Wensleydale Longwool sheep fleeces star in unique exhibition

Wensleydale Sheep: A Handcrafted History has been organised by a small group of passionate individuals within the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders’ Association (WLSBA).

It collects the work of 40 textile artists, with every piece crafted using native, rare breed Wensleydale sheep wool.

The exhibition, which received funding from the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, opens on Sunday in the Handweavers Studio & Gallery, on Seven Sisters Road, London, before moving to North Yorkshire next year.

It is the first of its kind in promoting the unique Wensleydale Longwool fleece and the versatile range of textile crafts for which it can be used, and organisers describe it as a "celebration of rural history, heritage woolcrafts and the increasingly popular and sustainable practice of using British wool in textiles".

"This exhibition will help to highlight the Wensleydale breed as a luxury wool producer," a spokesperson for the association said.

"It will also bring to public attention the wide range of uses of the wool through age-old textile crafts, keeping them alive for the benefit of future generations and encouraging sustainable practices in textile production in a world dominated by a limited use, throwaway culture."

The exhibited pieces vary widely, from hand woven tapestries and knitted lace garments, to felted "wool paintings" and re-upholstered furniture. Almost every piece has been created especially for the exhibition, which is set to travel for two years, concluding at the end of 2026.

The exhibitors are from the length and breadth of the UK, and most have painstakingly hand washed and processed the wool themselves, from a "raw" product straight off the backs of the sheep through to finished articles.

As well as the artworks, historic photographs will be displayed from the WLSBA archives. The photos, some of which date back to the early 1900s, provide insight into the rich history of the breed as well as past farming practices.

WLSBA was founded in the late 19th Century to monitor and preserve the genetic heritage of the breed, which originated from the Yorkshire Dales in the 1800s. They can be pedigree registered as either white or black – though the actual shade of "black" Wensleydale fleeces can vary widely from silvery grey to jet black – and there is a separate register for each colour.

The Wensleydale breed as a whole is a very large framed sheep, with rams regularly weighing up to 150kg. The breed sports a heavy fleece of long, highly lustrous locks of wool with staple lengths of up to 30 centimetres in a yearling sheep before first shearing. Traditionally, sheep are sheared leaving a long forelock, and white Wensleydales have a characteristic blue skin that hark back to their mid-19th Century origin, while black Wensleydales have black skin.

Exhibition lead organiser Jodi Shadforth said: "Bringing the exhibition to fruition has been a labour of love fuelled by a dedication to this unique breed and a desire to show what can be achieved by combining artistic skill and craftsmanship in producing beautiful products from its wool.

"Only by demonstrating its value can we hope to ensure the survival of the breed for generations to come."

The Wensleydale itself can be traced back to a single ram by the name of Bluecap, born in East Appleton, near Catterick, in 1839. Over the decades that followed, the descendants of Bluecap developed into a breed in their own right, being formally named and recognised as "Wensleydale" sheep in 1876 when they were given their own class at the Great Yorkshire Show.

The primary purpose of the breed was originally to improve wool quality and also to add size to crossbred offspring, producing a larger, leaner carcase to cater for an ever growing population.

The Wensleydale was once recognised as the traditional sire of the Masham (Wensleydale ram crossed with a Dalesbred ewe), and while some do still use Wensleydale rams for this purpose, it has now largely lost this role to the Teeswater.

As fashions changed and the country's population grew, the movement towards quicker-fattening continental breeds combined with the drop in the Wensleydale’s use as the Masham sire led to the breed falling into decline. It is now classed as "at risk" on the Rare Breed Survival Trust’s watchlist.

However, the exhibition organisers hope to demonstrate that it is the wool quality that defines the breed and is likely to safeguard its future.

The London leg of the exhibition opens on Sunday and runs until December 6. It will then move to Tennants Garden Rooms in Leyburn from January 21 to February 16, and then go on to the Dales Countryside Museum in Hawes from July 17 to October 18.

There are other venues planned, with dates and venues to be confirmed by WLSBA.

There will be a selection of events for visitors to attend at the venues, with demonstrations of various woolcrafts and interactive workshops, as well as talks by Wensleydale sheep breeders.