History of Agricultural Education in Wiltshire - Lackham Countryside ...

CHAPTER XI
PIGS AND POULTRY
.by E W Culling
Cuckoo Bush Farm had its old fashioned cottage pig sties before Lackham School of
Agriculture was ever envisaged. Mr Stepney was shown them by Mr Thomas, and
both had, to fight their way through a forest of stinging nettles to investigate.
This was very soon after Mr Stepney had metamorphosed from student to employee.
It was the idea of Mr Thomas that a pig herd should be added to the list of
enterprises on Lackham farms.
Mr W T Price had left Wiltshire, after some years as its County Agricultural
Officer, haying had a considerable had in the decision to purchase the Lackham
Estate, and had begun to make the Harper Adams fattening house famous. He had
become the Principal of the National Poultry College, where there was also great
interest in pigs. It was perhaps natural therefore that Mr Thomas took Mr Stepney
to see the enterprising Harper Adams pig herd and its buildings.
Thus began the Cuckoo Bush pig herd. The old skilling wall formed the backbone of
the now familiar battery of fattening pens, which incidentally are by no means
decadent yet. They currently form perfectly adequate dry sow housing. The
breeding sows were to be kept mainly on the outdoor system, like many famous
herds in Oxfordshire and Wiltshire. This system is particularly suited to the free
draining downland and limestone soils.
It was to such a farm that the founders of the Lackham herd, sallied forth to
purchase a nucleus of Wessex sows. Mr Frank Swanton, Chairman of the Lackham
Governors for many years had a large folded sheep flock, and also a large pig herd.
Incidentally, he had put up a Danish pattern fattening house in 1930 and it was still
going strong in 1975 with the same pigman. Mr Stepney did not achieve quite that
longevity, but was not too far off!
So the early breeding was from Wessex females (now amalgamated with the earlier
distinct Essex, to form the British Saddleback) and for many years the main lines
were bred from the "Sunbeam" females purchased from Mr Swanton, at Overton (he
donated the brass hames and harness and several other items in the Museum).
There were also one or two Large White sows and crosses, mainly with Wessex, and
some useful Welsh sows from the noted Frilford Herd.
These were crossed with Landrace Boars of which several purchases were made
from the Minelea herd, the obvious purpose being to improve carcass quality. There
is, of course, no doubt that the Welsh and Large White pigs and possibly their