Photo Credit Hampshire Down Sheep Breeders Association
History
Hampshire Down sheep are a newer breed, established in the Victorian period by crossing Wilshire horn, Southdown and Berkshire knot and were considered vital to maintaining the fertility of the soils in these areas. A popular breed due to their ability to survive in extreme climactic conditions as lambs, they were exported and are now one of the most dominant breeds globally. Hampshire Down sheep today are mainly raised for meat and their wool is most often sold commercially.
Fleece Research
The British Wool Board classify Hampshire Down fleece as fine with a 5-8cm staple length and most suitable for knitting or blending with other fibres. As is often the case with fine fleeces, it is described as being dense with good elasticity. The sheep have black faces and legs, with a solid, usually white coloured coat (multicoloured fleeces are not desirable in industry) that is resistant to felting. This makes it particularly suitable for making hardwearing items and in some cases it may even be machine washable. Surprisingly these fleeces are said to often be overlooked by hand spinners.
Being such a short stapled fleece, there are limited ways to process it. Short staples lend themselves to carding and the density of the locks may also lend itself to picking. Fine fleeces I’ve previously worked with have been considerably greasy, but since Hampshire is said to be resistant to felting it will be interesting to see if this means there will be less grease. Despite their name the Down fleeces are not feather-like, so should have a stiffness to them and as such I have an idea to spin the fibre woollen as would be most suitable, but use it for weaving to explore the interplay between the stiffness and loft.
Further Reading
The following sources have been used for reference
- Breed Society Website – www.hampshiredown.org.uk
- British Sheep & Wool by the British Wool Marketing Board – ISBN 9780904969108
- The Field Guide to Fleece by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius – ISBN 9781612121789
- The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius – ISBN 9781603427111
Loose Ends 
Very interesting, I’ve checked my breed sample study and I don’t have any Hampshire Down in my stash so I’ll need to source a sample to try it.
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Hampshire does seem to be quite hard to find as it seems there isn’t the same interest in it as the more unusual fleeces. The breed society has a list of all the registered breeders and many of them sell fibre to handspinners on their websites, so that may be a good place to start, as I’m not sure if there are many fibre vendors that stock it.
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