The Improved Essex came from Squire Western of Felix Hall, the original importer of the black Neapolitan pigs from Italy. He crossed his imports on big Essex sows to create his Essex Half-black (black one end, white the other), and his tenants used the cross to create the Improved Essex as a small fat black pig giving top-quality pork.





Large black or 'blue' pigs were found right across southern England from Cornwall through Sussex to Kent. At the very end of the nineteenth century all of them were brought together to form the Large Black, which also absorbed the Small Black of East Anglia. The Large Black was a very popular and very large bacon breed in the 1920s but is rare today. Its 'mealy' black colour protects it in hot climates, and it is thoroughly hardy in its own country as a handsome and gentle outdoor grazer.






Some of the old Essex pigs were described as 'sheeted', meaning black with a white band over the shoulders that also extended to cover the forelegs. This pattern is now known as 'saddleback', and the Essex developed into a smart-looking saddleback breed with four white socks and a white tail tassel. It was good for both pork and bacon, and it was once suggested that it was a cross between Large White and Berkshire.

















In the west of England there was another saddleback but with only two white feet — the Wessex Saddleback, probably developed by crossing dark spotted New Forest or Hampshire bacon pigs with the neighbouring massive black Sussex. The ears of the Wessex tended to pitch forward more than those of the Essex, which was an altogether finer and lighter pig. The Wessex's saddle was not as broad as that of the Essex, but the qualities of the two became similar and they were combined as the British Saddleback. It is still possible to discern the Essex and the Wessex within the combined breed. The breed is increasingly popular for outdoor systems and on organic pig farms.