About Sheepwitch
The number of sheep currently ruling my life!
Hello! I’m Lucy Wilkinson-Moore. I live on the edge of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire and, in a nutshell, I love all things sheep.
I currently keep 51 sheep of assorted breeds – from tiny Shetlands to stonking huge Cotswolds and Lincolns! Some of the flock are my own, and some I keep on behalf of some friends.
This means that my life basically revolves around 51 pet sheep who tend to think they are Labradors.
All of the sheep I care for are are friends not food and they will all live out their natural lives with me (and with a small band of ‘Lookerers’) waiting on them hand, foot and finger!
I primarily use their wool for sculpture (wet-felting and needlefelting), but I also paint with it, spin it, knit it, dye it, crochet it, weave it… plans are afoot to start holding workshops….
I hope you like what I do and if you have any questions about me, my processes or indeed any of the precious sheep in my care, I’d love to hear from you.
Meet the Sheepwitch Flock
Arthur
Born in 2015, Arthur is the founder member of the Sheepwitch Flock. Arthur is a coloured Lincoln Longwool. He resembles a small bear and definitely thinks he is a Labrador.
Merida
Merida, or Merry to her friends, is an absolutely beautiful ewe who was born in 2016. She has an adorable temperment - not too bold, not too shy and is stunningly beautiful. In my totally unbiased opinion.
Tiny Tim
When he was born in 2016, Tim could easily have been mistaken for a small calf - he was absolutely enormous and hasn’t stopped growing since. In terms of character he is a bit anxious but very friendly with his humans.
Indigo
Indy, another lamb from 2016, is not the largest of ewes but she is unrelenting in her friendliness and likes nothing more than a good scratch between the shoulder blades.
Steve
Steve is named after a Rocket Scientist. He has a special bond with my husband and barrels in for a big man hug whenever he sees him. Steve is a stocky wether and his fleece has a lovely crimp. Steve is well on the way to being a huge sheep.
Dangermouse
Next to Arthur, Dangermouse is probably the friendliest sheep in my flock. He’s by your side angling for a cuddle from the second you enter the field. His fleece is soft and lofty with a high degree of lustre. He is one of the reasons why my husband is no longer allowed to name sheep. Dangermouse! I ask you!!
Scarlet
Scarlett was a remarkably bold lamb from the second she was born in 2016. She has mellowed a little with age and is now an absolute delight - a really lovely affectionate little ewe.
Maud
Maudy was born in 2017 to our neighbours. When we heard she along with her siblings Lemmy and Tatiana were destined for the freezer, we stepped in and bought them. She is the boldest of the Shetlands and her fleece is the softest fleece in the flock.
Lemmy
Little Lemmy is the most nervous of our 3 Shetlands and is quite wary of people he doesn‘t know. He loves jumping and could easily clear a standard hurdle. We don’t let him know he’s capable of that though.
Tatiana
Tatty, born in 2017, is a Gulmoget with Socket Shetland. Her fleece is really dark, almost chocolate near the skin and fades out to a creamy caramel colour. She is friendly and inquisitive and likes poking her nose into your pocket to see if you’ve got any treats.
Idris
Idris was a very overconfident lamb until he fell into a ditch during an escape attempt and nearly died. Now a sadder and wiser sheep, he is nevertheless cocky, a supreme photo-bomber, and an arch nibbler of coats.
Grace
Grace has an ethereal and magical air. She also always looks a bit deranged in photographs! She is very loving and, if you are feeling under the weather, she will always be at your side. She has a very comforting presence. Grace is mum to Sabrina and Indigo (Sheepwitch Flock)
Ben
Dear sweet, gentle, Ben is extremely friendly, with an open, honest face and a real love of humans.
Iris
Iris is absolutely beautiful, very bright and sweet, and I have a particular affinity with her. If you think sheep are stupid, five minutes with Iris would change your mind. She is mum to Merida.
Willow
Willow is Betsy‘s daughter. She is friendly and curious and her fleece is beautifully white. It is also exceptionally thick and full of lustre. Willow’s twin sister was our very special little lamb Martha.
Pan
Pan - the lamb who lived! Pan had a really difficult birth but has grown into a remarkably handsome and incredibly friendly young wether. He’s a very bright sheep and has a wonderful fleece just like his sister Ella and his mum Vi.
