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THE

HUNTING COUNTRIES

OF

ENGLAND,

THEIE FACILITIES. CKARACTEE. AND REQUIEEMENTS.

A GUIDE TO HUNTING MEN.

By BEOOKSBY.

Volume II.

PARTS IV.. v., AND VI.

LONDON :
HORACE COX.
THE FIELD" OFFICE, 34G, ST E A N D, W.C.

18&S.

avlerr\o

\

^5

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX. 346. STRAND. W.C.

CONTENTS

PART IV.

PAGE

The Badsworth

1

The Southdown

8

The East Essex

. 15

The Bramham Moor ...

21

The East Sussex

. 30

The Essex and Suffolk

37

The York and Ainsty

. 44

Lord Fitzwilliam's

53

The Crawley and Horsham

. 60

The West Kent

67

Sir Watkin Wynn's

.74

The Hursley

83

The Hambledon

90

Lord Coventry's

97

The Grove

. 105

The West Norfolk

114

The Bedale ....

. 120

Lord Zetland's

128

The Craven ■

. 135

The Surrey Union

142

PART V.

The Old Surrey 149

Mr. Richard Combe's 157

The Burstow 164

The Hurworth . 172

The Cattistock 180

The Suffolk 187

CONTENTS.

The Shropshire

The Earl of Radnor's

Capt, Hon. F. Johnstone's

The South Durham

The Worcestershire

The Ledbury .

The South Herefordshire

The South Staffordshire

The North Staffordshire

The Duke of Beaufort's

The Cots wold .

The Dumfriesshire

The Albrighton

The North Cotswold .

PAGE

196
204
210
218
225
232
240
246
254
263
274
283
290
300

PART VI.

Lord Middleton's

The Sinnington

The Wheatland

The United Pack

The Chiddingfold

Lord Fitzhardinge's ....

Hon. Mark Rolle's

South-and-West Wilts

Lord Portman's

The Cleveland

The North Durham

Braes of Derwent ....
The Radnorshire and West Hereford
The Monmouthshire ....

307
316
325
333
341
347
557
364
373
381
388
394
401
410

HUNTING COUNTKIES

OF

VOL. II.

F^RT IV

THE BADSWOE.TH.*

NoETH of the Grove and South of the Bramham
Moor_, the Badsworth Hunt vies with the latter Hunt
and Lord Fitzwilliam in pushing foxhunting as far as
possible into tbe western wilds and coalpits of York-
shire. An old country _, of long-established repute and
sporting history^ it has suffered_, and is suffering, much,
under the relentless strides of trade development;
year by year the area for the horse and hound is
more narrowed; year by year more lines cross the
face of the country, and its best features become
more seared and distorted. Yet it holds its head up
bravely ; maintains an establishment of the highest
class ; and takes the field as often and fully as

* Vide Stanford's " HunUng Mat)," Sheet 9, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

VOL. II. B

2 The Hunting Countries of England.

efficiently as ever. To be plain, tlie Badswortli
Country, once almost the pick of Yorkshire, is now
so cut to pieces and harassed by the encroachments
of railways competing* in the coal-and-iron interest,
that it has lost much of the free open character which
constituted its charm. This will be patent enough in
a glance at the map ; and, besides all the havoc that
is there denoted by the red lines marking railways of
varied denomination, still another steam-track is in
progress to connect Hull and Barnsley, and to spoil
the pleasant district of which Hemsworth is the
centre.

While the map is in your hand you may note the
surroundings of the Badsworth. East and south its
boundaries are pretty nearly delineated by the course
of the Don. The Aire river separates it on the north
from the Bramham Moor ; and it may go as far as it
can to the westward, where Huddersfield and its busy
populace check it at one point and hilly moorland
meets it at another. From Doncaster to Wakefield,
gives the best general idea of the locale of the Hunt ;
and whoever has seen a Leger run, or even read the
yearly accounts of it, must be well aware that this is,
to say the least, a well-populated district. The
'' tyke " is admittedly a sporting animal ; but his
presence, in too great force, must necessarily be
rather against, than in favour of, the prospects of
sport. He comes out in prominent strength — himself
on foot, his superior officers on horseback, whenever
hounds are in his neisrhbourhood and sufficient excuse
is found available for breaking into the week's work.
This is specially the case on a Saturday, when if he

The Badsworth. 3

did not go a hunting, lie would probably be driven to
the skittle-ground to kill the day : and consequently
on a Saturday Wakefield, Sheffield, Barnsley, Don-
caster and Pontefract turn him and his masters in
great numbers to the hunting-field.

