The story of the Craven Heifer, England’s largest cow, is a fascinating tale in Yorkshire’s history and folklore, especially around the Bolton Abbey estate. This legendary animal wasn’t just any cow; she was an extraordinary example of livestock that became a symbol of agricultural pride and achievement in the county. Her story provides a unique insight into rural life and the historical significance of farming communities in Yorkshire.
The Craven Heifer (1807–1812) was a Shorthorn heifer which lived in the early 19th century, and to this day remains the largest cow ever shown in England weighing nearly 2 metric tons.
The Craven part of the name comes from the western region of the North Riding of Yorkshire centred on the market town of Skipton while a a heifer is a young cow, especially one that has not yet given birth to a calf.
Agricultural Revolution and Livestock Farming
Understanding the era that paved the way for giants like the Craven Heifer.
The late 18th and early 19th centuries marked a period of significant transformation in agriculture across England, with intensive livestock farming undergoing notable developments. This era, often intertwined with the broader Agricultural Revolution, saw the implementation of innovative practices and technologies that dramatically reshaped livestock management, contributing to more efficient and productive farming methods.
One of the pivotal figures in this transformation was Robert Bakewell. His methods were revolutionary, emphasising the importance of breeding for specific traits and demonstrating that selective breeding could produce desired outcomes over relatively short periods. Selective breeding, which Charles Darwin described as artificial selection, was an inspiration for his theory of natural selection. (You can read about Charles Darwin’s 1859 Visit to Ilkley here.)
In tandem with advancements in breeding, there were significant improvements in farm management and animal nutrition. The introduction of turnip and clover rotations not only improved soil fertility but also provided more nutritious fodder for livestock, allowing for year-round feeding and reducing the necessity for fallow periods. This change enabled farmers to sustain larger herds and flocks, supporting more intensive farming practices.
These advancements in breeding, nutrition, and farm management not only increased the productivity of livestock farming but also had far-reaching effects on the agricultural landscape of England. They contributed to the establishment of a more scientific approach to farming, laying the groundwork for modern agricultural practices.
Breeding the Behemoth
The story of the Reverend William Carr and the birth of a legend.
The Craven Heifer was bred by the Reverend William Carr, vicar at Bolton Priory, in 1807, on the Duke of Devonshire’s estate at Bolton Abbey in the North Riding.
Rev. Carr fed the cow relentlessly for five years until she weighed 312 stones (4,368 lb or 1,980 kg), length from nose to tip of rump 11.3 ft (3.4 m), height at the shoulder 5.3 ft (1.6 m), thickest girth 10.1 ft (3.1 m).
The heifer grew so large that a special door twice as wide as the norm had to be built to get her in and out of the cowshed. Talk about making an entrance! This doorway can be seen on the estate to this day.
Word spread about the gigantic cow and she was shown at agricultural fairs and shows around Yorkshire and Lancashire before Carr sold the her to another farmer. England’s largest cow was purchased by John Watkinson of Halton East, North Riding, for £200 (£11,705 in 2024 prices) who planned to take her on a tour to London, in 1811.
A Tour Through Time
The remarkable journey of the Craven Heifer across England.
Being such a notable creature, on tour she attracted much attention wherever she went with thousands of people paying to see the famous Craven Heifer.
Commencing at Wakefield before continuing to Pontefract and Doncaster, she was then taken to Smithfield in London; the journey from Wakefield to the capital took 73 days from 19 November to 30 January 1812, during which time she was shown at numerous towns and cities en route.
Ladies and gentlemen were invited to pay a shilling, and servants, six pennies, to view the beast ‘allowed by all who have seen her to be the largest and fattest of her age of any ever shown in England’
On the way to London, Watkinson got drunk and lost ownership of the Craven Heifer during a bet on a cock fight. The cow was won by a Huddersfield man who felt the meat would be getting so tough from all its walking that he decided to have the animal butchered and sold the meat for a shilling a pound.
Local newspaper the Craven Herald reported that it was an an ‘ignominious end for the beast that once grazed within the precincts of Bolton Abbey’. The Craven Heifer had lived for just five years, compared to an average life expectancy of 15 years for that breed of domestic cattle.
Legacy and Memorials of the Craven Heifer
From auctioned portraits to a modern-day steel sculpture, the memory of the Craven Heifer lives on.
In January 2013 an oil painting portrait of Craven Heifer, by an unknown artist dated 1811, sold for £16,250 ($25,586) at auction.
