history
Welcome to the website of the Southdown Sheep Society, the Society represents the interests of Southdown breeders in the UK and provides registration and marketing services to breeders across the country.
The Southdown is the oldest of the terminal sire breeds in the UK and as the name suggests originates from the native sheep which have roamed the South Downs in the South of England for many hundreds of years.
Developed by foresighted flockmasters into a fixed type in the eighteenth century, the breed has been responsible for the development of many of the native terminal sire breeds, including the Suffolk and the Hampshire Down and in France the Charollais.
Today the breed can be found in the UK, France, Australia, New Zealand and America and many other countries across the globe where its ability to produce high quality lamb has led to it being recognised as the king among terminal sires.
In the UK the breed is undergoing a significant revival as a new generation of breeders firmly focussed on maximising the breed’s commercial attributes has developed the breed into a modern terminal sire.
The breed’s easy lambing, docility and ease of finishing make it a suitable sire for a range of sheep farming systems in all locations and climates with Southdown rams found working in all corners of the UK from Cornwall to Aberdeenshire.
A Century Ago
One hundred years ago the 30th volume of the Southdown Flock Book was published, and the Southdown breed, and the Southdown Sheep Society, were already well known throughout the world.
And one hundred years ago the world was an interesting and very different place.
Here are just a few ‘highlights’ of what was happening in the world in 1921, when previous generations of Southdown breeders were publishing the 30th Flock Book:
Adolf Hitler had become Chairman of the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (Nazi Party) in his rise to power and prominence in Germany
In China, the Communist Party of China was formed with Mao Tse-tung (Zedong) as a founding member
Ku Klux Clan activities had become violent throughout the Southern United States
Russia was in the grips of The Great Famine, one of the worst famines in modern times, due to the failure of crops.
The Irish Free State was created, as Southern Ireland, and in London on 11th November the British Legion held the first official Poppy Day.
Foot & Mouth Disease was prevalent in some countries around the world