The Badsworth Hunt dates as far back as 1720;
and the present pack (the property of the country)
was founded in 1817 by Mr. Thomas Hodgson, from
the Kennels of Lord Lonsdale, Lord Yarborough, Sir
Bellingham Graham, Mr. Fox, Mr. Villebois, Lord
Fitzwilliam, etc. etc. Just previous -to this period,
Mr. Cha worth Musters (grandpere), and Sir Belling-
ham Grraham had each brought his pack to the country
for a couple of seasons.

There are now some sixty couple of hounds in the
kennels at Badsworth, about three miles from Ponte-
fract. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday
are the hunting days — with an occasional bye-day,
which the Master takes himself with a pack of which
the nucleus is kept for this special purpose. Mr.
Wright assumed the Mastership on the death of Mr.
Hope-Barton in 1876 ; manages the country and
maintains the establishment with the greatest
liberality. It is safe to say that no M.F.H. in
England^ keeps up a stable of such proportions. He
has sometimes no less than a hundred and twenty
horses in his stable !

The country, like most of Yorkshire^ acknowledges
to a good deal of plough — though it is by no means
entirely arable, nor is this arable particularly holding.
On the whole it is a fair scenting country, especially
on the east and west, where it treats itself more freely

B 2

4 The Hunting Countries of England.

to grass of one kind or another. Its coverts are
chiefly natural_, though several nice new gorses have
lately been planted in the low ground to the east.
The frequency and propinquity of the coverts in many
parts of the country make killing a fox often a
matter of difficulty — though this is a difficulty that
may arise anywhere from the blessing of plenty of
foxes.

The fences of the country by no means come under
any single classification ; but can best be alluded to
in touching upon the various districts. It seems to
uSj however^ that all over Yorkshire a habit exists of
digging the ditches very wide and deep.

The country naturally divides itself into four
sections, differing considerably in soil,, surface^ and
character generally.

First, the east, or '^ low country/^ is wild, flat, half-
drained, in parts nearly all rough grass (especially
about Fishlake) — with unkempt ragged fences and
ditches that are never cleaned or cared for. More
sport is seen here than in any other part of the Bads-
worth territory, for there is generally a capital scent
and the foxes are stout and straight. Here and there
a big open drain is met with — putting a strong test
upon horse and rider. Still, a clean-cut drain is
often a pleasanter fence than a brook two feet less in
breadth. For, while the former declares itself
honestly and throws down a fair challenge to a
horse's jumping power, the latter not only varies
in width every few yards, but its banks are often
treacherous, rotten or shelving. The one you caD
ride at knowing that if you can clear a certain

The Baclsworth. 5

number of feet you are safe over ; tlie other is
frequently a trap wMcli is especially laid for tlie
confident and well mounted. Tlie Lake drain is a
notable instance of the former jump ; and holds a
place in the Hunt much akin to that of the AVhis-
sendine with the Cottesmore.

There are many strong good coverts in the " low
country'^ — woods of manageable size. Among these
are Blane Woods and Blane-Hall Wood (Mr. Bate-
son Yarborough's)^ Fen wick (Mr. F. B. Frank^s)^ the
Wolmersley coverts (Lady Hawkers) ^ and the Owston
Woods (Mr. P. B. Cooke's). There is also a fine
gorse covert at Fishlake, the property of Lord Hough-
ton^ and productive of much good sport. The chief
meets are Balne Cross Roads, Womersley, Askern,
and Moss — the last three being stations on the en-
croaching lines of railway, and Monday or Thursday
is the day for this side.

