Wiltshire Horn

The Wiltshire Horn was until the eighteenth century one of the predominant sheep breeds of southern England.

[3] For hundreds of years, it served a clear function on the thin chalk soils of the Wiltshire Downs, requiring little shelter from the elements and providing dung and urine to fertilise the wheat-growing land.

At the same time, it provided an easily managed source of quality meat, but the rising price of wool and a general move away from horned sheep had the breed suffer a dramatic decline throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

[4] Until the 20th century, the breed was chiefly traded at local events such as the Westbury Hill Fair.

[4] No longer a rare breed, the Wiltshire Horn is proving its worth to three particular groups of producers: