The Durham Ox was a castrated bull which became famous in the early 19th century for its shape, size and weight. It was an early example of what became the Shorthorn breed of cattle, and helped establish the standards by which the breed was to be defined.
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The animal was born in March 1796 and was bred by Charles Colling of Ketton Hall, Brafferton near Darlington in North-East England. Colling, together with his brother Robert who farmed at nearby Barmpton, was one of the pioneers of the cattle-breeding movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. After a visit in 1784 to Robert Bakewell, a successful breeder of Longhorn cattle, Colling began using Bakewell’s techniques to develop and improve the Shorthorn breed. The animal eventually known as the Durham Ox was the grandson of Colling’s original bull “Hubbach”, and became known as the Ketton Ox when it was exhibited in Darlington in 1799. It was painted as such at five years old in 1801 by George Cuit of Richmond.
In 1801 the ox was sold to John Day of Harmston, near Lincoln, for £250 (2010: £14,200 ). Day renamed it the Durham Ox and had a carriage specially made to transport it, drawn by four horses. For the next five years it toured with him around England and Scotland, exhibited to the public at agricultural fairs and other events. It proved extremely popular. For most of 1802 the Durham Ox was on show in London, where it is recorded that in one single day admission fees to see it totalled £97.
A dedication accompanying a painting of the ox by John Boultbee (1753–1812) in 1802 gave details of the animal’s measurements and estimated its weight as 171 stone (1,086 kg), but later estimates ran as high as 270 stone (1,715 kg), although there may be some confusion as the stone was not a standardised weight at the time. Whilst its size and weight partially accounts for the admiration it attracted, it was also regarded as a particularly fine and well-proportioned example of its type, at a time when the concept of selective breeding for particular characteristics was just becoming established in agriculture.
On show in Oxford during February 1807, the ox damaged its hip as it was getting out of its carriage. The injury failed to heal, and on 15 April 1807 it had to be slaughtered. Its weight after death was reported to be 189 stone (1,200 kg).
The ox was painted by various artists during its lifetime and pictures of it were reproduced and sold commercially. A coloured engraving after John Boultbee’s picture of 1802 sold 2,000 prints in that year alone. China and porcelain was produced, decorated with pictures of the ox, including a range of blue and white Staffordshire pottery. The impact made by the Durham Ox is reflected in the large number of British pubs named for the creature and a town Durham Ox in Victoria, Australia.
Ritvo, Harriet (1987). The animal estate: The English and other creatures in the Victorian age. Cambridge MA and London: Harvard University Press.