape.
Esta historia es de la edición February 23, 2022 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición February 23, 2022 de Country Life UK.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery