Teeswater Sheep
It is postulated that there have been three main introductions of sheep into Britian. The first to arrive were probably of brown Soay type, and this type seems eventually to have given rise to the modern white-faced, horned breeds. The next influx was probably white faced and horned only in the rams; this seems to have been the ancestor of the white-faced short-wools and the long-wools. The third type to arrive had a black face, and was horned; this has influenced the modern black-faced down breeds, and its descendants remain little changed as the hill breeds of northern Britain.
Sheep were not domesticated in Europe; they were taken there by Neolithic men who migrated from the Near East. When Neolithic pastoralists first advanced into Europe there was too much forest for many sheep to be kept, and pigs and cattle predominated. While early civilizations were flourishing around the Mediterranean, primitive farmers were gradually spreading through Europe, and sheep eventually reached Britain about 3ooo B.C. when Neolithic settlers crossed the English Channel. Archaeological remains of domestic sheep were first found in the Swiss Neolithic lake dwellings, and were described by Rtitimeyer in 1861. The remains were from small sheep with goat-like horns, a character which suggested that they had arisen from the Urial type of wild sheep. The Urial, which itself has goat-like horns, is the wild sheep of south-west Asia, and it is thought to have been the first wild type to be domesticated. Sheep remains are scarce from the Neolithic period in Britain, but bones have been found in such sites as Windmill Hill, near Avebury, Wiltshire, and in Neolithic levels of Maiden Castle in Dorset. The bones from most Neolithic sites have been from small sheep assumed to be of the turbary (Urial-like, palustris) type. The European climate is not conducive to the preservation of wool, and apparently the only Neolithic textiles that have been preserved had been made from plant fibers.
Sheep became more numerous in the Bronze Age (about 2ooo B.C.) with the gradual decrease of woodland. Few habitation sites have been found from this period, probably because the pastoralists were nomadic, particularly in the hills such as those of the Pennines and the Lake District. This pastoral nomadism stimulated sheep breeding in Europe as much as it had done in the East. Although the accent may have been on milk and meat for food, the wool produced gave rise to the manufacture of elaborately designed wool fabrics. One of the oldest specimens is a piece of cloth from a burial in a dug-out oak coffin found in an Early Bronze Age barrow at Rylstone, Yorkshire,
Long-wool sheep appear to have ancestry from white-fleeced sheep imported to England from the European continent during the Roman occupation, which began as early as 43 AD. Evidence of this body-type of sheep with similar fleece exists as figurines from the continent dating to the second century. It is known that the Romans had a well-organized wool textile industry in Britain, and there is the classical reference of Dionysius Periegetes, about 300 AD, to British wool so fine that it was comparable to a spider's web.
Over time as regional differences developed, they were named mainly from the area in which they had developed, i.e Cotswolds, Lincoln, Leicester & Devon Long wools and Teeswater. The next evidence of long-wool sheep comes from Lincolnshire, appearing as a detailed illustration in the ‘Luttrell Psalter’ written between 1320 and 1340. In approximately 1460, a brass memorial with a curly-fleeced sheep was placed on the Northleach Church, Gloustershire. Originally all of these animals would have had a white face. As the poorer land further up the valleys was grazed by sheep, the Teeswater was used in these dales for crossing purposes. The rams were put to the smaller hill sheep. This produced cross bred sheep suitable for fat lamb production on the more fertile land. Some farmers referred to them as “Mug Tups” because of their facial color.
Perhaps the best source of information about the end of the eighteenth century is Youatt (i837), who wrote at a time when the native breeds of many counties were fast disappearing. He went so far as to say that the old English short-wools had developed into middle-wools (as a result of better breeding and feeding) and that when he wrote, all short wool came from the continent (presumably from Merino sheep). He said that the short-wools had been very widespread and variable, some having horns, and some not. But when he wrote, these had mostly disappeared, and a larger and better sheep had been established by crossing with long-wools. Around 18oo there seem to have been about twenty recognizable breeds as opposed to roughly thirty today, and the first stage in a projection into the past is to attempt to link modern breeds with those of i8oo (Fig. I). Farmers are often reluctant to say exactly how they evolved new breeds, but there are some useful sources of recent history.​
​
There are records of Teeswaters being exported to Tasmania in the early 1800’s. Also around this time Robert Bakewell started a breeding program to develop and enhance the quality of the local Leicester Long wool sheep. In the 1840’s some Teeswater females were crossed with a Dishley Leicester Long wool ram called Blue Cap. These offspring provided the origins of the Wensleydale breed. Eventually the Wensleydale breed became more popular and the Teeswater declined until by the 1920’s the breed was nearly extinct.