Secondly, round Doncaster is light undulating
plough on limestone, carrying scarcely so good a scent
except in wet weather, but with capital woods for
shelter. The meets are Bobin Hood's Well, Marr,
Red House, &c., and the principal coverts are those of
Mr. G. C. Yarborough's at Barnsdale, Skelbrook (Mr.
Nevile's), Brodsworth Woods (Mr. Thelluson's), the
Melton Woods (Mr. Montague's), and Burgwallis (Mr.
Anne's).

Thirdly, or in continuation of the centre of the
country, is the Hemsworth district, where a better
soil and a greater sprinkling of grass is to be found.
The neighbourhood ot Shafton is particularly good^
and in the Hunt is spoken of as a mimic Leicester-

6 The Hunting Countries of England.

shire. Hemswortli Station is a very favourite meet ;
and used always to be on a Saturday, but a change of
days is said to be in contemplation. From this fixture
Hagg Wood (Mr. C. Fitzwilliam^s), Sir Lionel's Gorse,
or the Shafton G-orses (Lord Galway's) may be drawn.
Other meets are Shafton Two Gates, Ackworth Moor
Tops, Ringstone Hill, &c., and other coverts are
Chevet (Sir Lionel Pilkington's), Hoar Park, Nostell
(Mr. R. Winn's), Frystone (Lord Houghton's),
Badsworth (Mr. R. H. Jones'), Burnt Wood (Mr.
Dymond's), New Park Spring (Mr. Foljambe's),
Hootan Wood (Mr. Warde Aldam's), and Stapleton
(Mrs. Barton's).

The fourth section of the country is the west, which
is hilly and thickly wooded, and owns to a fair pro-
portion of grass. It is very necessary here to be
mounted on a horse that will jump a stone wall, which
is a frequent fence in the neighbourhood. And espe-
cially is this the case should a fox take you straight
for the moors, over the wild open country intervening.
In January, 1880, a notable instance of such a run was
sketched in The Field. On the occasion alluded to
they ran a ten-mile point from Haigh Wood, hounds
going on with their fox till at the end of three hours
they were lost in the darkness, thirty miles from home.
This western district is now thickly populated by
colliers — a keen breed of sportsmen, or, as they term
themselves, '' pure hunters " — who will often turn out
to run for miles with hounds. The principal western
meets are Cawthorne, Woolley Edge, Darton, and
Haigh Station ; and these are usually on a Monday.
The chief coverts are Bretton (Mr. W. B. Beaumont's),

The Badsworth. 7

Cawthorne (Mr. W. S." Stanhope^ s), and Woolley
(Mr. a. Wentworth's).

Should you be minded to see the Badsworth at work,
Doncaster or Pontefract offers the most commanding
points and the best accommodation. The Great
Northern will land you at either in three hours and a
half to four hours from London. A hunter, strong
and well bred, is necessary in the Badsworth country
throughout ; and the natives have always shown
themselves equal to the occasion by breeding horses
of this type for their own riding*. Of late years,
however, the farmers of Yorkshire, as everywhere else,
have been glad to dispose of anything worth the
attention of the extraneous buyer ; and are much less
fi^equently seen riding horses of the stamp and quality
for which the county has been so famous. Indeed,
fewer farmers are seen out hunting at all now than in
former years ; and, altogether, the Badsworth field is
generally a limited one, except, as above-mentioned,
on holiday Saturday.

It should be noted, as a feature of the country, that
the River Went almost bisects it in its course from
west to east. Only near its source is it comfortably
jumpable. Soon afterwards it developes to proportions
demanding ford or bridge, and constituting a source
of anxiety when hounds are seen to be heading
towards it.

