It is believed that when the Romans arrived in Britain, they needed protection from the cold, damp climate of this island, which formed the most northern border of their empire. They were not impressed with the wool produced by the small, native, goat-like, sheep breeds with their short wool. They needed bigger sheep with long, thick fleeces which could be woven into the heavy cloaks and other garments to keep out the British cold.
Archaeological excavations have revealed that soon after the Romans arrived, larger, long-woolled sheep started appearing in Britain. It is not known where these sheep originated from within the Roman Empire – though theories abound. It is believed that the imported sheep were shipped up the River Severn as far as the port of Gleven ( now Gloucester). These sheep thrived on the nearby hills. the sheep, and the hills on which they grazed, became known as the Cotswolds – Cotte being the local name for a sheep shelter, while wold means open hillside. These larger sheep thrived on the lime-rich soil of the Cotswold hills, which strengthened their bones.
During the Middle Ages the rapidly expanding export trade in wool meant there were many thousands of sheep grazing the Cotswold Hills. The wealth of the area, indeed the entire country, was built on the vast sums paid for the wonderful lustrous ‘golden’ fleeces of the Cotswold sheep. The heavy, wool ruffs which formed round the necks of the sheep when they were in ‘full wool’ over winter, looked rather like lions’ manes and so they became known as ‘Cotswold Lions’.
As the Romans moved ever northwards these large, heavily fleeced sheep moved with them, adapting to particular areas as they went and inter-breeding with local breeds of native sheep. Eventually they became the long woolled breeds we know today as Lincolns, Leicesters, Teeswaters, Wensleydales and more…