| Decades before Gregor Mendel proposed the "Laws of Inheritance" -- or Charles Darwin expounded upon the benefits of artificial selection -- a British farmer named Robert Bakewell utilized an uncanny understanding of heredity and expertise in selective breeding to break ground in the field of livestock improvement. One of Bakewell's greatest achievements was his Dishley Leicester -- also known as the Leicester Longwool or English Leicester. This hardy, large-framed sheep was widely used as a crossing sire to impart improved carcass and fleece traits to the breeds of its time -- and would provide the foundation for many of the breeds in existence today. |
| Influence of the Leicester Longwool |
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| In alphabetical order, these are the sheep breeds that were improved upon by the Leicester Longwool |
| Apennine Armenian Semicoursewool Beltex Blue Texel Bond Borderdale Brecknock Hill Cheviot British Milk Sheep Brown Headed Meat Sheep Cambridge Charollais Comeback Cormo Dala Danish Landrace Devon & Cornwall Longwool Elliotdale Fabrianese Galway |
| German Blackheaded Mutton German Blueheaded Mutton German Whiteheaded Mutton Greyface Dartmoor INRA 401 Kemieniec Leineschaf LLanwenog Lleyn Oxford Masham Merinizzata Italiana New Zealand Halfbred North Country Cheviot Panama Perendale Polish Merino Polwarth Polypay Qinghai Semifinewool |
| Rideau Arcott Roscommon Rouge De L'Ouest Roussin Rygja Scotch Mule Scottish Greyface Steigar Swifter Swiss White Alpine Targhee Tukidale Welsh Mule Wiltipoll Yoroo Yunnan Semifinewool Zelazna |
| Bleu du Maine Bluefaced Leicester Border Leicester Clun Forest Columbia Coopworth Corriedale Cotswold CVM/Romeldale |
| Ile de France Lincoln Montadale Romney Shropshire Teeswater Texel Wensleydale White Suffolk |
| Lesser known - but also influenced by Leicester Longwool genetic improvement are: |
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