8 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SOUTHDOWN.*

The Londoner may fix upon many a worse quarter
whence to enjoy his two or three days hunting in the
week than Brighton — little as we are accustomed to
associate that tripper's Paradise with vigorous field-
sports. 'Tis of foxhunting, of course, we are about
to speak ; for, while in no way holding with Mr.
Jorrocks' graphically-expressed contempt for ^'^ cur-
rant-jelly dogs " — on the contrary, believing in them
heartily as the young foxhunter's best instructors — we
hold harehunting to be a sport without a literature.
'' Puss 'unting '' — once more to borrow a phrase out
of the mouth of the immortal one — is not a thrilling
pursuit in the abstract. Even the chronicle of a fine
run necessarily reads about as exciting as those
mysterious records which reach us now and again from
St. Andrews or Westward Ho — where Jamie Junr.
has dribbled a ball in and out of a series of little holes
in the ground, in fewer strokes than on any previous
occasion in the stirring annals of golf. There may be
something harrier-like in the atmosphere of Brighton
— and much that is creditable in the connection. But

* Vide Stauforcl's " Hunting Map," Sheet 22, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Southdown. 9

this is not our present subject. The professed theme
under the head of Hunting Countries is how to lead
the Londoner afield for recreation or residence. And
so we come to Brighton to quaff ozone, tempered, as
taste may prompt, by Zoedone or Perrier Jouet — and
to take our turn with the Southdown. Hire if you
like at Brighton. It is cheap in the short run, if not
in the long. A hireling is the best of mounts over a
Down country. His life has been spent in one con-
tinued gallop with a loose rein. He has learned the
limit of his powers, or inclination, and will not go one
stride beyond either. In the after- glow of a gallop
on a hireling you may dine like a Briton ; have no care
while you sip your coffee as to whether your recent
mount is eating his corn, and in the morning know no
agony over filled legs or fevered frame. The
sovereigns (often four now where it used to be two —
though the Brighton and Lewes tariff remains, I
believe, unaltered) are the only blurr upon a pleasant
past. R.M.D. — a short quick process — cheap and
often disagreeable. Ask the British Subaltern on his
return from a spree. Ask the man who backs
favourites. A quick settlement, and sober method.
This the moral. The practice advocated in the special
instance is, after all — Keep your own horses wherever
you are. Put up with your lame ones and your dis-
appointments. Admit to yourself as much as you
please that, when things go wrong- (and when donH
they go wrong in a hunting establishment except
when owner doesn^t care if he stays at home or not ?)
that you are the one unlucky man in the world — howl
to yourself if you like that Fortune has for years been

10 The Hunting Countries of England.

picking you out as lier special victim. Yet depend
upon it you are better off relying upon yourself, though
you may have to grind your teeth through many a
crisis. Only stable philosophy this — though no restric-
tion is placed upon its being applied to every-day life,
and no patent has been taken out for the principle.

Brighton, as everyone knows, is little more than an
hour^s journey from London ; and the Southdown will
give you either a scurry over the open downs, which
stretch some thirty-five or forty miles from Shoreham
to Eastbourne, or more solid foxhunting in the stiff
vale farther inland. A racing burst over the hills — a
flying scent and never a fence — is a thing almost of
itself. The Gorse coverts lie in many instances three
or four miles apart, and invariably hold foxes. Hounds
seldom fail to get away at their fox's brush ; the downs
almost always carry a scent ; and thus a point-to-point
race is the ordinary result — he who can, with judg-
ment, gallop fastest and ride lightest being in all
probability nearest to hounds, who in their turn will
often more than hold their own with the horses and
generally burst up their fox.

The Downs or " the hill,'' and the Weald or '' Low
Country " are the two natural divisions of the country
— the former being marked on the map as the South-
downs and stretching along the sea-coast the whole
length of the country, the latter a strong clay valley
divided on the north from the Crawley and Horsham
by the little stream of the Adur. The Southdown
country was originally a part of the East Sussex — the
present line of demarcation on the east being the
north road from Hail sham.

The Southdown. 11

The Down meets being, with few exceptions, those
nearest to Brighton, are naturally the most fully
attended — even if sport is not the only influence which
brings so many scarlet coats and shapely riding-habits
to a meet of the foxhounds. It is pleasant to inhale
the crisp breeze on the hilltop, even if you are not
minded to dip into each valley and struggle over each
crest in the mad rush after the spotted dogs. For
many eyes too there is attraction in a red coat ; but
in justice to itself it should be brought home before
evening has thrown a veil over window and prome-
nade. And who shall deny that a habit is the most
becoming of all garments ? But, whether to sport-
man or lounger there should be something stirring
and exhilarating in a quick sharp gallop in merry
company over the smooth mossy turf, or light tilled
soil almost as firm as turf, which form the surface of
the downs. And the day seldom passes when the
Southdown meet " on the Hill ^^ that they cannot
offer such a gallop. Should, however, a fox take it
into his head, as he often mil, to strike suddenly
downwards off the high ground into the vale beneath,
it becomes at once a question of most serious con-
sideration as to whether you should follow hounds or
not. If he is really bound for the Weald, the sooner
you slide and scramble down the steep descent the
better. But should he have merely taken a turn
down in order to twist back again, you only put your-
self completely behind by getting under the hill —
which you will find impossible to re-climb again after
hounds, till they are far over the brow and the order
of the chase, as far as pursuers go, has been com-

