The breed was developed in Gloucestershire in the Berkeley Vale. It was originally mainly found around the valley of the River Severn and its strength was as a pig kept in a sty in the bottom of the garden - the Cottager's Pig!

Officailly recognized in 1913 when the Gloucestershire Old Spots Herd Society was formed, the breed is believed to be much older as its name implies. It is almost certainly evolved from crossing the unimproved Berkshire (a sandy coloured, prick-eared pig with black spots) with the original Gloucestershire pig, a large, dirty-white pig with wattles which was rapidly losing popularity by the middle of the nineteenth century.

There is evidence to suggest some injection of blood from the Old English Bacon Pig - the forerunner of the Wessex (now British) Saddleback.

The county of Gloucesterhire was famous for cheese production and apple orchards and the Gloucestershire Old Spots thrived and converted the waste from both into valuable protein - whey from cheese production and windfall fruit formed the basis of its diet. One of the breed's local names is "The Orchard Pig". Local folklore says that the spots are the bruises from windfall fruit!

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