The History of Breed – Bearded Collie
(Paula Brooks, President, Bearded Collie Club)
(appeared as part of the Bearded Collie feature in 'Our Dogs' December 11th 2020 edition)
The origin and early years of the Bearded Collie up to the mid 20th century can easily be overlooked when we think about the history of the breed. This article therefore concentrates on the time before and up to the introduction of the famous 'Bothkennar' Bearded Collies.
Looking through various publications, the Bearded Collie Club Archives and listening to many breed experts over the years, it does seem that the distribution of long-haired droving or herding 'shaggy sheepdogs' of rather a similar type is so wide spread that it is no doubt very difficult to find a common origin for the 'Bearded Collie' we know today or to establish the influence of one type or another. Various records and folk memory note that the 'shaggy' dog or 'sheepdog' was seen around the British Isles and Europe from the late 1800's yet could have developed from the Romans, Anglo's and/or Polish Traders many of whom took their business to Scotland. The early 'sheepdog' has been known as the Highland Collie, the Hairy Mou'ed, the Scottish Mountain dog, the Mull Sheepdog, the Scottish Border Collie, the Aberdeen Sheepdog, a Hairy Mountain Dog, the Smithfield Drover, the Welsh Grey, the Hillman and the Barking Dog!
With grateful thanks to the late Major James Logan (1918-2005) for his dedication to the breed. What follows is taken from his work recorded in the Bearded Collie Club Archives during his time as Chairman, President and Patron. This includes a synopsis of the 'Bearded Collie History' from 1514 to 1955 where he quite often refers to Bearded Collies as 'Beardies'. I have added and find it particularly touching to read the extract from 'Owd Bob' in comparison to the extract from 'John Macnab' to which he also refers:
'There is a strong tradition in Scotland that Beardies were developed to take part in the long distance cattle drives which took place from the time of the Union with England in 1707 up to the closing years of the 1880's. The cattle were driven from the Western and Northern Highlands to the markets in Central Scotland, where they were sold to English buyers. Thence they were driven south to Yorkshire and East Anglia for fattening before finally being driven to the meat markets in the English Midlands and Smithfield. Documentary evidence of the use of Beardies in this trade is lacking, but prints of droving scenes by Leitch, an artist who was working in Scotland about the middle of the last century, show dogs which could be Beardies'…… 'The earliest detailed description of the Bearded Collie is by D J Thomson Gray in his book 'The Dogs of Scotland'. This was published in parts during the latter half of the 1880's and appeared in book form in 1891. Some of this description is considerably at variance with modern ideas, for example the 'General Appearance' paragraph, which reads 'A big, rough-coated, clumsy-looking dog, with rather large head, sleepy look, and a peculiar action when running.'
1514 Three Polish Sheepdogs said to have been imported into Scotland. Mated to native dogs may have had some slight effect on the development of the breed.
1803-04 Reinagle's illustration in the 'Sportsman's Cabinet' of a brown Beardie-like dog entitled 'The Shepherd's Dog'.
1847 Publication of Jesse's 'Anecdotes of Dogs'. The 1891 edition has a print of a drawing by W B Smith entitled 'Scotch Colley' which is clearly a Beardie.
1855 Herring's painting appears titled 'Bearded Collie and Hound'.
1879 Rosa Bonheur's drawing of a Beardie-like dog.
 1879 - Rosa Bonheur's drawing of a Beardie-like dog |
 A steel engraved print by W.R.Smith 1888 of a 'Scotch Colly' from the book 'Anecdotes of Dogs' by Edward Jesse. Owned by and Courtesy of David Hyde. |
1886 – 1893 A number of shows, mainly in the West of Scotland, offered classes for 'Old Scotch, Bearded, Bobtailed or Wavy (sometimes wiry) coated. Many dogs in these classes were unregistered, but some were registered as Rough Coated Sheepdogs and these may have been Beardies. A dog called Hielan Roger, born in June 1882 and registered in October 1884 may have been the first Beardie to be registered at the Kennel Club.
1893 The Rough Coated Sheepdog category of registrations was replaced by Rough Coated Collies and after this date, no Beardies taking part in the Old Scotch classes or in the Beardie or Bobtail classes which replaced them, were registered until the introduction of the 'Not Otherwise Classified' category in 1909. Despite this, at many shows in Scotland, some, and sometimes all the collie classes were for Rough, Smooth or Bearded.
1897 Beardies classified for the first time at a Championship Show at the Scottish Kennel Club Edinburgh Show.
1898 An article in 'Country Life' on Mrs Panmure Gordon's Kennel contained a photograph of 'Jock'.
1898 Publication in 'Our Dogs' of an article on the breed by Mrs Hall Walker, which contained a definitive standard.
 Postcard of a farm Beardie circa 1900 courtesy of Maureen Sale. |
 1903 - Postcard of 'Ben' sent to an address in Kent with a personal message from the sender - Major Logan referred to ‘Ben’ being shown in 1906. Courtesy of Maureen Sale. |
1898 Publication of Alfred Ollivant's novel 'Owd Bob'. The 1937 version was illustrated by drawings of Beardies but previous editions had been illustrated by drawings of Rough or Border Collies.