12 The Hunting Countries of England.

pletely reversed. More often, however, fox and hounds
will run along under the hillside while you are able to
gallop on the top ; and the slope being quite free from
timber you may see with ease all that the pack is
doing. A vale fox is more likely to take to the hill
than a hill fox to descend to the low country — a rule
that holds good nearly everywhere. And as there are
no large coverts on the downs, hounds are there gene-
rally able to account for their fox — when once they
have been on terms sufficient to take the steel out of
him. But in the case of the Southdown hill and vale,
again, there is the attraction of the strong woods
below — such as Plashet, Abbott's Wood, and Laughton
on the east, and Toddington, Danny, Newtimber, and
Wellingore on the west; and a woodland bred fox,
found on the downs, is pretty sure to make his point
back as soon as he can.

The Low Country is, to adopt a homely but not
altogether inapplicable simile, as widely different from
the downs as cheese is from chalk. A strong clay soil
is to a great extent laid down in good honest turf ;
the rest is plough that rides deep and holding. For
instance, both sides of the railway as you travel from
Keymer Junction to Lewes are all beautiful gTass ; as
it is also from Glynd to the Laughton Woods. Moving
on by Chiddingly again we get into a stiff deep
country, while on the west of Henfield district is
grass and plough mixed. The large lowland coverts
are mostly full of foxes — the Chiddingly neighbour-
hood being especially notable in this respect. The
fences of the weald call for a clever horse rather than
a flyer ; the hedge is generally on a low bank, always

The Southdown. 13

witli a ditcli on one side, frequently on both ; so that a
horse must be able to steady himself, measure his
stride accurately, and be prepared if necessary to drop
his hind legs for a second spring. Field is connected
with field by means of what are known as bar-ways —
gateways with draw-rails, to wit.

The Southdown Hunt has lately experienced a
change of mastership, and, with it, an alteration in
the days of hunting. Under Mr. Streatfield, who was
Master for eleven years (showing excellent sport,
hounds took the field three days one week, and four
the next). Under the new master, Mr. C. Brand, it
is, we understand, proposed to hunt four days a week
regularly. Hitherto the method of distributing the
days has been much as follows — Monday and Satur-
day have been devoted to the weald or northern half
of the country, wherein Glynd (the residence of The
Speaker), Firle, Alciston, Seaford, Beddingham, Bar-
combe, Chailey (Mr. I. Ingram^s), Newick (Mr. W.
Sclater's), Street Green, &c., are frequent meets.
Lord Gage is the largest landed proprietor in these
parts ; is a staunch supporter of the Hunt ; and owns
several of the best coverts in the Hunt, including
Plashet and Abbott's Wood. Wednesday is generally
spent in the south-eastern corner of the country near
Eastbourne, with such meets as Polegate, Jevington,
Eastbourne, East or West Dean, &c. Friday is
always a Brighton meet, and means a large field, at
any rate for the early part of the day. Seven miles
from Brighton is about the outside distance for a ride
to covert on a Friday, and brings in such fixtures as
Offham (Sir G. Schiffner's), Stanmer Park (Lord Chi-

14 The Hunting Countries of England.

chester^s), Portslade^ EiTingham, the Dyke, New-
market Arch, Newhaven, Danny Park (Mr. W. Cam-
pion's).

In conclusion, the kennels are at Ringmer, about
two miles out of Lewes, which itself is a very good
and central quarter whence to hunt with the South-
down ; and the Hounds are the property of the
Country, held as such by trustees.

