Originally found only on the Llŷn Peninsula, Lleyn sheep today are found throughout the UK and around the world. These very handsome, long-legged, white-wooled and white-faced sheep with cute black noses were once under threat of extinction but have made quite a comeback over the last fifty or so years.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest settlements in Wales were farming settlements. When sheep arrived on the scene is hard to say, but they arrived by at least 3750 BCE, evidenced by the earliest extant sheep bone found in the Penywyrlod Tomb in the Black Mountain region of Wales. For thousands of years, the people of Wales and the Llŷn Peninsula farmed and raised native sheep along with other native livestock. Much of these farming practices would remain unchanged until Robert Bakewell and his Leicester Longwools came on the scene.

For those of you who have read these Know Your Fiber articles in the past, you might recall that during the 1700s, Robert Bakewell was as the forefront of the efforts to rapidly breed and improve English sheep. He developed the famous and much used Leicester Longwool breed, which would go on to be bred with many different UK breeds in an effort to improve them. In the 1750s, the export of Leicester Longwools to Ireland was undertaken to improve native Irish sheep. These new sheep came to be known as Roscommon sheep.

Roscommon sheep were exported to the Llŷn Peninsula in Wales around the start of the 1800s to improve the native Welsh sheep of the area, such as the Rhiw and the Welsh Mountain breeds. The result of these crossings produced a standardized breed named after Lleyn after the peninsula on which they were bred. Why use Roscommon and not the more popular Leicester Longwool sheep? The Roscommon breed carried the Leicester Longwool genetics, and it was easier to ship sheep over the water from Ireland than to transport sheep overland from England. Tall ships had established and frequent routes to move goods back and forth between the Llŷn Peninsula and Ireland, and it was a much shorter and easier journey.

Lleyn sheep became quite popular throughout Wales. Prior to WWII it was the fifth largest breed in the country. They were prized for their wool, meat, and for milk, and it was said that the longer legs of Lleyn sheep made it easier to milk than other breeds. The milk had a fat content high enough that it was popular to use for cheese making and butter. Interestingly, in addition to selling and using butter for food, it also served as machinery grease before the widespread use of petroleum products.

WWII led to a decline in Lleyn sheep numbers. To produce enough food to supply both soldiers and the public, farmers were required to plough and plant around a third of their plowable land – land that had previously provided pasture for Lleyn sheep. With less land for the sheep and a need for greater quantities of meat, it became crucial that the farmers raise as many meat sheep as possible on the land they still had available for pasture. Many farmers opted to switch out the Lleyn ewes in their flocks for the smaller Welsh Mountain sheep, which would then be bred with larger rams such as the Southdown.

By the end of WWII, the popularity of Lleyn sheep was in steep decline. By the end of the 1950s there were very few Lleyn breeders left. The Lleyn was not the only Welsh sheep on the Llŷn Peninsula facing extinction – the Rhiw breed, popular for milking and for living well on poor land went extinct in 1958.

By the mid-1960s, only about five hundred pure Lleyn ewes remained, leading to issues with genetic diversity and the birth of disfigured lambs. In a nod to historical crossbreeding efforts, a group of breeders crossed their Lleyn ewes with Leicester Longwools in 1965. These new genetics may have saved the breed. Around the same time, other efforts to save the breed intensified, with breeders and scientists developing a plant to promote and preserve the Lleyn breed.

As a result of these efforts, Lleyn sheep began gaining increased attention at livestock shows. Farmers across the UK began to add them to their flocks due to their prolific nature, the quality of their milk, and their mothering ability. The Lleyn Sheep Society was formed in 1970, further boosting the breed’s profile. By the late 1970s and early 1980s, international interest began to develop in the US, New Zealand, Australia, and a number of European counties.

Today, Lleyn sheep remain popular, and are easily found throughout the UK. King Charles even keeps a flock of Lleyn sheep at one of his estates in Gloucestershire. International interest continues to grow, and Lleyn sheep are known to be one of the fastest growing breeds in the UK.

Lleyn wool is nice, creamy white wool with a bit of luster to it. With a diameter that averages 31-33 microns it has a medium coarseness, but it also has a hand that is similar to Bluefaced Leicester. It has a good crimp and is a bouncy fiber. The staple length can range from between 2.5-5 inches. This is a great wool to spin on its own or blended with another wool or fiber, and felters love it for how it can quickly felt up while still maintaining a bit of springiness.

Ready to try out Lleyn wool? Check out what we have in stock online and at the shop and make this wool a part of your next project!