The Whitefaced Woodland sheep has been bred in the southern Pennines from local breeds, the most important of which were the Woodland sheep of the Woodlands district of Derbyshire and the Penistone, after the market town of Penistone.

It is one of the biggest hill sheep--if not the biggest--and both the male and female are horned. The fleece is considered to be one of the best quality wools of any hill breed, but in my experience there is tremendous variation between individuals.

Woodies--as we often call them--are strong and well fleshed and very hardy, they make excellent mothers and I once observed a ewe defend her lamb, even after a fox had killed it, for over a week! We hadn't the heart to take it off her, so she guarded it where the fox managed to drag it, before she beat it off.

Killybawn Nolo a four shear tup

A shearling [only been sheared once] with a three week old lamb. The lamb is "pronking" and in mid flight, hence the arched back!

These hoggs  are ready for their first shearing.

We only put Woody ewes to the tup [ram] after they are a year old. If a young gimmer [female lamb] is tupped too soon, she'll put all her strength into the lamb and won't grow much herself again.

I first saw Whitefaced Woodlands, while I was looking for somewhere to farm, a local farmer was renting off some buildings and I went to take a look. He was drying off the ewes after weaning the lambs. I was impressed by their size and power, but gentle nature.

I bought my first tup in 1986 and put him on to some half bred ewes that that I had bought. Some of my farming friends thought that I was mad! Over the years, the Woody crossed ewes consistently gave us good strong lambs--usually two at a time--and when crossed back onto continental tups like the Charolais or Texel, they give fine butchers lambs too. So in 2001 after Foot and Mouth, we decided to re-look at the business and went fully organic and bought some pedigree Woodies too.

A Whitefaced Woodland ewe and her day old lambs, we lamb outside, but like them to be sheltered, so this one was around the pond.

Woodlands are hardy hill sheep that manage the weather well here.

Then a few years ago, I learned that there had once been another breed of sheep, called the Limestone which was native to this very area and which most informed writers considered to be closely related to the Whitefaced Woodland, but which is now sadly extinct.

I started to look into this breed, and suddenly I found myself looking at old photos that reminded me very much of my Woodies. No wonder Woodies do so well here! But how close is the relationship? My research shows that it could be much closer than some might want to believe!

It can be bleak up the top in winter.

Since 2001, the flock has steadily grown.

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