A brief glance through clothing catalogues and online stores reveals a glorious range of innovative and exciting fashions to carry us through the winter months. When we don luxurious items such as shearling coats and sheepskin jackets we perhaps briefly acknowledge that they feel like the warmest, natural material possible, but rarely consider their inception.

One sheep farmer succinctly informs us of the realities:

“What every farmer knows is that sheep are the only creation on God’s earth that are looking for the quickest way to die. You can do everything right and use the lot or get everything wrong and come out smelling of roses”.

During the Agricultural Revolution, great improvements were made to livestock breeding, so that sheep indigenous to a region could be developed and matured earlier in order to yield a better fleece. Prior to this, sheep were often underweight and suffered from diseases. Furthermore, they were often culled in the winter months because of a lack of food. However, with the development of breeding, rearing and farming practices, by 1883, purchasers from Britain and abroad could identify reputable sheep breeders by checking in a ‘flock book’.

Contrary to expectations, sheep shearing is still dependant on the weather. Sheep apparently respond to the changing seasons and after a long sunny spell, begin to naturally produce more lanolin, thereby creating a break between the old and new wool. New wool grows through in a distinctive yellow colour. The terms fledgling and yearling mean new or first hence shearling refers to the first shearing of the sheep. Today, sheep are heavily relied upon for profit.

We are therefore indebted to those 18th century animal husbandry developers that today make it possible for us to revel in high-quality sheepskin jackets and shearling coats.