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Jacob Sheep: Guardians of Britain’s Parklands and Wood Pasture

There’s a particular look to an old English parkland: ancient oaks spaced wide across rolling grass, sunlight all the way to the ground, short grass but speckled with flowers, veteran trees humming with insects, birds dotting between trunks. This unique landscape, known as wood-pasture, is one of the richest habitats in the UK – and one of the best sheep for maintaining it is the unmistakable, piebald, multi-horned Jacob sheep.

Historically, Jacob sheep were kept as ornamental “park sheep” on deer parks, estates, and common grazing lands. Their presence helped maintain open ground beneath widely spaced trees for centuries. Iconic landscapes such as the New Forest, Savernake, Sherwood, Epping, Windsor Great Park, and other historic parklands have benefited from their stewardship.

Wood-Pasture: The Space Between

Wood-pasture is neither woodland nor meadow. It’s the space in between, where trees, grass, and grazing animals coexist to create a rich mosaic of habitats. Jacob sheep are particularly well-suited to this environment:

Jacobs are medium-bodied and relatively light on the land compared with heavier commercial crosses. This reduces soil compaction and helps preserve mosses, lichens and fungi beneath them.

Jacob sheep have a distinct grazing behaviour that sets them apart from many modern breeds. Rather than cropping grass uniformly like some hill breeds, Jacobs show varied selective grazing. Nibbling fine grasses, herbs, low shrubs and broadleaf weeds. This creates a heterogeneous sward (areas of short turf, patches of flowering herbs, and occasional tussocks) a diversity of structures that supports multiple species of wildlife.

Wildlife That Benefits from Jacob Sheep Grazing

The grazing patterns of Jacob sheep help maintain habitats for a variety of species:

  • Woodlark

    • Nests on short, lichen-rich turf

    • Needs scattered trees rather than dense forests

    • Avoids improved grasslands and closed woodlands

  • Yellow Meadow Ant

    • Builds ant hills in long-term, lightly grazed turf

    • Provides a food source for green woodpeckers

    • Requires stable, lightly grazed grounds over decades

  • Scarlet Waxcap Fungi

    • Indicator of centuries of low-input grazing

    • Found in turf never ploughed or fertilised

    • Common in ancient parkland lawns and wood-pasture glades

  • Purple Emperor Butterfly

    • Breeds in sallow at sunny woodland edges

    • Adults feed on oak sap runs in veteran trees

    • Thrives where woodland meets open grazed pasture

Jacob sheep do not create these species directly, but their grazing behaviour fosters the diverse habitat conditions these species depend on. By maintaining a balance between grass, herbs, and open spaces, Jacobs act as living landscapers, preserving centuries of biodiversity in Britain’s historic parklands.

If you want to learn more information about the Jacob sheep, visit the breed society’s website.