Brittingham Farms’ lamb Charlie appears in Victoria Magazine

Brittingham Farms, Lavender & Lambs announced its beloved farm mascot Charlie the lamb, a Heritage Breed Leicester Longwool sheep, is pictured in the holiday issue of Victoria Magazine.

The Leicester Longwool breed was brought to early America by George Washington, and Brittingham Farms is one of only 100 or so private breeders in the U.S. today, including Mount Vernon and Colonial Williamsburg. Charlie has become well known to farm customers over the last year and a half since the Brittingham family decided to open the farm up to the public with a large field of lavender, lavender oil distillery and farm store. Charlie can be seen following owner and shepherd Laura Brittingham around the farm daily. Charlie was a triplet born at Easter 2021, and was bottle fed by Brittingham and her children.

"When customers come to the farm, and meet Charlie and the rest of the flock, they immediately fall in love. He is my field trip lamb and follows me around the farm like he is a puppy. I'm pretty sure he's the most famous sheep in Southern Delaware. He's starting to accumulate quite a following,” said Brittingham.

Brittingham Farms and its preservation work with the Leicester Longwool breed was noticed last year by Virginia designer and social media influencer Jenny Bohannon of Tallwood Country House. Bohannon was asked to serve as artist-in-residence for 2023 for Victoria Magazine, and she had a vision to dress her horse country home in Northern Virginia with a Colonial Williamsburg theme for her last issue as contributor. Bohannon asked the Brittinghams to join her one day last Christmas for the Victoria photo shoot with their sheep on her farm. "It was such a wonderful experience to be part of Victoria Magazine’s holiday issue; it was a surprise we had to keep for a year,” said Brittingham. "Jenny Bohannon is such an icon in terms of classic and traditional design, and it was truly an honor to work with her and have our sheep as part of the collaboration."

The Brittingham Farms team is proud to shepherd this historically significant breed. The Leicester Longwool is considered both rare and threatened on the Livestock Conservancy List. Charlie and the Leicester Longwool flock can be visited during open hours on the farm in Millsboro. The farm is expecting lambs this spring, when several events will be planned around viewing the newest members of the flock.

For more information, go to brittinghamfarms.com.