Here is a short history of the Chillingham Wild White Cattle. Some aspects are clearly understood, while others are more mysterious.
cow and 1 year old calf
The herd may have been at Chillingham for 700 years. In 1344 the King of England gave permission for Chillingham Castle to be 'castellated and crenellated' and it may well have been then that the herd was corralled for purposes of food and hunting.
Within Chillingham park there are traces of Romano-British occupation, and late medieval ploughing and trackways. Ornamental woodlands date from the late 1700s, and there are many very old alder trees, perhaps 500 or 600 years old, along the streams and watercourses.
The Wild Cattle were in the care of the family of the Earls of Tankerville for their entire recorded history up to 1971, when Lord Tankerville bequeathed them to the Chillingham Wild Cattle Association (formed in 1939). His son, the 9th Earl died in 1980 and the Chillingham Estate was sold. After the intervention of the 10th Duke of Northumberland, the Park and its surrounding woodlands were acquired by the Sir James Knott Charitable Trust.
With generous support from the Northern Rock Foundation and several other donors, CWCA purchased the park in 2005, thus reuniting the herd and their habitat under the same ownership.
Much has been published about the cattle and their ancestral home, and there is an academic bibliography available. Chillingham Castle also has an exciting and eventful history, and welcomes visitors. Here are some important scientific articles:
- Management of the herd:
- Botanical survey of Chillingham Park in 1979 - by kind permission of the Natural History Society of Northumbria, http://www.nhsn.ncl.ac.uk/
- Update of the botanical survey in 2006:
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Veterinary report on calf born without a tail - by kind permission of the Natural History Society of Northumbria):
- Papers on archaeology, prehistory and history of cattle - from The Ark, with permission from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust, http://www.rbst.org.uk/
http://www.chillinghamwildcattle.com/userimages/cbrock.pdf
http://www.chillinghamwildcattle.com/userimages/grigson.pdf
- Reviews of Chillingham Park and the wild cattle - by kind permission of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, http://rase.org.uk/
http://www.chillinghamwildcattle.com/userimages/jrase89.pdf
4 year old bull