Tamworth pig at Pockerley Farm, Beamish Museum, Co. Durham

From Wikipedia

The Tamworth is a British breed of domestic pig. It is the only red-coloured British pig.  Its origins are unknown, but it appears to have developed near the town of Tamworth in south-eastern Staffordshire, close to Warwickshire border.  It is one of seven British pig breeds listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as ‘priority’, the highest level of concern of the trust.

The origins of the Tamworth are not known. It appears to have originated shortly before or after 1800 near the town of Tamworth in south-eastern Staffordshire, close to Warwickshire border. There are many theories of the origin of its unusual red colouration: that it derived from a wild jungle pig (Sus scrofa cristatus) brought from India by Sir Francis Lawley; that it derived from Irish pigs known as ‘Irish Grazers’, brought to Drayton Manor in Drayton Bassett by Sir Robert Peel; that Peel had not used these, but a boar brought from the West Indies; or that the colour was due to a West African Guinea Hog descended from pigs from Portugal, or to a red pig imported in about 1750 from Barbados.  The colour may have been fixed by selective breeding alone.

The Tamworth was recognised as a breed in 1865 and entered at the Royal Show in that year. A herd-book was started in 1885, and a breed society, the Tamworth Incorporated Pig Breeders Association, was formed in 1906.

Tamworths were imported into the United States by Thomas Bennett of Rossville, Illinois, in 1882. Soon they entered Canada where they have also endured. Breed associations for Tamworth swine are active in the UK, the USA, and Canada. Farmers in each country much favour other pigs in quantity. From 1913 to mid-century, the breed reached peak numbers in Canada, reaching up to 10% of total swine. In Australia, the breed reached peak numbers of about 1000 in the mid-20th century. In New Zealand there were five breeding sows in 2002; in 2021 it was listed as “priority” by the Rare Breeds Conservation Society of New Zealand.

Image Details
Date: 6 November 2025
Camera body: Nikon D50
Lens: Tamron 70.0-300.0 mm f/4.0-5.6
Focal Length: 195mm
Aperture: ƒ/4.8
Shutter Speed: 1/125s
ISO: 800
Licence: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International