The Old Gloucester or Gloucester is a traditional British

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

originating in

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and surrounding areas in the

West Country The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Gloucesters ...

of England. It was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digestion, digest solid food. Immune factors and immune ...

, for

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). In prehistoric times, humankind hunted aurochs and later domesticated them. Since that time, numerous breeds of cattle have been bred specifically for the quality or quantity ...

and for draught use; it is now a dual-purpose animal. It is an

endangered breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation status ...

, and its

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

is listed as "priority" by the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation charity whose purpose is to secure the continued existence and viability of the native farm animal genetic resources (FAnGR) of the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1973 by Joe Henson to prese ...

History

The Gloucester is a traditional breed of the

of England, particularly of

, the

Cotswolds The Cotswolds (, ) is a region in central-southwest England, along a range of rolling hills that rise from the meadows of the upper Thames to an escarpment above the Severn Valley and Evesham Vale. The area is defined by the bedrock of Jur ...

and the

Severn Valley The Severn Valley is a rural area of the West Midlands region of England, through which the River Severn runs and the Severn Valley Railway steam heritage line operates, starting at its northernmost point in Bridgnorth, Shropshire and running ...

. Its origins are unknown; it appears to have been closely related to the Welsh

Glamorgan , HQ = Cardiff , Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974) , Origin= , Code = GLA , CodeName = Chapman code , Replace = * West Glamorgan * Mid Glamorgan * South Glamorgan , Motto ...

, now extinct. It was originally a triple-purpose breed, reared for its

, for

and for draught use. It remained in widespread use until the eighteenth century, when numbers began to decline as a result of competition with both the Longhorn and the

Shorthorn The Shorthorn breed of cattle originated in the North East of England in the late eighteenth century. The breed was developed as dual-purpose, suitable for both dairy and beef production; however, certain blood lines within the breed always emp ...

; numbers remained low throughout the nineteenth century. The breed received official recognition from the

Board of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 (52 & 53 Vict. c.30) and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board ...

in 1911. A

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members o ...

, the Gloucester Cattle Society, was started in 1919; there were at that time about 130 of the cattle. The decline continued for much of the twentieth century, accelerated by the foot-and-mouth outbreak of 1923–1924, the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

in the 1930s, and the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Some efforts were made to increase the competitiveness of the Gloucester: in 1929

Seymour Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst Seymour Henry Bathurst, 7th Earl Bathurst, Order of St Michael and St George, CMG, Territorial Decoration, TD, Justice of the peace, JP, Deputy lieutenant, DL (21 July 1864 – 21 September 1943) was a British nobleman, soldier and newspaper o ...

, acquired a

White Park White Park may refer to: ;Places: * White Park Bay, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, UK * White Park, County Antrim, a townland in Northern Ireland, UK * White Park (Concord, New Hampshire), a public park in Concord, New Hampshire, US * White P ...

bull from the Dynevor herd with the aim of increasing the size of his Gloucester cattle at Cirencester Park, which may also have received some intromission of Friesian blood; the Wick Court herd was apparently influenced by the

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...

. In 1950 the

Badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per side) and "doubles" (with two players pe ...

herd of the

Dukes of Beaufort Duke of Beaufort (), a title in the Peerage of England, was created by Charles II in 1682 for Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester, a descendant of Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, legitimised son of Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of So ...

, the largest in the country, was sold off, as was the herd of Colonel Elwes. Only two herds remained, the Bathurst herd at Cirencester Park and that of the Dowdeswell family at Wick Court; together they numbered about fifty head. In 1966 the Bathurst stock was sold off, and the breed society became dormant; in 1972 the Wick Court herd, the last remaining, was also dispersed. In 1973 the Gloucester Cattle Society was revived under the patronage of Henry Allen John Bathurst, 8th Earl Bathurst, with help from the new

, which was formed in the same year. A new

herd-book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

was started; the first volume, printed in 1975, listed about seventy cattle, including twelve originating in the Bathurst herd. Some cattle were exhibited at the

Three Counties Show The Three Counties Showground is a showground site in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, covering 90 acres owned by the Three Counties Agricultural Society. The first show at the site was held in 1958 and was attended by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mot ...

in 1974. The number of breeding cows had risen to about 500 by 2007. In 2008 the breed was listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "at risk". In 2021, the trust reported that the number of herds had fallen from 54 to 26 between 2006 and 2020; in its 2021–2022 watchlist it listed the Gloucester as "priority". The Old Gloucester is included in the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...

of the

Slow Food Foundation Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and reg ...

Characteristics

The Gloucester is of medium size, cows standing some at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

and bulls about . The standard colouration is

mahogany Mahogany is a straight-grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Unive ...

or black-brown on the body, with black legs and head, and with characteristic white finching along the spine, down through the tail, and along the belly; bulls are generally darker than cows. Since 1972 colour has been considerably more variable, ranging from light red to black. The

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

are white and spreading, with upturned black tips.

Use

The average milk yield is about per

lactation Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to feed her young. The process naturally occurs with all sexually mature female mammals, although it may predate mammals. The proces ...

; some cows may give up to . Lactation lasts close to 300 days. The milk has an average

butterfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. Butt ...

content of 3.9%, with 3.3%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

and 4.6%

lactose Lactose is a disaccharide sugar synthesized by galactose and glucose subunits and has the molecular formula C12H22O11. Lactose makes up around 2–8% of milk (by mass). The name comes from ' (gen. '), the Latin word for milk, plus the suffix '' - ...

, and is suitable for

cheese-making Cheesemaking (or caseiculture) is the craft of making cheese. The production of cheese, like many other food preservation processes, allows the nutritional and economic value of a food material, in this case milk, to be preserved in concentrat ...

. It is used to make both Single Gloucester and Stinking Bishop cheeses. Under

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

legislation, Single Gloucester had

Protected Designation of Origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union and the United Kingdom aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main ...

status, which required that the cheese be made in Gloucestershire, and either did or did not require that the milk used be from Gloucester cows.

History

Characteristics

Use

References

Further reading