Sheep breed
Charmoise
Charmoise
A polled meat sheep bred from Romney and French local breeds.
Description1
A French breed created in the early 19th century by Édouard Malingié on his estate La Charmoise, between Blois and Tours. Romney rams imported from England were crossed with local breeds (Berrichon du Cher, Merino, Solognote, Tourangelle) to combine the meat of the former with the hardiness of the latter.
A white-faced, white-woolled sheep, polled in both sexes. Rams stand about 65 cm, ewes about 5 cm less; in 2016 rams weighed 80–95 kg and ewes 55–65 kg.
Kept for meat and wool. In the 1960s about 650,000 head were spread across south-west central France, mainly Haute-Vienne and Vienne; by 2014 numbers had fallen to 8,100.
History1
Early 19th century
Édouard Malingié crosses Romney rams with local ewes; established by 1820.
1896 / 1927
A breed society forms; the first flock-book appears in 1927.
1960s
Peak of about 650,000 head, then a steep decline.
Breed standard and breed society
The official breed description, breeding goal and herdbook rules are published by the breed's recognised breed society.
- English Wikipedia – Charmoisehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charmoise
Photo gallery
All photos are freely licensed (Wikimedia Commons, Flickr); author, source and licence are shown under each image.
Sources
Accessed: 2026-10-18.