Chilton Wensleydales
Our small flock of Wensleydales, a native breed of English sheep originating from Yorkshire and known for their wool, have been grazing the pastures of Chilton Grounds for a few years now. Following a lifelong love of natural fibres, Diana was given her first Wensleydales as a birthday present and after a good first year of lambs and the high quality of their fleece, the flock has expanded. They are a fairly hardy hill breed despite their prima donna looks!
Wensleydale longwool fibre is of the finest quality and perfect for knitting, felting and dyeing and this, along with their great character, is why we love them so much!
We want our wool to be as natural as possible and so do not use artificial fertilisers or spray fields with chemicals. Our fleeces are washed in collected rainwater.
Wensleydale Semen For Sale
For the first time in 2023 we sent two of our Rams, Moussa and Sylvester, to the AB Europe breeding station and their semen is now for sale. 70 AI straws from each ram have been exported to New Zealand, a very exciting prospect for us!
Please don't hesitate to contact us for pedigree and semen sales information.
Chilton Silvester
7875B
Silvester is a (Silver/Grey) Black Wensleydale with superb conformation and evenness of curl.
He is pictured at 15 months old at the Suffolk County Show where he won Breed Champion, Rare Breed Champion and 3rd in the interbreed! He also won Interbreed Champion at the South Suffolk Show.
Brimham Moussa
7770B
Moussa's parents are both White Wensleydales, meaning that his genetics are unique for Black Wensleydales!
As with many rare breeds, Black Wensleydales have a very small genetic pool and require novel genetics to ensure breed progression.
Due partly to this White Wensleydale parentage, he is a beautiful silver colour.
Meet The Gang
Here are some of the biggest personalities within the flock. Find out more about the sheep behind the wool!
Wendy
Wendy has already become a bit of a legend at CGF after her showing heroics, winning a stack of rosettes and trophies at the South Suffolk show. She has a lovely temperament and an even better fleece.
Cleaver
Cleaver is named after the sticky plant that is always attached to her fleece! She likes to browse the hedgerows and nibble any tasty treats they have to offer. She was one of the black wensleydales sporting some particularly nice icicle beard jewellery this winter.
Gladys
Queen Bee Gladys will be sure not to let you walk through the field without saying hello! This boisterous bombshell certainly has a set of lungs on her and is particularly partial to a head or neck scratch.
Flo
Flo is the legendary Gertie's daughter and is continuing her legacy of being one of the farm favourites. She has the same spot on her chest that she loves to be scratched. She hasn't quite got the hang of halter training so didn't make the cut for our first show!
Bramble
Bramble (the black one on the left) was part of our dynamic duo showing team at the South Suffolk show! She was very well behaved but didn't like when Wendy went off to the big show ring and left Bramble behind. She will be having her first lambs next spring (2023) and we are very excited about them already.
Maddie
A right poser, and rightly so with those luscious locks. She is a bit of a prima donna (standard for a black Wensley!) but loves a bit of food and hanging out with the rest of the gang.
Susan
Susan is not a Wensleydale, but she is hands down the friendliest Zwartble we have ever had at Chilton Grounds Farm! A typically shy breed, spending every day with these extravert Wensleydales has clearly rubbed off on Susan. She is nearly always the first to run up to us now when we are out on the farm, and will not leave until she has had her fill of cuddles! Susan shows her appreciation by wagging her tail like a dog when she gets a particularly good scratch!
Showman
This lad has been with us for a year and is a bit of a cool customer. He likes to stand a bit away from the others to work on his brooding stare, but still comes up for a good head pat when he sees us in the field.
Baba
Baba is our first black Wensleydale ram! He is a curious lad and is often poking his head through the gate to say hello to his neighbouring woolly friends.
Aubrey
Aubrey is the first Oxford Down to grace the fields of Chilton Grounds. He is named after the first Earl of Oxford, Aubrey de Vere who lived in the 12th Century. He is the fluffiest lad about and won't let you leave the field without a scratch under the chin! He is one of our two stock rams.
Silvester
Son of Baba and brother of Chester!
Born in 2022, he won Wensleydale and Rare Breed champion at the Suffolk county show and 3rd in the interbreed this year as a shearling. He also won interbreed and longwool champion at the South Suffolk.
Moussa
Bought from the Brimham flock, Moussa was born from two white parents, making him a genetically unique line of black Wensleydales. He has quite the silver sheen to his coat!
Chester
Brother of Silvester, he is definitely the friendlier of the two. Despite losing out to his brother at the shows this year, he was quite the star at farm shop stalls and absolutely loved all the fuss from the public!
Performer
Westend Performer has excellent wool quality and curl definition, breeding daughters that will give the best products for our customers to work with!
He also has a very correct conformation which will also hopefully shine through in our replacements.