‘The Story of Scottish Wool’

The making of high-quality woollen textiles has been one of Scotland’s strengths for centuries. One gets a real exposure to the story of Scottish wool only on visiting the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle, writes Suchita Malik

WINTER is in its thick now and market is full of woollens —Monte Carlo, Creative Line, Pringle of Scotland, Modella, Cashmere, Greatway, Pierre Cardian, Harris Tweed, these are some of the few brand names in the fry. Wool, nature’s finest raw material, is fashionable, comfortable and the best protection against the onslaughts of a harsh winter. As a result, it remains the most popular choice for today’s clothing in winters.

It is said that Scotland is still the place where one can find the world’s best-known woollen fabrics — knitted Arans and Shetlands, woven tartans and tweeds, to name only a few. Apart from the Scottish lochs and glens, Scotch whisky distilleries and spectacular landscapes, Scotland tops the list among famous names in Scottish woollens too. They are probably the best and the finest in the world.

I am reminded of the one-day family bus trip from Glasgow to Callandar and Aberfoyle in Scotland. The itinerary included the Rob Roy Centre, a glimpse of the Trossach Mountains and a visit to the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle to see different breeds of sheep as the source of wool and a live demonstration of how wool is spun and woven into fabric. The trip was co-ordinated by Rosmary Eldridge, the international Chaplain in the Chaplaincy centre at Strathclyde University. The coach departed from George Square at 9.30 am to return in the evening by 5.30 p.m. in all probability... The families included mostly the overseas tourists and students for whom it was a rare opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the Trossach mountains and to see the traditions of wool production.

The making of high-quality woollen textiles has been one of Scotland’s strengths for centuries. One gets a real exposure to the story of Scottish wool only on visiting the Scottish Wool Centre in Aberfoyle. The traditional skills are still in evidence with great reliance being placed on the judgement and experience of craftsmen and women. The centre, offers two shows. In the summer, one can see ‘The Story of Scottish Wool’ — the 200-year history of sheep in Scotland in which all the stars are on four legs! in winter ‘The Shepherds’ Way’ recounts a year in a shepherd’s life. The Scottish Wool Centre also presents an acclaimed theatrical (live) experience and many other attractions, including the ‘kids’ farm and sheep-dog trials.

‘The Story of Scottish Wool’ enables you to see and get involved in the skills, craftmanship and traditions of wool production. The ring leader of the theatrical performance of the various breeds of sheep first involves the audience in an informal, face-to-face conversation, asking them questions and judging from their responses their knowledge about sheep. Once he has the mind of the audience in his grip, he introduces the players one by one, giving a brief history of their origin and their chief characteristics.

The first evidence of domesticated sheep goes back to 10,000 years. In Britain, sheep could be traced back to 2500 BC. The pre-Roman ‘Old British’ sheep were much smaller than those in the countryside these days. They had short, dark fleeces; short tails and even up to 10 horns sometimes. The Roman occupation of British Isles also brought snowdrops and woolly sheep beside other things. These sheep had much longer bodies, heavier fleeces and longer tails than the native ones. They carried only two horns and some were naturally polled (hornless). The influence of these new sheep spread rapidly through the British mainland. But the natural barrier of the sea allowed the more primitive breeds from the Scottish Islands retain their individual identity.

The first star of the show is called Soay (an old Norse word for Sheep Island) and she is the most primitive of their sheep. More than 95 per cent of Soay sheep have only two horns, a small number of ewes are polled and the rest are multi-horned. Their wool is short, dark and is traditionally plucked between finger and thumb when it becomes loose during the summers. A few sessions remove all the wool and this process is called ‘rooing’.

The second breed is called Hebridean. It is larger than the Soay and is better woolled. Hebridean sheep are sheared rather than rooed. These sheep are commonly black or dark brown in colour but even white sheep are not unknown.

Next comes the Boreray sheep, which is usually found only on its native isle of Boreray in the St. Kilda group of the Hebrides. This was the rarest breed on display at The Scottish Wool Centre. The Boreray was developed in the 19th century from the Scottish Blackface and a Hebridean variety of the old Scottish Dunface. It is distinguished by the black or tan wool at the nape of the neck, on the chest and head.

The next star in order is the famous Shetland breed, which originally comes from the bleak Shetland isles. Traditionally, the Shetland women would hand-spin and knit their own wool. Selection for extra fine wool has given this breed the highest quality fleece of any sheep in the world with the exception of Merino. The wool is so fine that a large shawl can pass easily through a wedding ring. This reminded us of our very own pure Pashmina or the Dhakai cotton. Natural colours are developed from pure whites through to tans, browns, greys and black. In fact, the word ‘Shetland’ has become generic with yarn type and knitwear.

The Scottish Blackface is indeed the most famous breed in Britain with over nine million of them in circulation. Although records of Blackface have been traced back to the 12th century, it evolved from Romanised breeds even though its dark face is said to show pre-Roman influence. The main hill breed in Scotland, its wool is used for making carpets and is much in demand in Italy where it is used to stuff luxury mattresses.

The next breed is the North Country Cheviot, which was a Roman type of sheep developed from the South country, or Hill Cheviot towards the end of the 19th century. It is believed that in 1792 Sir John Sinclair took 500 sheep from the Cheviot Hills to Caithness and by introducing Lincoln, Ryeland and Merino, produced the North Country Cheviot. Unit the World War I, wool from this breed received a premium of two pence per pound weight. It is said that the North Country Cheviot is an ideal breed to work with in meeting the demands of the approaching 21st century.

Another breed with which we are familiar is the famous Merino sheep. This breed was unknown in Europe until the Moorish invasion of Spain in 711 AD. The Merino has at least five times as many wool fibres as all the other breeds, and these are of the finest quality. Around 200 years ago many European breeds of sheep were strongly influenced by the Merino, whereas in Britain only the Southdown, Suffolk and North Country Cheviot have strong blood links.

Halfbred in the result of crossing a Merino ram over North Country Cheviot and Shetland ewes. The result is the Scottish Merino halfbred ewe who becomes the mother of a prime lamb when put to a ‘terminal’ sire. Because of her Merino parentage, the ewe gives added value to the farmer by providing more and finer wool than comparative ewes. She is thus a dual-purpose sheep and is considered the sheep of the future in Scottish agriculture.

The next in fray is again a very important and famous breed called Cashmere Goat which is responsible for producing the most expensive animal fibre in the world, currently worth 50 times the value of best quality Merino wool. Even though the animal is a goat rather than a sheep, it is very much a part of the story of woollen textiles in Scotland since Scotland is the world’s largest producer of Cashmere garments.

And last of all comes the Sheepdog, the actual ring-master without whom the shepherd can hardly manage his flock. The Border Collie has an inbred instinct to work sheep to command. The dog controls the sheep by the movement of the ‘eye’ and the ‘whistle’. It is trained to move the sheep direction.