Meat fit for royalty!
by Norman Jones
In the 19th century Portland mutton had achieved a
wide reputation for the excellence of its flavour. Indeed on his visits to
Weymouth King George III always demanded Portland mutton and so did the
Queen's Own Yeomanry during their annual camps dinner at the Gloucester
Hotel.
| In those days it was more normal
to eat mutton than lamb because the other properties of sheep, in
particular wool, made it more valuable to have live rather than dead
sheep. For centuries the people on the
island of Portland largely depended on sheep for their very survival.
The animals were allowed to roam freely on the cliff faces and common
land and in the evening would be folded on the residents strips of land.
There they would be milked from which cheeses were made to support them
during the winter months and to enable them to pay their tithes.
The folding helped to fertilise the strips for
the corn crops and even provided fuel for their fires. The nature of the
grazing was sparse and varied which ensure that the Portland breed was
small and took longer to mature and its meat was consequently highly
flavoured. |
First day out in
the big wide world
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The fall In the mid nineteenth century there were
4,000 sheep on the island, but from that time onwards the numbers declined
to the extent that the last of the breeding stock from Portland were sold at
Dorchester market in 1913. The reason for this decline was due to a number
of factors. The growth of the stone industry in Portland together with the
building of prisons took away much of the common grazing land. Also the
influence of Thomas Bakewell, who introduced breeding programmes to produce
larger sheep and earlier finished lamb, made it impossible for the small
Portland to compete commercially. People were also no longer prepared to pay
premium prices for the highly flavoured Portland mutton. As a result the
breed almost became extinct.
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Now keep perfectly
still
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The rise of the Portland
Fortunately in 1973 a group of organisations recognised the threat of
many of the native farm breeds and the Rare Breeds Survival Trust was
formed with the aim of identifying, saving and promoting any of these
threatened animals. At that stage only 77 breeding Portland ewes were
identified in various parts of the country. A breeding programme was set
up and animals registered in a Combined Flock Book.
The responsibility for supporting this programme
was passed in 1993 to the Portland Sheep Breeders' Group. Their task was
to ensure the breed's survival, to identify its qualities and promote
the breed to potential new breeders. The success of their achievement
was recognised in 2006 by the Marsh Award for Conservation in Genetic
Bio-Diversity, run by the Marsh Christian Trust in partnership with the
Rare Breeds' Survival Trust. |
The submission for this award was made on the basis
of an increase in population of sheep to more than 2,000 animals, a group
membership of more than 100 breeders and for its imaginative research into
the qualities of the breed and its promotion. The focus of this promotion
has been to identify the breed as an ideal sheep for smallholders.
Breed characteristics The characteristics of the
breed are as follows: l It is a small sheep of a primitive type within the
Down Groups of breeds (average weight of adult ewe is 38-40kg) l The face
and legs are a tan colour, typically lighter around the eyes and muzzle.
l The rams and ewes are horned and are heavily
spiralled in the rams, usually with a black line. Horns are much in demand
by stick makers. Wool is creamy white, close and fine with a short staple.
It is highly regarded by hand spinners.
| The ewes normally have a single
lamb. Ewes breed out of season.
lPortlands are a slow maturing breed. Most
animals are not slaughtered until over a year old and as a result the
meat is of excellent flavour.
Commercial potential The commercial potential
of the sheep rests largely in the rarity value of breeding stock, the
quality of its wool and the unique flavour of its meat.
Superior breeding stock command premium prices
at rare breed sales. |
King of the castle
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This year a Portland fleece won the "Golden Fleece"
award at "Sheep 2006" - the national sheep event of the year.
One hand spinner who spins and knits several
fleeces every year gave the following reasons for choosing a Portland
Fleece: "Fleeces have a lovely staple length, locks are strong and crimp is
normally consistent. The fleeces are easy to prepare for spinning in the
grease, they flick card easily without putting unnecessary stress on the
locks. Fleeces always spin up to soft, non-scratchy wool. I find the fleeces
consistent in their shade of white/cream with no problem of patches of
"yellowing."
The skins make excellent rugs and have been used to
make waistcoats.
As a result of its slow maturity the meat has an
excellent flavour and conforms to the renewed interest in mutton. This
combined with a recommended two-three week hanging period and slow cooking
ensures a highly superior meat dish. It has recently been adopted by the
Slow Food movement as a unique product to be saved.
The horns of a four-year-old ram and older are very
much in demand by stick makers and the younger horns are suitable for button
making.
Portland Sheep are very easy to manage.
They are very thrifty and being small can be
stocked at 2:1 compared to a commercial breed and are very suitable for
conservation grazing. It is normally advisable to supply some concentrates
prior to lambing and shortly thereafter. Care should be taken not to
overfeed lambing ewes otherwise ram lamb horn buds can cause problems during
lambing.
Easy to handle Being small the Portlands are a very
manageable size and easy to handle by men or women.
Since ewes have a single lamb there are very few
lambing problems and there are less risks from foxes. Portland ewes are very
milky and are excellent mothers. They can lamb at any time of the year,
which may suit an out of season management requirement.
The Portland is very hardy and comparatively
disease free. As a result of Scrapie testing the breed is very resistant and
mainly ARR/ARR.
The Portland Sheep Breeders' Group was greatly
honoured to receive the Marsh Award for Conservation in Genetic
Bio-Diversity and feel greatly privileged to join a very select group of
unsung heroes from every walk of life. The financial contribution received
will greatly assist the group in further research into the potential of the
breed and its promotion.
lDetailed information about the breed is contained
in a book entitled "Portland Sheep - a Breed with a History" by Norman
Jones. This together with information about the Portland Sheep Breeders'
Group is available on the website
www.portlandsheep.org.uk. Acquisition of
sheep is either at the Rare Breed Survival Trust supported sales throughout
the country or by contact with local breeders who can be identified through
the Breeders Group secretary Tessa Hucklesby 01929 459082 or membership
secretary Michelle Jones 01297 561072.
Reproduced by kind permission from the Small Holder
Magazine (www.smallholder.co.uk)
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