The source of the early wealth of the Cotswolds

I think this may be a relatively rare breed of sheep as I don't recognise its particular shaped face, though you can't see its notable profile in this image.

Sheep production here in the Cotswolds from the thirteenth century onwards pivotal to the growth of thew wool production industry in the following centuries. This region became one of the most important sources of wool in the world. This was partly because at the same time there was an important rise in the manufacture of local cloth. the raw material and the finished manufactured products became important exports for England.

The power that abundant water power from the local rivers brought about the development of mills on the river which only declined in importance after the eighteenth century, when other areas had the advantage of local supplies of coal as a fuel for their mills. Decline locally wasn't rapid but it was inevitable as transport improvements allowed raw materials to be taken further and further afield. Eventually the decline of the sheep industry was nearly total. Today we only see a few sheep on selected farms and rare breeds become a more valuable commodity.

This sheep was getting very annoyed at its rather large lamb wanting to aggressively suckle, and it didn't stay still for long. Another couple of lambs were also lining up to have a feed themselves. The grass didn't seem as attractive to them.