The Bagot goat is a breed of goat which for several hundred years has lived semi-wild at

Blithfield Hall Blithfield Hall (pronounced locally as Bliffield), is a privately owned Grade I listed building, Grade I listed English country house, country house in Staffordshire, England, situated some east of Stafford, southwest of Uttoxeter and north of ...

, Staffordshire, England. It is a small goat, with a black head and neck and the remainder of the body white. In 2010 it was considered "critically endangered" by the

Rare Breeds Survival Trust The Rare Breeds Survival Trust is a conservation (ethic), 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 b ...

, as there were fewer than 100 registered breeding females in the United Kingdom,Bagot goat at Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list
. Retrieved 7 June 2010. but by 2012 had been upgraded to "vulnerable",Bagot goat at Rare Breeds Survival Trust watch list
. Retrieved 13 November 2012. where it remains as of 2019, with 200-300 breeding females known.

Description

It is a small goat, with a black head and neck to the withers/girth and the remainder of the body predominantly white.

History

Bagot goats were introduced to England at Blithfield Hall in the 1380s. They were probably brought back to England by returning

Crusaders The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding ...

, and probably trace their ancestry to goats of the Rhone valley. The goats were said to have been given to John Bagot of Blithfield by King

Richard II of England Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Edward, Prince of Wales (later known as the Black Prince), and Jo ...

to commemorate good hunting the King had enjoyed at Blithfield. , there were said to be fewer than 200 registered breeding females. By May 2018, the Rare Breed Survival Trust Watchlist reported between 200 and 300 registered breeding females.

Uses

Bagot goats have no commercial purpose being too small by comparison to the Boer Goat to be viable as a meat breed; producing high quality but low volumes of milk (consistent with generally producing a single kid) by comparison to the Swiss dairy breeds, and producing too little cashmere to compete with the Angora. However, they are good for

conservation grazing Conservation grazing or targeted grazing is the use of semi- feral or domesticated grazing livestock to maintain and increase the biodiversity of natural or semi-natural grasslands, heathlands, wood pasture, wetlands and many other habitats.

and have been used at

RSPB The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) is a Charitable_organization#United_Kingdom, charitable organisation registered in Charity Commission for England and Wales, England and Wales and in Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, ...

reserves in Wales, Kent and Canterbury, where their browsing activity promotes diversity in the ground conditions beneficial to other wildlife.. In April 2021 4 young Bagot goats were introduced to the Avon Gorge in Bristol to help control the growth of unwanted scrub on this

SSSI A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

and as a supplement the 2 surviving Kashmiri goats originally released for the same purpose in 2011.

Flocks

A flock is still kept by the Bagot family in the deer park of

Levens Hall Levens Hall is a manor house in the River Kent, Kent valley, near the village of Levens, Cumbria, Levens and south of Kendal in Cumbria, Northern England. History The first house on the site was a pele tower built by the Redman family in ar ...

, Cumbria. Examples can also be seen at: * Birmingham Wildlife Conservation Park * Bill Quay Community Farm in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear *

Shugborough Hall Shugborough Hall is a stately home near Great Haywood, Staffordshire, England. The hall is situated on the edge of Cannock Chase, about east of Stafford and from Rugeley. The estate was owned by the Bishops of Lichfield until the dissol ...

in Staffordshire *

Mary Arden's Farm Mary Arden's Farm, also known as Mary Arden's House or Glebe Farm, is the farmhouse of Mary Shakespeare (née Arden), the mother of Elizabethan playwright William Shakespeare. Because of confusion about the actual house inhabited by Mary in the ...

in Warwickshire *

Aldenham Country Park Aldenham Country Park is a parkland and woodland, including Aldenham Reservoir. It is now part of the Watling Chase Community Forest, near Elstree, Hertfordshire, England. Aldenham Reservoir was excavated by French prisoners of war in 1795 ...

in Hertfordshire * South of England Rare Breeds Centre * St James City Farm in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

Bagot's Castle Baginton Castle, also known as Bagot's Castle, is a ruined castle in Baginton, Warwickshire, England. It was originally built in the 12th century by Geoffrey Savage and it was rebuilt as a stone keep during the late 14th century. The surviving r ...