The East Essex. 15

THE EAST ESSEX.*

The East Essex can scarcely be termed a '^ fashion-
able country '^ ; but it can lay claim to being a fairly
open and a very rideable one. It has plenty of nice
coverts : and under the management of the late
master (Col. Jelf Sharp) the stock of foxes has yearly
improved. It is not so deep a country as its neigh-
bours the Essex or the Essex Union. On the other
hand it does not carry as good a scent as either.
Like all the county of Essex^ its entire surface is
under tillage. But the steamplough is much less in
use here; and its soil is naturally of a much lighter
description. Light, often sandy, plough is its main
characteristic ; and though the crops often flourish
as on a garden bed, a burning scent is a very
rare phenomenon indeed. In a dry autumn or hot
spring there is scarcely any scent at all; and only
when the ground is completely saturated, and mud
and water splash up at every stride, can hounds
really run with vigour. Last season (1880 — 81), when
soaking rain followed a long cleansing frost, the East
Essex had several long and fast runs — notably in

* Vide Stanford's ''Hunting Map," Sheet 17. and Hobson's
Foxbnntino: Atlas.

16 The Hunting Countries of England.

their soutli-eastern, or Maldon district — and killed
their foxes at the end. Hounds in such a country, it
is needless to say, must be able to keep their noses
down at all times, and puzzle the line out for them-
selves. And with a field of the proportions generally
seen with them, they have every chance of doing it.
The number of resident gentry who hunt with the
East Essex is comparatively, or rather positively,
small ; and were it not for the farmers — men of
sporting instinct and substantial means — the Hunt
would lead but an attenuated existence. As it is, it
leans for support upon a few large landowners, and
upon the whole body of farmers throughout its length.
Thirty-nine miles — from the river Blackwater and its
outlet into the Mouth of the Thames in the south, up
to the Eiver Stour in the north — is its extent ; while
its average width, as it runs up between the territories
of The Essex and the Essex and Suffolk, is about
fifteen miles.

Braintree, till lately the site of the Kennels (and
about an hour and three-quarters from Liverpool-
street, London), is the chief centre of the Hunt —
though Halstead is a place of local importance,
and Witham is about half an hour nearer London.
Chelmsford, which, magnis componere parva, may be
termed the Melton of Essex, lies just outside its
border, and almost at the junction point of the three
Hunts (The Essex, Essex Union, and East Essex).
Indeed, Chelmsford is far and away the best hunting
quarter in the county. It commands the Ruthings
for fox or stag, and holds all else in the province in
its grasp. We are within the truth in asserting' that

The East Essex. 17

the hard-riding men of Essex have a very strong
leaning towards '^^the sport incarcerate/' as Mr.
Burnand has termed staghunting. It gives them
their gallop for certain ; and is at its best when
foxhunting fails. For_, when the fallows are dry and
they can skim the crust, staghounds leather along
through the dust as heartily as foxhounds under a
clearing shower and a rising glass. And Essex is
very much an expeditionary ground, where men steal
a day and hope for a gallop. If they get it, they go
back to Town happy. How are they so likely to get
it as with the staghounds (Mr. Pet re's to wit) ; who
start at a given time, with a scent that never
fails — and most often, be it confessed, with a goodly
luncheon to drive the laggards up to the head. It is
just at the worst scenting times (autumn and spring)
that Essex is at its best as a riding-ground. It
is then that the fences are to be flown instead of
floundered. It is then that the broad fields can be
galloped, when at other times they must be trotted
over. The fences almost throughout are built for a
flippant style of jumping that the ground too often
forbids. They ask you to go fast. The ground bids
you go slow ; and if you treat its advice with con-
tempt, you may find yourself stopped altogether.
Thus, when the ground is deep there is nothing for it
but to go steadily and give your horse every chance
of arriving at his jumps collected and unexhausted.
The fences are all of one pattern — at least in the
Ruthings and in the East Essex Country — viz., low
hedges on little banks, with a ditch of varying width
and depth on one side or the other. In most in-

