The Sheep Capital Of Britain - In Baa-Kshire

If – or when – you think about sheep you might be excused for thinking about the rolling hills of Wales or possibly the valleys of the Yorkshire Dales, but in fact, Berkshire has a claim to be the Sheep Capital of Britain

- Bernard BaleBernard Bale

Few counties do not have a fairly large contingent of sheep but Berkshire has always had a big population of these wonderful animals and this year would have been the 400th anniversary of the world famous East Ilsley Sheep Fair to which people – and sheep – have flocked annually.

It all began in 1620 when East Ilsley was granted a charter to stage a sheep fair in the village. It was to become an event that would be second only to Smithfield in terms of an annual fair, but bigger than anything else in the land as a specific sheep fair. Of course, East Ilsley was rather different then. Today the area is seen as quiet countryside but all those centuries ago it was a focal point for both travellers and traders and sheep farmers.

Let us time travel a little and go back to 870 when King Alfred was not yet the monarch but fighting alongside his brothers in a bid to push back the invading forces of the Danes, who seemed determined to take over Wessex but had been stopped in their tracks in Berkshire by a number of serious skirmishes.

One of those fights took place at Ashdown on the Berkshire Downs, not far from what we now know as East Ilsley and was known back then as Hildeslei – which meant battlefield. Even as the battle raged and the Danes were defeated there were spectators – sheep! Yes, the whole place had been a serene but hilly pasture for sheep for years before then and for centuries afterwards.

East Ilsley was an important watering hole – well, several watering holes actually – on the main coaching route from Oxford to Newbury and consequently to London, so what better place to bring your sheep to market?