This year sees us celebrating our 40th Anniversary. It all began with the unexpected arrival of a coloured lamb from a white Leicester Longwool ewe. At this time in Britain, apart from Jacobs and primitive breeds, coloured sheep were largely unknown. The idea that you could have pure-bred coloured sheep from white breeds was unacceptable. The breed societies certainly thought so, and most would not accept coloured sheep in their flock-books.Spurred on by the thriving coloured sheep societies in New Zealand, the idea of a British society was born.
The Coloured Sheep Breeders’ Association (as it was first known) was formed in 1985 by a group of like-minded breeders who worked on blood-lines and genes to establish flocks of coloured sheep, with the added goal of producing the perfect hand-spinner’s fleece. It provided an association for those ignored by their own breed societies, and achieved exemptions from the British Wool Marketing Board to sell fleece direct to hand-spinners. Membership was largely based around Devon at the time, and members met regularly to explore ways of using their fleece.
Today our membership is made up of both breeders and crafters from all over Britain. We are not as large as we once were, and are certainly spread more geographically, but we are still proud to be celebrating our Ruby Anniversary.