VOL. II. c

18 The Hunting Countries of England.

stances an ordinary hunter can fly the lot ; and it
seldom happens but that a fairly clever one cannot
get over, either at a single spring or by making use
of the bank for passing foothold. And an Essex
fence has two very wholesome advantages. If it is to
be jumped at all, it is probably of one calibre along
its whole length : and, again, it is seldom grown of
such a height that you are cut off from seeing
hounds. Timber, in the form of post-and-rails, is
almost unknown in Essex. Ambition may occa-
sionally prompt the daring ones to jump a gate : but
the Essex gate, though stoutly built, is by no means
of such a size as is found necessary in a grazing
country. A deep lane will often interrupt the even
tenour of your way — calling upon you to '^ go round,"
or to slide down a lofty bank and scramble on to a
similar one beyond. But, as a rule, Essex is to be ridden
over, and is an excellent school — inasmuch as the pupil
is seldom called upon for stupendous effort, while the
penalty of a failure is only a roll on to a soft surface,
or, at most, half a sovereign invested as spade money
on behalf of your horse.

Under the mastership of Col. Jelf Sharp (who, as
above-mentioned, has just resigned office, after having
held it for five years), hounds took the field professedly
five days a fortnight. Mr. Bryce, of Durwards, near
Witham, is the new Master ; and the country will, we
understand, in future be hunted twice a week. The
kennels, too, will probably be moved elsewhere. At
present they are about half a mile from Braintree,
where the late master has resided. A bye-day has
also been of very frequent occurrence, though the

The East Essex. 19

pack (Col. Jelf Sharp^s property) lias only numbered
about six and twenty couple of working hounds — a
fair proof of good kennel management. Thus all last
season when the weather allowed, hounds were out on
Tuesdays,, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The East Essex Country presents no great variety,
or contrasts of feature, throughout its extent. The
same kind of soil and fence is found practically every-
where. The only really big woods lie in the centre of
the country ; there are natural coverts of handy size
scattered over the north ; and perhaps the best-
scenting ground is in the south-east. Foxes would
seem to favour the middle and the southern half of
the country in preference to the north, in spite of
there not being nearly as much game for them to feed
upon in the latter as in the former — an anomaly that,
we have noticed, is not entirely confined to the county
of Essex.

The coverts on the north are woods of a nice size-
perhaps fifty to a hundred acres — at a distance from
each other such as should not only admit of, but
conduce towards, a run. Among the coverts in
this direction are those of Burbrooke Park (Mr.
Smoothey's), Twelveacres, Lord^s Fields (two most
useful little woods in Suffolk belonging to a good
preserver, Mr. Elwes), Finchingfield, Redbeards and
Grassels (under the care of Mr. Goodchild). Lord's
Field, near Stoke, is the northernmost meet in the
Hunt, and has led to many good runs j Steeple
Bumpstead lies well in the open country, with only
small coverts within hail, and every opportunity of
running a long distance. The White Hart at

c 2

20 The Hunting Countries of England.

Yeldham is for Kedbeards and Grassels ; Bulmer is a
fixture more to tlie north-east for the good coverts in
its neighbourhood.

Coming to the centre of the country^ we find the
biggest woodlands of the Hunt situated about midway
between Braintree and Colchester — the chain com-
prising Mark's Hall (a covert of perhaps a thousand
acres belonging to Mrs. Honeywood and Mr. Hanbury_,
both good friends to the sport) and Chalkney (another
well-preserved wood of about half the size^ and
belonging to Mr. Cawardine). Chappel is the
ordinary meet for Chalkney Wood ; and these are
the only very extensive woodlands in the East Essex
territory. To the westward a frequent meet is Shal-
ford^ the residence of Mr. Marriott,, whose father was
for five and twenty years Master of this Country, and
where there is also a good covert. Finchingfield
Park is in the same direction ; and, moving south-
ward, Bushey Common, two miles from the town of
Braintree, is for Hazleton, one of the best coverts in
the Hunt. Terling is for the Terling coverts (Lord
Kayleigh's) and Duke's Wood.

