Z is for Zebra, Zoo and Zetland …

Queen Charlotte’s Zebra was the first zebra to be seen in England in 1762 … and as you’d expect was hugely popular … George Stubbs painted her …

Zebra by George Stubbs 1763

 … and immediately grasped the differences between zebras and horses … 

... so much so it is recorded with zoological verisimilitude that it can be identified today as the smallest of the three subspecies of zebra: the Cape Mountain.

Cape Mountain Goat in the Cape, South Africa

She lived on in England for 11 years … first at Buckingham House (now Palace) and then at The Tower of London, where she shared her accommodation with an elephant.

The connection here is that William Hunter (Scottish Anatomist), elder brother of John Hunter, (the Surgeon), was Accoucheur to the Queen, George III's wife.  Both were interested in anatomy of one sort or the other … both opened Museums to hold their collections.

The Enlightenment Room
of the British Museum - restored to
show the conception of a museum

Christopher Plumb – whose thesis on Exotic Animals in the 18^th century – has been taken up and turned into a book … he has noted the bawdy songs that sprang up from visits to ‘the Queen’s Ass’ …

Apparently his studies are called ‘Museology’ … or Museum Studies … the study of museums, museum curations, and how museums developed into their institutional role in education through social and political forces.

Donkey with Sheep in the snow

So as we leave another A-Z year behind … I bid you farewell from a country with Zetland in it … the West Country Shires of Devon, Dorset and Somerset … where ‘S’ is still pronounced as a ‘Z’ …


Zedland or Zetland are the old slang names for the west counties of Dorset, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall ...

Widecombe Moor - part of
Zedland, 

That is Z for Zebra, Zoo and Zedland … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter Z … 

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: None

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Collections of British Art at Yale - re Stubbs and the Zebra 

Exotic Animals in Eighteenth Century-Britain by Christopher Plumb

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

Y is for Y Artists ….

Artists, scribes, stone workers, glaziers and builders have all depicted animals representative of their times … some mythical, some real … the bestiaries are compendiums (compendia) of beasts …

Winged Lion in stained glass

From these early ‘art forms’ we can see how animals have evolved over the centuries … and understand as our knowledge increased … 

Groom with Horse and Hounds -
Peter Tillemans (1734)

... the realisation by man in the Middle Ages as to how animals could be specially bred for different purposes.

Cattle Watering by
William Huggins (1871)

These breeding patterns were then recorded … and as artists moved from portraiture, to landscapes … and ultimately on to recording animals - domestic, farmed and wild – we can see and note the changes …

Girl with Pigs by
Thomas Gainsborough
(1781/82)

… then how each breed evolved … and how essential all the aspects of their breeding programmes are … to maintain the strength of each breed … or to match the desired type of animal …

Donkeys by Harrison Weir (1824 - 1906)

That is Y for Y Artists of all disciplines recording the changes in form of all the animals they portrayed … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter Y …

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: Yorkshire

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

X is for X War facts …

Both Wars in the 20^th C decimated the nation’s stock of animals … which were used in all sorts of ways … transport, communications, logistics, vermin control and solace … then those found left on the land were often sacrificed for food …

English landscape: Cows on way to Milking

 …  the wide variety of breeds that were on our landscape in the 19^th century were severely curtailed … as often only the weak were left in Britain.

Female glowworm - were
captured and used as lighting
in the trenches etc

Other fauna were pigeons, dogs, cats, camels and the unlikely glow-worm (emitted light acting as natural lanterns) … all had important War roles … these perhaps don’t fall into the Rare Breed category … but were so essential in many other ways.

The American Livestock Conservancy

The Rare Breed Survival Trust is redeeming our genetic bank of the wonderful variety of animals that have existed in Britain since the Ice Age split the country from Europe.

Animals in War Memorial Dispensary
- Bronze Friezes

Our Rare Breeds hold the key to our future … as we do not know which type of animal will be required to feed us, clothe us, transport us, comfort us, or communicate for us in the future …

A pack horse at the London War Memorial
for animals

War depleted our reserves … remember the Golden Guernsey Goat (under F – just to keep you on your toes!) … they would have become extinct being used for rations during WWII … if they had not been hidden in the caves.