In 2018 The Yorkshire Agricultural Society commissioned renowned Whitby-based sculptor Emma Stothard (website) to immortalise the beast in steel to celebrate the 160th year of the Great Yorkshire Show.
Stothard said: “We’ve poured over many paintings and different documents charting the Craven Heifer’s size. We wanted the Great Yorkshire Show heifer to be as lifelike as possible and it’s been exciting to bring the Craven Heifer back to life for everyone to get an idea of how big she really was,”
She was created at sculptor Emma’s Whitby studio (website) before being galvanised in Bradford and powder coated in Middlesbrough.
Named the Great Yorkshire Show heifer (or GYSheifer for short), the sculpture stands at 6ft (1.8m) high and 11ft (3.3m) long and weighs more than half a tonne and was officially unveiled in Bolton Abbey by the Duke of Devonshire and show director, Charles Mills.
The sculpture went on a tour of Yorkshire, which included the Yorkshire Sculpture Park, before the start of the Great Yorkshire Show in July of that year. The sculpture took prime position on the President’s Lawn during the Show, where she was seen by the 134,421 visitors who attended over the three days – including HRH The Princess Royal.
On tour and during the show, visitors were encouraged to post selfies with the sculpture and to post them on Twitter using gar hashtag #GYSheifer. You can see them here.
Charles Mills, show director, said: “The Craven Heifer was an iconic animal born and bred in the same era as the first Great Yorkshire Show and was the wonders of farmers across England.”
The Great Yorkshire Show heifer can now be seen outside Fodder (website) the Yorkshire Agricultural Society’s farm shop and cafe at the Great Yorkshire Showground, Harrogate.
In 2020, memorabilia relating to the Craven Heifer’s tour around England in 1811-12 sparked competition between four phone bidders and internet buyers around at auction. The hammer finally fell at £5,500 from an estimate of £300-£500 – 11 times the top guide price.
The archive of correspondence sold at Hansons included 30 letters, mostly addressed to Henry Pickop at Bolton Abbey, reporting on how the tour was going and recording the money received in selling tickets and prints of an engraving of the Craven Heifer. Notes also detailed expenses for barns, hay, straw, corn and cabbage.
The letters described the ups and downs of the tour from difficult days with no success and poor weather, to more profitable days with crowds and good takings.
The archive also included an original advertising bill, printed by Griffith Wright of Leeds, which proclaimed: ‘The Wonderful Four Year-old Short-Horned Craven Heifer, fed and bred by the Rev. William Carr, of Bolton-Abbey will be shewn. Admittance for each person is 1s. N.B. This Beast is allowed by all who have seen her to be the largest and fattest of her Age, of any ever shewn in England.’
To this day, several public houses bear the name The Craven Heifer, particularly in the Craven district of North Yorkshire in Skipton, Addingham, Stainforth and Ingleton but also across the border in Lancashire in Kelbrook and Darwen.
Icons of Agriculture
Local rivalries and one who stand above them all.
Airedale Heifer
This large cow was bred for size and weight by its owner, Mr Slingsby of Carleton-in-Craven, who kept it on the East Riddlesden Hall estate where his sister and brother-in-law were tenants. It was said to have been 3.5 metres (over 11 feet) long and weighed more than a ton and became a much-visited local animal celebrity until its slaughter following a serious injury in 1830. It is still remembered in the name of a local pub in Keighley.
Yorkshire Rose
Reared in the North Riding, this magnificent beast is one of the extraordinary cattle that were bred to enormous proportions and then taken on tour around the country for public admiration. The Yorkshire Rose was staggering 11 feet and 3 inches in length and stood six feet high at the rump. At 4 years and 3 months old she weighed in at a monumental 221 stones. She was described as eating grass and hay and “Notwithstanding her amazing weight she is very active”.
Reared in the North Riding, this magnificent beast is one of the extraordinary cattle that were bred to enormous proportions and then taken on tour around the country for public admiration. The Yorkshire Rose was staggering 11 feet and 3 inches in length and stood six feet high at the rump. At 4 years and 3 months old she weighed in at a monumental 221 stones. She was described as eating grass and hay and “Notwithstanding her amazing weight she is very active”.
Blosom
The tallest cow ever is Blosom (sic), who was owned by Patricia Meads-Hanson (USA), and measured 190 cm (74.8 in) from the hoof to the withers, in Orangeville, Illinois, USA, on 24 May 2014.
