Previously known as the "Yorkshire Pheasant", it wasn't until 1914 that it became known as the Old English Pheasant Fowl.  Living in the Yorkshire Dales, and I guess with my love for pheasants, the Old English Pheasant Fowl is my ideal rare breed poultry choice.  
A hardy bird that was always very suited as a dual-purpose bird for the small holder.  The Old English Pheasant Fowl (OEPF) was a hardy bird suited to foraging and gleaning most of its food from its surrounding and often bleak surroundings (imagine Wuthering Heights in a Force 10!), whilst at the same time maintaining a good carcass weight and a reasonable sized egg.  Its pheasant like tendencies of roosting high meant it was always safe from the roaming fox and badger population.  My birds have always been prolific layers of a good sized egg, but never go broody - perhaps another reason why they were on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust Watch List.
Old English Pheasant Fowl need plenty of room to roam