Art work depicting the Native
Indians Seven Generations Rule

So the Rare Breeds Survival Trust has another feather in its cap … it is thinking forward – those 7 generations of stewardship … which forms part of the Iroquois mandate …

 … to make sure that every decision we take relates to the welfare and well-being of the seventh generation to come 


… what are we leaving them, it is necessary to think and not take …

That is X for X facts from War or Disease reminding us of our children’s future on this planet and our need to care for all things … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter X …

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: None

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Animals in War Memorial Dispensary outside north London (NW6) ... a place to check out ... 

This is the article where I found the Seven Generations Art Work ... "Intuition Decisions or Do you Make Conscious Decisions" 

Iriquois Constitution ... see here ...  


I will add a note in to my Reflections post re why we need to maintain as many varieties of animals, plants etc as we are able to ... and also give a note on why some animals have maintained particular 'articles' of their anatomy ... so please read my Reflections post up 'early' next week!

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

W is for Whistlejacket …

Whistlejacket as painted by the British artist George Stubbs showing the Marquess of Rockingham’s racehorse approximately at life-size, rearing up against a plain background.

 

Canvas is
9 1/2 feet x 8 feet
"Whistlejacket" by George Stubbs

The art work has been described as “a paradigm of the flawless beautify of an Arabian thoroughbred” … it can now be seen in the National Gallery.

Whistlejacket in another context is a “Mahogany” – and in Yorkshire it is considered a traditional cold remedy … a rather daunting mix ….

Opihr Gin

… a curious liquor peculiar to the Cornish Fishermen in the late 1700s … it is made with two parts gin, and one part treacle, well beaten together … and was made into a ‘very good liquor’.

The pirates of Cornwall … note that in a biography of Ashley Hutchings, the founder of the folk-rock bands Fairport Convention and SteeleyeSpan, the members mentioned this drink … they remembered “Mahogany” but very little else about the night!!

  

That is W for What Should be a Well Forgotten recipe for a Walloping cold, but is W for a Wondrous Work of Whistlejacket, the Arabian thoroughbred  … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter W … 

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: Warwickshire; West Midlands; Westmorland; West Sussex; Wiltshire; Worcestershire

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  West Lothian; Wigtownshire

Wales:  Wrexham

Pyracy - Cornish Sea Shanties ...  see notes in this site

The Old Foodie ... James Boswell - Pepys' biographer ... describes the drink ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

V is for Vaynol Cattle …

Vaynol Cattle are one of the UK’s rarest breeds with fewer than 150 breeding animals registered in the UK.

Temple Newsam 1880

The cattle had been at Vaynol Park near Bangor, Wales since 1872 … they are a semi-feral breed and were maintained under minimal management supervision … this prompted the RBST to step in and move the herd to Temple Newsam.

Well we can see it's approved ... 

In 2006, the Rare Breeds Survival Trust set up a five year conservation programme at Temple Newsam farm, run by Leeds Council in order to establish a genetic profile of the breed … aiming to reduce the levels of inbreeding …

Five calves

In 2007, the first calf was born by artificial insemination from semen collected from a bull 30 years ago.

Two new satellite herds have been established in Lincolnshire and in Scotland …

Vaynol Cow

There has been some intervention … but the herds are left to their own devices to retain the wildness and distrust of humans as per their ancestors.

Temple Newsam from the air - the
farm is bottom right

Temple Newsam is a magnificent country mansion set within 1,500 acres of beautiful parkland, complete with a rare breed farm … a place to visit and explore …

Temple Newsam Park - Ideal for the Rare Breeds

That is V for a Variety of Very Rare Vaynol cattle … Verdantly Vegetating on Thane land outside Leeds … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter V …

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: None

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

U is for Unicorn …

The most familiar of the heraldic mythical animals is the Unicorn, which pairs up with the lion as a Supporter of the royal coat of arms.

