The whole process of
shearing sheep is quite arduous. I was offered the chance
to go and see first hand how the experts do it.
I was kindly invited to John Spensley's Manor Farm,
where Marcus Preston presided as the shearer.
Sheep shearing and wool production have always played
an important role in the UK's sheep industry over the
last six thousand years. The earliest sheep had pigmented
coats and moulted, allowing farmers to collect the fallen
wool: however breeds developed with improved wool characteristics.
By the middle ages wool was the UK's most important
output being exported throughout Europe. Later, as exports
declined, production was used domestically in the fast
growing cloth industries.
Wool is a modified form of hair that grows with a waviness
(called the crimp) which is characteristic of the breed
of sheep. Fleeces of British sheep can be classified
into three main types: carpet wools, down wools and
long wools, each with differing end uses.
Sheep are either sheared in the early summer months,
or immediately prior to winter housing. Since sheep
breeds no longer naturally moult, shearing is necessary
to prevent the animal from overheating either when indoors,
or outside during hot summer months. When shorn, sheep
are also much less prone to fly strike.
Sheep are usually shorn on a wooden board that can easily
be cleaned through the shearing process to avoid faecal
contamination of the fleece. Fleeces can also be spoiled
by marker paint, brambles and other contaminants - all
of which lower the value.
The shorn fleece is carefully rolled and tied by its
own wool before being placed in a woolsack. Indoor shearing
uses a woolsack supported by a frame for easier filling.
Most wool in the UK is marketed through The British
Wool Marketing Board which co-ordinates the collection
and sale of wool from around 70,000 registered producers.
Wool is graded, pooled and sold throughout the year
at public auction, some, live online.
Wool is an extremely versatile product that lends itself
to use in clothing and carpets. Wool is wear resistant,
provides good insulative properties as well as being
able to absorb up to 30% of its own weight in moisture
without feeling wet. Despite these qualities, wool has
been widely displaced by the use of cheaper synthetic
fibres.
Wool is now a premium product but for much of the last
6000 years it has been the mainstay of clothing in all
grades and qualities.
Grateful thanks to Mr. Marcus Preston
and to J & A Spensley of Manor Farm Thorlby.
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