page_title: Craven
section_title: Cattle
hierarchical_section_title: Craven / History / History of agriculture / Cattle
caption_attribution_description: English: Curved branches, curved horns Longhorn cattle are a docile breed, despite the impressively sharp, pointed horns. They originate from Craven, North Yorks and were once renowned for the high butterfat content of their milk which was used to produce Red Leicester and Stilton cheeses.
context_page_description: Craven is a local government district of North Yorkshire, England centred on the market town of Skipton. In 1974, Craven district was formed as the merger of Skipton urban district, Settle Rural District and most of Skipton Rural District, all in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The population of the Local Authority at the 2011 Census was 55,409. It comprises the upper reaches of Airedale, Wharfedale, Ribblesdale, and includes most of the Aire Gap and Craven Basin.
  The name Craven is much older than the modern district, and encompassed a larger area. This history is also reflected in the way the term is still commonly used, for example by the Church of England.
context_section_description: In the 16th and 17th centuries Longhorn cattle prevailed in Craven. Good quality bulls were bought communally to improve the livestock on the common land beside each village. In the 18th century they crossbred with Shorthorns; fully grown crossbreeds weighed 420 lb (190 kg) to 560 lb (250 kg).
  Some graziers of the Craven highlands also visited Scotland, for example Oban, Lanark and Stirling, to purchase stock to be brought down the drove roads to the cattle-rearing district. In the summer of 1745 the celebrated Mr Birtwhistle had 20,000 head driven from the northernmost parts of Scotland to Great Close near Malham, a distance of ca 300 miles (483 km).
  In 1818 the Craven Heifer, bred for meat on the Bolton Abbey estate remains to this day the largest and fattest cow of her age ever shown in England, weighing 2,496 lb (1,132 kg).
  In modern times dairy farming has predominated and after the 1970s Holstein Friesians became the most popular breed weighing ca 1600 pounds (725 kg).
caption: In the 16-17th century Craven prized Longhorn cattle both for beef and their high butterfat milk that makes fine cheeses
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