The gentle and pensive maiden has the
power to tame the Unicorn:
Fresco by Domenico Zampieri (1602)

I’m sure we all recognise the Unicorn from our childhood – as that beautiful white beast conjured up in so many tales.

Unicorn Statue on Council Offices,
Bristol

In heraldry the Unicorn is drawn with 

the body, head and mane of a horse, 

the tail of a lion, 

the beard of a goat ...

with its own distinctive horn.

The Unicorn Penned - number 7
of the original tapestries now
in the Cloisters

The origins of the Unicorn myth were that it was the fiercest beast in the forest, so fierce it would rather die than be captured …

A series of seven tapestries: "The Hunt of the Unicorn", dating from between 1495 and 1505, bought by JD Rockefeller, now hang in The Cloisters in New York, were probably woven in Brussels or Liege.

Stirling Castle - with one of the
copied tapestries in situ

Historic Scotland commissioned a copy of a set of hand-made tapestries for Stirling Castle as part of a project to furnish the castle as it was in the 16^th century.

Fee of the blog Wee White Hoose gives a wonderful post about The Unicorn: Scotland’s National Animal … including some lovely photos … and is well worth a read.  

The Royal Coat of Arms England on the left ...
        the Scottish one on the right 

Then of all the mythical animals, the unicorn seemed to be the most likely to exist in reality … with explorers hoping to find its habitat well into the 19^th century.

That is U for Under the radar, the Unique Unicorn … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter U … 
(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: None

Northern Ireland: None

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Fee's - post ...  The Unicorn: Scotland's National Animal 

My post on the Skeletons found and identified in the kitchens of Stirling Castle when it was being restored ... 

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories

T is for Turkey …

T for This Time … you get the history – the T for Turkeys in the UK and USA are much the same … so not a lot of British information available for me to post up …

Slate Turkey

Turkeys have been around for millennia (originating in Mexico/ Americas) … but were brought to Britain in the 1520s (via Spain) by Yorkshireman William Strickland, a navigator, who sailed on early voyages of exploration to the Americas …

The Lectern in St Andrew's Church
showing the turkey carving and
Coat of Arms below

… on his return to Bristol he sold the birds and is credited with their introduction into Britain … being granted a Coat of Arms … the bird motif is incorporated into it. 

c/o Britain Express photo

While in St Andrew’s Church, Boynton, East Yorkshire the lectern has been beautifully carved in the shape of a turkey …


The Poultry Club of Great Britain - link below - we have the nominate race here - the bronze with white in its tail ... was the breed introduced to us ... 

A Norfolk Bronze

The birds had been identified as a type of guineafowl … and in those early days were called “turkey fowl” before being shortened to just “turkey”…


... this was because there were 'Turkey Merchants' bringing in a range of goods from the Middle East to be traded ... thus 'turkey' was appropriated for the bird ...

Henry VIII was the first English king to enjoy turkey, although Edward VII made eating turkey fashionable at Christmas … it replaced peacocks on the table in Royal Courts.

Bourbon Red Turkey

By 1720 … turkeys were walking from Norfolk to the London markets in small flocks of 300 – 1,000.  They started in August and fed on stubble fields and feeding stations along the drove … as with geese their feet were dipped in tar …

Narragansett Turkey Hens

There are 43 breeds of turkey in the UK … but many of them are very similar to their American cousins … so the best place to look is the RBST site for Turkeys under the Poultry section … 

That is T for Turkey Treats and Treasures of the Thanksgiving Table and the Christmas Table … from Aspects of British County Rare Breeds …

Counties with the letter T …

(note some Counties have been retired!, or amended over historical local government … but some I’ve included)

England: Tyne and Wear

Northern Ireland: Tyrone

Scotland:  None

Wales:  None

Turkey History and Other Facts ...  c/o British Turkey Co


Poultry Club of Great Britain - history of Turkeys

Rare Breeds Survival Trust - Turkeys

Hilary Melton-Butcher

Positive Letters Inspirational Stories