Iomroll Fold History

Adrian Wheelwright founded the Iomroll fold of Highland Cattle with animals from the late W Pearson Brown’s dispersal sale, from an interest point Pearson Brown was elected President of the Highland Cattle Society in 1957. The first English man to hold this position, he died in 1965, a butcher by trade, his lifetime message was the Highlander had a place in the beef economy of British Agriculture.

Highland Cow with Whitebred Shorthorn cross Calf

The Iomroll fold registered it's first cattle in the Herd Book in 1967, and sold its first animals at Oban in February 1972, this was Thiona of Iomroll a granddaughter of Fuinary Princess 5th of Easingwold, and by the first stock bull MacIain Dubh of Achnacloich.

For the next three years we maintained a sale average of 500gns, until a bad sale in 1976 made me re-think the future of highland cattle breeding.

The decision was simple, get out or find another market. It was at this time I looked at the export outlet, having maintained a high health situation from the outset, being the second farm in Yorkshire to go OBF and the fifth herd in the country to attain EBL status at this point the fold was closed.

The folds first export was in 1978 to France, this was follows with a single animal to Denmark in 1979. At this time I organised the first bulk shipment to Germany, some forty animals, shared with Ley’s Castle. Similar loads became an annual event until the border was closed in 1988 as a result of BSE. A date which our farming leaders have forgotten!!!

During this time three exceptions were made to the closed unit role. The first being the purchase of cows and heifers a the Scone Palace dispersal sale in 1981, the second was the purchase of eight cows from the Monksmoor fold in 1985 These cows were traced to the banks of the river Ribble, where they had moved from Devon on the death of Henry Jane. Henry Jane bred Highland cattle on Dartmoor all his life and was the premier breeder in England he was vigorous in his standards wan would not register anything falling short of his ideas. He had a passion to breed white Highlanders and white Dartmoor ponies. In the year of his death aged 77 he had achieved his aims, his entire calf crop that year were white. In a random selection I finished with representatives from all his famous families. A Snowdrop, 3 Lorna’s, 2 Henrietta’s, a Jemima and a Monica.

Murtholm Powerline

From the outset I had seen the potential of using the first cross animal, produced by the Whitebred Shorthorn bull, After experiencing this animal and using them as suckler cows from the mid 70’s onwards. I decided to support the breeding programme with a small group of Pedigree Whitebred Shorthorns to ensure A supply of Whitebred bulls. Thus our third purchase, this time at the Murtholm dispersal in 1996, where we secured 6 Whitebred Shorthorn females.

This brings us up to the current time with our aims more less as they always have been. Recognising that the Highland breed is mainly a female breed, but at the same time a beef breed. I will continue to produce females with as much size and conformation as is possible, and to use the Hybrid vigour of the first cross for form a basis of the commercial cross suckler herd which currently produces a terminal calf by the Simmental bull, and to try to successfully fatten the pedigree steer, always assuming we have an outlet to sell them.