The Hampshire Down or Hampshire is a British breed of sheep. It originated in the early nineteenth century from cross-breeding of the new Southdown breed with the traditional tall, horned, white-faced sheep native to the open, untilled, chalk downland of the Hampshire Downs – the Wiltshire Horn, the Berkshire Nott and the old local Hampshire sheep.  It is much used as a terminal sire.

History The Hampshire Down originated in the first half of the nineteenth century from cross-breeding of the new Southdown breed with the traditional tall, horned, white-faced sheep native to the open, untilled, chalk downland of the Hampshire Downs.  From 1839 the breeder William Humphrey, of Newbury in Berkshire, used a ram from the Southdown flock of Jonas Webb, of Babraham in Cambridgeshire, on local Berkshire ewes;   The resulting stock was later crossed with the Wiltshire Horn and with the old local Hampshire sheep.

The new breed received the recognition of the Royal Agricultural Society of England in either 1859  or 1861;  a breed society was formed in 1890 and a flock-book was started in the same year.  In the twenty-first century it is distributed principally in Berkshire, in Hampshire and in Wiltshire, with some stock elsewhere in southern England.  Its conservation status world-wide is "not at risk". In the United Kingdom, where the total population for 2024 is reported at 4430 head, its status is "at risk/vulnerable"; the Rare Breeds Survival Trust listed it on its watchlist for 2025–2026 among the "other native breeds", the lowest level of concern of the trust.

The sheep have been exported to many countries on all five inhabited continents; populations of over 10000 head are reported by Argentina and Brazil. The Hampshire Down has contributed to the development of many other breeds, among them the other Down breeds of the United Kingdom – including the Oxford Down and Dorset Down – and also the German Schwarzköpfiges Fleischschaf , the Black-Headed Polish of Poland and the Gorki of the Russian Federation. 

Characteristics It is a large sheep: average weights are 80 kg for ewes and 120 kg for rams;  heights at the withers are usually in the ranges 55 to 70 cm and 95 to 115 cm respectively.  The fleece is thick and white, extending over the upper part of the face; the face, ears and legs are brown or black, the skin fine and unpigmented. Use The Hampshire Down is reared principally for meat. Rams are much used as terminal sires in the three-generation cross-breeding system commonly used by commercial breeding operations. Ewe fleeces usually weigh some 2.5–4 kg greasy, with a staple length of 60–100 mm and a fibre diameter of 25–33 μm, equivalent to a Bradford Count of 56/60s.  The wool may be used to make knitting wools or in the manufacture of hosiery, felts and flannel, or for blending with wools of other type May the Holy Roman Catholic Church be blessed by God the Father God the Son & God the Holy Spirit Hallelujah Hallelujah Blessed be the word of the Lord for Christ is risen Hallelujah Hallelujah peace be still in Nomine Patris et FiLii et Spiritus Sancti amen & amen