Gwen
Dear dreamy Gwen! Gwen has a really sweet, gentle nature and generally gives an impression of being a bit away with the fairies! She ADORES hay above all else. Gwen is Dangermouse’s twin sister.
The wider ‘Alfie Purl’ Flock
The Alfie Purl flock was started with just six Cotswold sheep back in 2003 by my very dear friends Emma Turner and Dave ‘Foz’ Forster. In early 2014, when Emma’s health began to fail, I joined a small team of ‘Lookerers’ to help care for the flock working alongside Emma and Foz.
Emma, my best friend, very sadly died in November 2017. She was a truly incredible woman and I miss her daily. Shortly thereafter, Foz asked me to take on the day-to-day management of Emma’s cherished flock. I was honoured to do so.
During the summer of 2018 we learned that the lovely farm where the flock had lived for many years was to be sold. Collectively we set to work to find a new home. As a result, in October 2018 the flock moved to another gorgeous little farm. To tie in with this significant change it was mutually agreed that full legal responsibility for the entire flock would pass to me and Foz therefore signed over all of the sheep to my keeping.
Foz now owns 11 of the flock and some of the other sheep are also now owned by friends and Lookerers.
From the sheep’s perspective, very little has changed – the grass is good, they all still live together as a big extended family and all of the people who love them are still caring from them on a day-to-day basis.
Norah
Norah is a brave, bold and thoroughly remarkably sheep. She is a Blue Faced Leicester x Suffolk and is mum to Hero, Eleanor, Dangermouse (Sheepwitch Flock) and Gwen.
Lulu
Lulu is tall and elegant, with a very silky fleece. When she wants food, she puts on a pleading face and crosses her jaw! Lulu is Louies mum.
Lily
Lily is currently the flock matriarch, and nothing happens without her say-so. She is mum to Nimue and Iris.
Caleb
Caleb is huge. He hates the rain, preferring to hide in the barn or field shelter when the weather is bad. He is incredibly friendly with humans and very dependable.
Dash
Best friends with Caleb, Dash is enormous, but is timid and easily worried by things such as having his feet trimmed. He is extremely friendly, and is usually the first sheep that visitors to the flock fall in love with!
Bran
Bran was a huge lamb, born in 2012 to the smallest Cotswold ewe in the flock, Ruby. He is friendly, affable and dependable, and has become a huge sheep!
Oberon
Oberon (Obe to his friends) is a wether that would have made a fantastic ram. He is enormous, has a gorgeous spotty nose and thick mutton chops. He is very friendly and a true gentle giant. Obe is Mab’s twin brother.
Nimue
Nimue is a large, stocky ewe with a good fleece and a very distinctive spot on her nose. She’s quiet and friendly and really enjoys a good scratch when the mood takes her. Nimue is mum to Gareth and Tristan.
Sister
Best friends with Teatime, Sister is very gentle and doesn’t push herself forwards. She has a lovely soft face, and a great fleece. She is mum to Christopher, Toby, Wayland and Steve (Sheepwitch Flock)
Teatime
Teatime has grown into a very robust and solid sheep. She is quite friendly but more interested in eating. She has the Lleyn habit (shared with Sister, Betsy and Idris) of standing with her front feet in an empty feed bowl to tell us it should be filled with food! She is mum to H, Rose, Flora and Daisy.
Christopher
A bottle-reared lamb, Christoper watched the Eurovision Song Contest during his first evening of life. We think this may explain a lot about him. He is lively and busy and bustling, always the first to greet new visitors, and likes to stick his nose into everything.
Mab
Mab and her twin brother Oberon were bottle reared when their mum (Magda) got mastitis, although they stayed with their mum and were looked after by her. Mab is feisty and independent, with a determined face and a good fleece. Mab is mum to Merlin and Sovay.
Vi
Vi has one heck of a bleat! She’s not the most friendly sheep in the flock and is still a bit suspicious strangers but loves a good scratch from the people she knows well. She is mum to Ella and Pan.
Sovay
Sovay is Mab’s daughter and so is sister of Merlin. Her ears are in a permanent state of semi-alert giving her a rather haughty/alarmed appearance!