, Warwickshire *

Wimpole Home Farm Wimpole Home Farm is an 18th-century model farm on the Wimpole Estate, Arrington, Royston, in South Cambridgeshire, England, and operated by the National Trust. It is one of 16 Rare Breeds Survival Trust approved farm parks. Originally built ...

, Cambridgeshire * Forge Mill Farm,

Sandwell Valley Country Park Sandwell Valley Country Park is a country park, run by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, in Sandwell Valley, on the River Tame in the middle of the urban conurbation between Birmingham and West Bromwich in West Midlands, England. Locati ...

, West Bromwich * Farmer and television presenter

Adam Henson Adam John Lincoln Henson (born 8 January 1966) is an English farmer, author and television presenter. Early career Born on the farm he now works, Bemborough Farm near Guiting Power, Gloucestershire, he was educated at Cheltenham College and la ...

has a flock, started in 1975 by his father, which has featured in his ''

Countryfile ''Countryfile'' is a British television programme which airs weekly on BBC One and reports on rural, agricultural, and environmental issues. The programme is currently presented by John Craven, Adam Henson, Matt Baker, Tom Heap, Ellie Har ...

'' appearances. *

Kingston Maurward House Kingston Maurward House is a large Grade I listed Georgian English country house set in a 750-acre (3 square km) estate in Dorset situated in the Frome valley two miles east of Dorchester. History There has been a manor house at Kingston sin ...

, Gardens and Animal Park in Dorset * Formerly on the cliffs of

Cromer Cromer ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish on the north coast of the North Norfolk district of the county of Norfolk, England. It is north of Norwich, northwest of North Walsham and east of Sheringham on the North Sea coastline. The local ...

in Norfolk. (Relocated to Cranwich Heath,

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

in early 2024 for breeding due to veterinary and welfare costs) * Ayleswood Rare Breeds in Meikleour, Perthshire * Hadleigh Farm, in Essex * Palacerigg Farm Park in Lanarkshire * Tannaghmore Farm, Northern Ireland * The LintMill, South Lanarkshire *Staunton Country Park, in Hampshire *

Hartpury University and Hartpury College Hartpury University and Hartpury College, formerly Hartpury College, is a provider of further and higher education The university and college is set in a 360-hectare estate located in Hartpury, near Gloucester, in Gloucestershire, England. Th ...

*Cragend Farm, Rothbury Northumberland: January 2020

The Bagot Goat Society

The Bagot Goat Society manages the Bagot Goat herd book on behalf of its members and owners of Bagot Goats. It holds an annual show and sale in conjunction with the "Traditional and Native Breeds Show and Sale" at Melton Mowbray Market.

Postage stamps

An illustration of the species by Harry Titcombe featured on the cover of a 1982 book of British postage stamp, issued from vending machines, at a price of 50p. In January 2005, the breed was featured on a first-class British stamp, one of a set of ten, in a se-tenant block, designed by Rose Design using

linocut Linocut, also known as lino print, lino printing or linoleum art, is a printmaking technique, a variant of relief printing in which a sheet of linoleum (sometimes mounted on a wooden block) is used for a relief printing, relief surface. A design i ...

illustrations by

Christopher Wormell Christopher Wormell (born 1955) is an English printmaker, principally known for his illustrated books. Biography He was born in 1955 in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. He had no formal training as an artist, working as a road-sweeper, rubbish colle ...

References

External links

Bagot Goat Society

Rare Breeds Survival Trust page

by Peter Evans, Secretary, Bagot Goat Breed Society {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagot Goat Goat breeds originating in England Animal breeds on the RBST Watchlist