Wensleydale Sheep: A Handcrafted History

Pocklington Art Centre Comedy Festival
May 31, 2025 –May 31, 2025
Pocklington Arts Centre, Market Place, Pocklington, York YO42 2AR
IMG_5728 (nick.keegan)
February 16, 2025 –October 19, 2025
Leeming Bar Station, Leases Road, Leeming Bar, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 9AR
Castle Quest Main Image (1)
February 15, 2025 –February 23, 2025
Castle House, Angel Street, Sheffield, S3 8LN
Wensleydale Sheep: A Handcrafted History

The Wensleydale Sheep: A Handcrafted History exhibition opens at The Garden Rooms at Tennants, Leyburn on 21st January. The exhibition, which is free to enter, has been organised by a small group of passionate individuals within the Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders’ Association.

This exhibition is the first of its kind in promoting the unique Wensleydale Longwool fleece and the versatile range of textile crafts for which it can be used. It is a celebration of rural history, heritage wool crafts and the increasingly popular and sustainable practice of using British wool in textiles. This exhibition will help to highlight the rare Wensleydale breed as a luxury wool producer. It will also bring to public attention the wide range of uses of the wool through age-old textile crafts, keeping them alive for the benefit of future generations and encouraging sustainable practices in textile production in a world dominated by a limited use, throwaway culture.

The textile artists exhibiting are located throughout the length and breadth of the UK, with every piece being created using British sourced Wensleydale sheep wool that has been kindly donated by some of the breeders. Most of the exhibitors have painstakingly hand washed and processed the wool themselves, from a "raw" product straight off the sheep’s backs through to finished articles.

The Wensleydale Longwool Sheep Breeders’ Association (WLSBA) is an organisation founded in the late 19th century to monitor and preserve the genetic heritage of the breed. Bringing the exhibition to fruition has been a labour of love fuelled by a dedication to this unique breed and a desire to show what can be achieved by combining artistic skill and craftsmanship in producing beautiful products from its wool. Only by demonstrating its value can we hope to ensure the survival of the breed for generations to come

January 21, 2025 – February 16, 2025

The Garden Rooms at Tennants, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, DL8 5SG
Pocklington Art Centre Comedy Festival
May 31, 2025 –May 31, 2025
Pocklington Arts Centre, Market Place, Pocklington, York YO42 2AR
IMG_5728 (nick.keegan)
February 16, 2025 –October 19, 2025
Leeming Bar Station, Leases Road, Leeming Bar, Northallerton, North Yorkshire DL7 9AR
Castle Quest Main Image (1)
February 15, 2025 –February 23, 2025
Castle House, Angel Street, Sheffield, S3 8LN