Berkshire

The Berkshire breed is believed to have originated from Wantage in 1790, which was then in Berkshire. This town is now in Oxfordshire.

It is one of the nation’s most established pigs and has seen many changes. Right from the start it seems to have been extremely popular, and reports suggest significant numbers were to be found as far afield as Devon, Norfolk, Yorkshire and even across in Ireland.

Some are black with white patches, and others a reddish-brown with black spots. Careful breeding and selection work of Lord Barrington during the 1820s and ‘30s, Has brought the Berkshire to the way we know it now. Chinese and Siamese blood was introduced, which reduced overall size, shortened the animal, added the white points and a gave it its pronounced sloped face with a snub nose. It also fixed the colour as black together with the pointy ears.