It originated in the English Midlands in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, and was a dual-purpose breed, reared both for beef and for milk.
The Blue Albion originated in the county of Derbyshire in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century; it derived from cross-breeding of Southern Wales Black and white Dairy Shorthorn stock.
[8]: 121 During the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 1967 in the Midlands, large numbers of cattle were slaughtered in an attempt to limit the spread of the disease.
This included nearly all the remaining Blue Albion stock, and from about 1968 the breed was considered extinct,[9]: 133 [10] the last bull was registered in 1972.
[8]: 121 Following the breed's extinction blue cattle continued to be seen, these predominantly considered to be crossbreeds with shorthorn and friesian blood although there is some evidence that they included blood from the original breed.