Southdown sheep wool and cereals due to rising volumes of imports from the British Empire was accompanied by the Wet Years - a six-year period of cold, wet weather with little sun. In the Second World War, the South Downs were commandeered for military training, only fringe farms being left to produce milk for the towns. Sheep farming declined further after the war, although it is now being encouraged again through the designation of the downland as an environmentally sensitive area, and the restoration of arable land to sheepwalk. The Southdown has been placed on a watch list by the Rare Breeds
Southdown Road Skew Bridge Southdown Road Skew Bridge Southdown Road Skew Bridge is a ribbed skew arch railway bridge, which carries the Midland Main Line across Southdown Road in Harpenden, Hertfordshire. Built of brick by the Midland Railway and opening in 1868, it is notable for its extreme skew angle of approximately 65°. Located approximately south of Harpenden station, the bridge was built to carry a double-track standard gauge railway line across Southdown Road, which borders Harpenden Common in Hertfordshire, as part of the Midland Railway's southern extension towards its London terminus at St Pancras, and opened to traffic in 1868. Owing to the