'Owd Bob' an extract:
'A tall, gaitered man, with cold, lean, austere face and the steel blue eyes of the hill-country, strode into the yard; and, trotting soberly at his heels, a Grey Dog of Kenmuir. No man can mistake the type. A Grey Dog of Kenmuir is as little indistinct as a Raphael's Madonna. Outside a radius of twenty miles from Kenmuir he is never met. Money cannot win one, neither love; for a Moore would as soon think to sell his child as part with a Grey Dog. But should you, while wandering in the wild sheepland about the twin Pikes, happen on moor or in market upon a very perfect gentle knight clothed in dark grey habit, splashed here and there with rays of moon; free by right divine of the guild of gentlemen, strenuous as a prince, lithe as a rowan, graceful as a girl, with high king-carriage, motions and manners of a fairy queen; should he have a noble breadth of brow, an air of still strength born of right confidence, all unassuming; last, and most unfailing test of all, should you look into two snowcloud eyes, calm, wistful, inscrutable, their soft depths clothed on with eternal sadness – yearning, as is said, for the soul that is not theirs – know then, you look upon one of the line of most illustrious sheep-dogs of the North'
1907 Publication of article on the breed by J C Dalgleish in 'The New Book Of The Dog'.
1909 Establishment by the Kennel Club of a register for any other variety of dog. All Beardies registered at the KC between 1909 and January 1958 appeared in this register. Considerable number of Beardies being shown continued to be unregistered up to the First World War and perhaps even up to the early 1920's.
 Circa 1910 - a German postcard courtesy of Carol Wesson. From an original painting of ‘Fidele’ dated 1883. |
 Postcard of a brown Beardie 1914 courtesy of Maureen Sale. |
1912 Dr Russell Greig MRCVS reported the formation of the Bearded Collie Club with J C Dalgleish as President.
1913 A 'special' offered at the Scottish Kennel Club for the first Best Bearded Collie owned by a member of the Bearded Collie Club.
1924 Publication of John Buchan's novel 'John Macnab', which features the dog 'Mackenzie'.
'John Macnab' an extract:
'At a turn of the road he came upon his host, tramping homeward in the company of a most unprepossessing hound. I pause for an instant to introduce Mackenzie. He was a mongrel collie of the old Highland stock, known as 'beardies', and his tousled head, not unlike an extra-shaggy Dandie Dinmont's was set upon a body of immense length, girth and muscle. His manners were atrocious to all accept his master, and local report accused him of every canine vice except worrying sheep. He had been christened 'The Bluidy Mackenzie' after a noted persecutor of the godly, by someone whose knowledge of history was greater than Sir Archie's for the latter never understood the allusion. The name, however, remained his official one; commonly he was addressed as Mackenzie, but in moments of expansion he was referred to by his master as Old Bloody'
1928 – 1936 'The Cameron Miller Era' – During this period, Mrs Miller of Balmacneil registered 8 Beardies of unknown parentage and a further 2 of known but unregistered parentage, of which 4 were dogs and six bitches. During this period she bred 10 litters with registered progeny, and one litter was bred from one of her puppies by a different owner. A total of 49 puppies were registered from these 11 litters, 28 dogs and 21 bitches. Mrs Miller showed her Beardies at Championship and Open Shows all over Scotland and at the KC and LKA Championship Shows in England, frequently guaranteeing classes for the breed, but she was unable to attract more than a passing interest from any other exhibitors. She left Balmacneil in 1936 and her kennel broke up. Her 2 most successful dogs were Balmacneil Jock and Balmacneil Rook. She died in 1942, and no one seems to know what happened to her dogs.
1939 One Beardie was registered but no others for 9 years.
1944 'Bothkennar' - Mrs G O Willison acquired what she discovered to be a Bearded Collie puppy, sent to her by a farmer's Agent in Scotland instead of a Shetland Sheepdog puppy from working stock. This puppy was Jeannie of Bothkennar and the ancestress of almost all of today's KC registered Beardies.
1948 Jeannie of Bothkennar registered by inspection.
1950 Bailie of Bothkennar was registered. Litter by Bailie from Jeannie registered in June, the first Beardie litter to be registered since Mrs Cameron Miller's last litter in 1934.
1954 Bond of Bothkennar became the first Beardie to gain a Stud Book number by winning a Junior Working Trial. In October, application to register the title of the Bearded Collie Club appeared in the Kennel Gazette, despite the fact that only 50 Beardies had been registered and there were only 16 owners of registered Beardies.
1955 The application to register the title of the Bearded Collie Club was approved by the Kennel Club.
And the rest is history as we know it….