Fallow deer have a long history in Britain and the rare white fallow deer stag or buck was adopted by King Richard II as his crest, the "Royal Hart". A century of selective breeding has created a unique white fallow deer herd at Houghton Hall in Norfolk, England; visitors to the Hall can watch deer in their natural environment as these beautiful creatures graze the parkland of an estate once owned by Sir Robert Walpole, the first Prime Minister of England.
White Fallow Deer in Britain
Six different species of deer are to be found in Britain. Fallow deer are not strictly a native species having first been introduced by the Romans, but are now widespread and are widely considered to be our most beautiful species. Generally you can recognise fallow deer most easily by their beautifully dappled coat of pale chestnut with characteristic white spots on the back and flanks and a white tail, which flashes an alarm signal as they take flight. However, there are quite strong variations in colour, the most spectacular being pure white. This beautiful white form was adopted by King Richard II as his crest and is the inspiration for the many “White Hart” pubs found around the country.
Houghton Hall
One of the most remarkable fallow deer herds in Britain is the white deer herd at Houghton Hall in Norfolk. Houghton Hall, a magnificent Italianate mansion, was built by England’s first Prime Minister, Sir Robert Walpole nearly 300 years ago. The 300 acre deer park is even older, dating back to the late 1600s, but it was only around about a hundred years ago that the 4th Marquis of Cholmondeley, a direct descendant of Walpole, introduced a selective breeding programme to produce the present pure white herd.
The Houghton Hall White Fallow Deer Herd
Today, a gravel voiced, larger than life American from Oregon called Todd Bruno manages the herd for the present Lord Cholmondeley. Now a world expert on deer, Todd’s astonishing CV includes spells running an Art gallery on the Left Bank in Paris, building a hotel in Indonesia and sustainable forestry work in South America.
“I’d never done anything with deer,” he recounts “and then this German friend called me up and asked me to go help him run his deer herd in upper New York State, and I found myself in charge of 600 of them. I can tell you that was on job training!”
Finding that the “the Kiwis were the big hitters in deer farming”, he learned all he could from New Zealand practice and introduced many of their methods. He soon built a successful herd in New York, and an international reputation, which caught the attention of Lord David Cholmondeley, who invited him to take over Houghton’s herd in 1988.
Todd’s pride and enthusiasm for his deer are clear as he describes how he has imported new blood lines from all over the world to improve the quality of the herd since his arrival. Today, the impressive bucks with their heavy palmate antlers, surrounded by their hinds and fawns, create a breathtaking sight as they graze beneath ancient oak trees in Houghton Hall's green English parkland.
The estate now has over 1000 deer, with a superb reputation for quality, divided between the ornamental white park herd and the breeding stud. Some deer are sold for venison, but many are exported all around the world as breeding stock for other herds.
Visiting the White Deer Herd of Houghton Hall
Houghton Hall, with its garden and deer park, are open to the public from April to September, but precise dates vary from year to year.
More Information About Fallow Deer
Fallow deer and their life cycle.
Tony Allen - In 2004 I began my "fourth career" as a freelance writer. In my first career, after training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, I ...