​
“Upon the rich lowlands bordering the river Tees in the east of England there was originally bred a tall, clumsy sheep, without horns, and with white face and legs. Their bones were small compared with those of other large breeds, but supported a thicker, firmer, and heavier body than its size would indicate; wide upon the back, somewhat round in the barrel, and yielding a heavier carcass than any other sheep, but proportionally longer in growing to perfection; the meat, however, finer grained than could be expected from such an animal.
The wool of the old Teeswater was remarkably long, rough, and heavy, yet so loosely was it set upon the skin that the fleece seldom weighed more than 9 lbs. The ewes were very prolific, commonly bearing twins, sometimes three at a birth, and cases are recorded where a single animal brought forth 16 lambs in four years.
These sheep prospered most in small flocks, in pastures with cattle.” (Special report on the history and present condition of the sheep industry of the United States. Salmon, D.E. 1892)
Preface of the UK Teeswater Flockbook Vol. 1 by Thomas Addison
​
“The breed was at one time in some danger of becoming extinct. Fortunately a few farmers in the Tees Valley kept the breed alive and distinct for the purpose of breeding Rams for crossing with hill ewes. During the past 20 years the value of these rams for crossing purposes has become better known and it is now appreciated for breeding half bred lambs that have no equal. I am satisfied that for crossing purposes with Swaledale, Scotch, Black-faced, Dalesbred, Lonks and Herdwicks, they are pre-eminent. This is borne out by the high prices realized half bred-gimmers at Auction Marts in Yorkshire, Durham, Westmorland, Cumberland and Lancashire. They are a hardy breed and prolific good mothers. Black lambs have been all but eliminated. Total number of members in the first Flock Book – 185.”
​
“Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry,” Dr. D.E. Salmon. This volume meticulously recorded the “history of the first sheep introduced into the infant colonies, their characteristics, and their improvement,…” through and including the system of “breeding pedigreed flocks and the management pursued of wide and varied experience…”
Revolutionizing Agriculture with American Teeswater Sheep Association
British Teeswaters were exported to North America in the 1800s. “They were bred to some extent about 1808 to 1815, in Burlington County, New Jersey, and in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and attained a high degree of excellence and popularity, and traces of them lingered for many years afterward, until the New Leicester and the Southdown completely superseded and supplanted them.” (Special report on the history and present condition of the sheep industry of the United States. Salmon, D.E. 1892)
Special report on the history and present condition of the sheep industry of the United States
Publication date 1892 by D.E. Salmon
Pages 91 & 92 below
​​
The Breed has struggled to get established in North America. Knowing that the Teeswater fell out of favor two hundred years ago, it is the mission of the ATSA to move the breed forward here in the United States, and not risk losing them yet again to other breeds.
​
In 1996 Teeswater semen was imported into the US and records were kept by dedicated breeders who began using Teeswater semen in 1997. The ATSA Registry was started in 2007 and continues to register white Teeswater sheep in North America. As of 2018 the first flock of Teeswater sheep has been exported from Oregon to Canada.
Establishing a purebred population in North America has been journey with struggles. In short there has been limited semen availability due to outbreaks in various zoonotic diseases in Europe and an extremely difficult USDA importation protocol. Despite all of these difficulties, as of 2018/2019 there are Teeswaters on North American soil that are registered within the UK Flockbook. As a result of using similar long wool breeds as a basis to breed up Teeswater sheep color was a potential outcome of these mating's.
The ATSA did track color in a separate registry until 2020. An assessment of the Teeswater population revealed that there were no colored lambs registered in the last few years. The UK does not recognize colored offspring and has stated that they are not born to purebred Teeswater sheep in the UK population. It is still potentially possible to have colored offspring in the US population as it is a recessive gene and our foundation genetics are still in the genome. The membership voted not to accept any colored offspring as of May 2020.
​
The American Teeswater Sheep Association
​
The ATSA is one of two associations in the United States known to register Teeswater Sheep. The ATSA was founded in 2007, and its registry contains the foundation registrations of Teeswater Sheep bred from 1997 thru 2013, until the formation of the Teeswater Sheep Society of North America. Since the split in the associations, separate records are kept by both associations. While the TSSNA currently recognizes ATSA pedigrees, the ATSA will examine each applicant for transfer/registration from any other North American Registry. TSSNA registered animals can be registered on a case by case basis with the ATSA providing they meet or exceed specific ATSA registration requirements.
​
In May 2020 the Livestock Conservancy listed the Teeswater sheep on the Critically Endangered list.