Merlin
Merlin is a lovely big fellow, with very grey ears much like his Uncle Oberon. Merlin is Mab‘s son and Sovay’s twin brother.
Gareth
If I could have kept any of the 2016 male lambs intact for breeding purposes, it would have been Gareth. He is the most Cotswoldy of Cotswolds! Really good breed confirmation and an exceptionally solid character.
Tristan
Sweet Tristan is Gareth’s brother and is also a good example of the Cotswold breed. He is a little smaller than his brother but makes up for it by having an even more outgoing and friendly personality. His fleece is truly outstanding.
Louie
Louie is sometimes known as Brother Louie because he has a bald patch on the top of his head which looks like a tonsure! He is friendly, but can be a bit pushy at times.
Toby
When in full fleece, Toby looks like a polar bear. He produces the heaviest fleece in the flock and is very self-effacing, calm and quiet.
Conor
Conor is Hero’s son and twin brother of Scarlet. His fleece is very Cotswoldy despite his mum being the amazing Norah, an English Mule. Conor is very bold and not in the slightest bit shy!
Rose
Rose is one of Teatime’s triplets. She was the last to be born and was also the biggest. She has a lovely open snowy white face and I think her ears in particular are exceptionally cute!! Rose, when left to her own devices, has a tendency to be a tad mischievous!
Sabrina
Sabrina, twin sister of Indigo, looks exceptionally like her mum Grace and they have very similar markings around their eyes - a bit like badly applied eye-liner! Sabrina is a good sized, steady and friendly young ewe.
Ella
What to say about Ella?! If there is trouble to be had, Ella will be in the thick of it. She is Pan‘s twin sister and they have very different temperaments. I love Ella for her stunning fleece but also for her boldness - she’ll throw herself at anything (including brambles and electric fencing unfortunately!). Shepherding is never dull with Ella around.
Eleanor
Eleanor is very dignified and at times a little aloof. She has possibly the best fleece in the flock. Eleanor is mum to Tiny Tim (Sheepwitch Flock).
Hero
Hero is friendly but very independently minded. She has a gorgeous fleeece and an elegant caramel coloured face. She also has a very distinctive silvery bleat. She is mum to Conor and Scarlet (Sheepwitch Flock).
H
H is a tall, strong sheep with a fantastic fleece. H is very sensible and good influence in the flock. He has a long tail which rotates like a propellor when he canters!
Seb
Seb has a very expressive face, and we often catch him looking appalled at our actions, and the actions of his fellow sheep! Seb was the sheep that turned me into a Shepherd with a true baptism of fire!
Betsy
Bustling and with a VERY loud bleat, Betsy Boodle is a friendly and determined ewe. She is mum to Vi, Seb and Willow.
Wayland
Big, solid, dependable Wayland. He is a little bit more shy than his brother Steve, but he is also clearly modelling himself on his Uncle Toby. Wayland has a gorgeously dense fleece and sports a big black spot on his ear. Which is just as well as you could easily mistake him for a polar bear if he didn’t have it.
Flora
Flora is the middle triplet born to Teatime. Her ears are spotty like a Dalmatian and her fleece is one of the best in the flock in terms of versatility. She’s a very friendly ewe, always on the lookout for a bit of extra feed.
Daisy
Little Daisy Doo. She was the first born (and smallest) of Teatime’s triplets. She was very friendly as a lamb but has become a bit more aloof as she has matured and gained in confidence. She reminds me quite a lot of Christopher. Daisy is the only sheep is the flock with a long tail making her look a bit like an arctic fox!
Zack
Zack is huge and friendly and loves being scratched. He is the uncle of Teddy, Sam and Arthur (Sheepwitch Flock).
Teddy
Teddy is the smallest sheep in the flock, but has one of the biggest personalities. He is always there to manage, supervise, and generally oversee anything you are doing.
Sam
Dear little Sam is very young for his age and is really the baby of the bunch. I suspect that given his temperament he will still be the baby of the bunch when he is 10! He’s very shy, nervous and skittish with new people.
The Celestial Flock
…gone but never forgotten…
These are the flock members that I have personally known and loved who have sadly died and journeyed on to join ‘The Celestial Flock’.
It is my belief that they are blessed to have dear Emma as their Shepherd now.
Magda
Martha
Ruby
