All of our pigs are of heritage breeds which were originally imported from various regions of Great Brittan. All of these breeds are rare and the populations are small. By nature they are slower growing than your standard white pig and as a result are typically avoided by the modern intensive farming operations. These breeds all thrive in a pastured, free range environment and the pork produced is rich in flavour and more succulent than your standard pig. During the great depression these free ranging pigs were very popular due to their ability to thrive on pasture and open grazing environments. Population numbers of these heritage breeds have declined steadily since the Second World War as farmers turned to faster growing breeds more suitable to intensive pig farming. The market also trended away from these black haired pigs towards the leaner meat of the white pigs.

LARGE BLACK

The Large Black, occasionally called the Devon, Cornwall Black or Boggu, is a breed of domestic pig native to Devon, Cornwall and Essex. The Large Black is accurately named, as it is a large swine breed and is the only British pig that is entirely black. It is a hardy and docile pig, with Large Black sows known for having large litters. The breed's foraging ability make it particularly useful for extensive farming, while a poor candidate for intensive farming.

The Large Black combined local black pig breeds from the West Country and the East of England. With the founding of a breed association in the late 1890's, variations between the types from the two areas decreased. The Large Black was popular in the early 1900s and was exported to many areas of the world including Australia.  The Large Black was prized for its succulence and flavour.

BERKSHIRE

Berkshire pigs are named for the County from which they originate in southern Great Brittan. This breed is also known as Kurobuta in Japan (Black Pig) and are highly prized for their superior fat marbling in a similar vein to Wagyu in cattle. The Berkshires are a black pig with white feet and often a white blaze on the face. These pigs have been long renowned for their excellence in eating and were highly favoured by the aristocracy as far back as the times of Queen Victoria.

WESSEX SADDLEBACK

The Wessex Saddleback is black, with a white band about the forepart of the trunk, extending from one fore-foot over the shoulder to the other, forming a white band resembling a saddle (or "sheet"). It is a tall, rangy animal, adapted to foraging in woodland which was its traditional use. The breed was recognised back in 1918 but due to the pressures of intensive farming practices in Great Brittan by the 1960's the Wessex Saddleback had almost become extinct. In 1967 in a bid to save the breed they merged the Wessex Saddleback with the Essex Saddleback (red as opposed to black) creating a hybrid the British Saddleback. There are still some original Wessex Saddlebacks in small numbers in Australia and New Zealand.