John Ellman (17 October 1753 – 22 November 1832) was an English farmer and stock breeder who developed the Southdown breed of

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

Biography

Early life

John Ellman was born on 17 October 1753 in Hartfield, Sussex. He moved with his family to Place Farm in

Glynde Glynde is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, United Kingdom. It is located two miles (5 km) east of Lewes.OS Explorer map Eastbourne and Beachy Head Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

in 1761.

Career

He inherited the tenancy to the farm with his father's death in 1780, and devoted the largest part of his time and land to rearing the local Southdown breed, changing it from a tall, lean sheep into a more squat and compact one which gave excellent mutton yield while retaining a good fleece. His work would eventually be continued by Jonas Webb of

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to produce the modern form of the breed. He was well regarded by his contemporaries, and won prizes with ease at local and national livestock shows. He was well connected, with several peers regularly corresponding with him for the advice on farming which he would give freely, was introduced to

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, and sold two of his rams to Emperor

Paul I of Russia Paul I (russian: Па́вел I Петро́вич ; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1796 until his assassination. Officially, he was the only son of Peter III and Catherine the Great, although Catherine hinted that he was fathered by her l ...

for 300 guineas. John Ellman wrote broadly on agricultural subjects, contributing to works such as Arthur Young's ''Annals of Agriculture'' and '' Baxter's Library of Agricultural and Horticultural Knowledge''. He was a founder member of the Sussex Agricultural Society and Smithfield Society. He took great interest in local affairs as a commissioner of taxes and expenditor of

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, and played a role in the improvement of navigation on the River Ouse and in the redevelopment of

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. He was also a progressive employer who maintained a school for workers' children in Glynde. He retired in 1829 and his flock was broken up at auction.

Death

He died in 1832 in

Lewes Lewes () is the county town of East Sussex, England. It is the police and judicial centre for all of Sussex and is home to Sussex Police, East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service, Lewes Crown Court and HMP Lewes. The civil parish is the centre ...

. His tomb is in Glynde churchyard.

References

* Alsager Vian, Ellman, John (1753–1832), rev. G. E. Mingay,

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, 200

, accessed 6 Aug 2007. * Brandon, P. and Short, B., 1990: The South-East from AD 1000. Longman. pp223–224 {{DEFAULTSORT:Ellman, John 1753 births 1832 deaths People from Hartfield English farmers People from Glynde