This much-loved Scottish sheepdog once came remarkably close to disappearing

The hardy, shaggy bearded collie has centuries of history behind it, but this much-loved Scottish sheepdog once came remarkably close to disappearing.

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A grey-and-white bearded collie sitting behind the steering wheel of a tractor in a field.
All aboard — a perfectly competent driver takes the wheel.
(Image credit: Alamy)

‘My dog Sirrah,’ once wrote the ‘Ettrick Shepherd’, James Hogg, ‘was beyond all comparison, the best dog I ever saw. He had a somewhat surly and unsocial temper, disdaining all flattery, and refusing to be caressed; but his attention to my commands and interest will never again be matched by any of the canine race.’

The breed has been valued for its strength and hardiness in the field since its arrival in Britain, most likely with the Celts during the invasions of the third and fourth centuries BC. The sheepdog Hogg describes is said to have been a bearded collie, a breed once highly prized in Scotland on account of its ‘sagacity and indifference to the demands of the climate’, Country Life reported in 1914.

A black-and-white bearded collie walking towards the camera, its long coat flowing and tongue poking out.

The beard in all its glory.

(Image credit: Alamy)

Geographic conditions have undoubtedly had a considerable effect on types of working dogs and, in the Scottish Highlands, a profuse and weather-resistant coat was required to give the dogs protection when they stood guard over their flocks at night.

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Gainsborough’s portrait of Henry, 3rd Duke of Buccleuch and 5th Duke of Queensberry (1770), depicts an early example of the large, shaggy dog, which can also be seen in Philip Reinagle’s well-known painting, an engraving of which appeared in The Sportsman’s Cabinet.

Black-and-white photograph of a bearded collie standing in profile, showing its long, shaggy coat and distinctive facial hair.

Benjie of Bothkennar, who won the Bearded Breeds Champion Collie title in 1961.

(Image credit: Alamy)

The rugged charm of the breed was captured by Country Life in 1898, when the magazine visited the kennels of Panmure Gordon. The first breed standard was drawn up in 1912, but the bearded-collie population was in rapid decline and, by the 1940s, it was very scarce indeed.

In 1954, Country Life reported that ‘a great loss would have been that very charming old Scottish gentleman, the bearded collie — a breed which has had a very close shave in the battle for survival’.

A brown-and-white bearded collie with a long, flowing coat runs across the grass.

Swish, swish: the bearded collie in full flow.

(Image credit: Alamy)

The Kennel Club gave recognition to the breed in 1959 and, today, bearded collies sit on the vulnerable native breed list.

‘A keen, intelligent dog, still physically and mentally capable of doing a good day’s work with the minimum of training,’ Country Life said of beardies in 1960.

Black-and-white photograph of Rocket, a bearded collie, sitting beside an open fridge with a chocolate bar in his mouth.

Rocket the bearded collie having a snack.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

This is an extract from 'The Country Life Book of Dogs' (Rizzoli, £50) by Agnes Stamp.

Agnes Stamp
Agnes Stamp

Agnes has worked for Country Life in various guises — across print, digital and specialist editorial projects — before finally finding her spiritual home on the Features Desk. A graduate of Central St. Martins College of Art & Design she has worked on luxury titles including GQ and Wallpaper* and has written for Condé Nast Contract Publishing, Horse & Hound, Esquire and The Independent on Sunday. She is the author of the Country Life Book of Dogs.