In the south, or rather south-east, of the country,
are Sir Charles Du Cane's coverts at Braxted Park —
the only hilly ground in the Hunt ; and beyond these
are Mr. Barrett's coverts at Langford. Both these
places have of late proved themselves highly for foxes
and for sport. From the latter coverts two famous
runs came off in one day last season, viz., a seven and
a ten mile point — each with a kill at the end on the
banks of the Blackwater.

The Bramham Moor. 21

THE BRAMHAM MOOE.*

Yeey prominent among tlie Yorkshire packs is tliat
of the Bramham Moor, which, having been formed
nearly a century ago by the grandfather of the present
Master, has been in the possession of Mr. Lane Fox
for the last thirty- three years. For a short time it
passed out of the family into the hands of the then
Lord Harewood, to be given back in 1848 to the late
Mr. Lane Fox — who died a few months afterwards,
leaving it to his son. We have no hesitation in
saying that the Bramham Moor Pack has few
superiors among the leading kennels of England.
Here is the result, not only of a lifetime but of the
lifetime of one of the most consummate judges of a
foxhound in England, based upon the inherited
possession of strains of blood from the best and
oldest sources. For racing quality and sturdy
strength — for clean light symmetry and thorough
working points — the pack at Bramham stands out a
living testimony to the management that has created
it, and a study and delight to the novice who would
learn how foxhounds should be built. Perhaps some

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5. Also Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

22 The Hunting Countries of England.

of the most successful blood in tlie Kennel was an
infusion thrown into it some two -and- thirty years
ago, from the original stock of old John Wardens
pack — Mr. Lane Fox having purchased a lot of five
couple at Mr. Wjmdham^s sale at TattersalPs. This
had been lying for some generations in Hampshire,
when Mr. Lane Fox chanced upon the opportunity of
buying five couple of the strain_, which eventually was
found to blend admirably with the Bel voir, Brocklesby,
and other choice blood.

The Kennels in Bramham Park are the only part of
the ancestral establishment now occupied — the beauti-
ful old Hall having been destroyed by fire fifty-four
years ago and now standing, a magnificent ruin, in
the midst of all the same picturesque and carefully
tended surroundings that then made it one of the
ornaments of the neighbourhood. The walls, columns,
and perfect proportions of the old mansion still remain
uninjured ; the avenues and gardens are as beautifully
kept, and the park, as trim and well-timbered as ever.
The stables are full of horses ; and the Kennels hold
by no means the least-valued heir-looms of the House.
But the wind wanders where it will among the roofless
and windowless walls ; and a spreading tree has reared
itself over the very doorstep.

The Bramham Moor Country is situated just to the
west of the city of York — starting from within four
or five miles of which, it runs westward between the
York-and-Ainsty and the Badsworth as far towards
Lancashire as moorland and collieries will permit. It
finds natural boundaries to divide it on north and
south and east from the other two packs named ; but

The Bramham Moor. 23

to the west and south-west it is only limited by the
impracticable nature of the ground and the inimical
conditions of its industries. In fact, Mr. Stanford's
colouring brush flashed far over the line when it flung
itself beyond Knaresborough Forest and on to the
wild western hills. Bradford and Leeds again in the
south-west offer a background of railways and manu-
factories that are altogether impervious to the fox-
hound. The river Nidd is the northern boundary of
the country ; the Aire forms the southern ; and the
Ouse marks part of the western.

Not a good scenting country is the Bramham Moor —
the soil through the greater part of its extent being a
thin covering over limestone. Nor can its foxes,
where most plentiful, lay claim to straight necks or
stout courage — a deficiency due, no doubt, to the
number and propinquity of the coverts. These are
the drawbacks to be laid at the door of the Bramham
Moor j and applicable in the main to all the heart of
the Country. To counterbalance them the Hunt can
plume itself on a pack of hounds that will work a fox
to death under all difficulties; and, further, can
congratulate itself that, through the greater part of
the Country there is an abundance rather than a
dearth of foxes.

The best scenting ground in the Hunt (bar the
rough western moorland, on which hounds never find
themselves unless carried there by a travelling fox) is
the north-eastern corner, which embraces a slip of the
Ainsty Liberty — a name that may be briefly explained
as applying to a bit of Yorkshire that belongs to one
Riding and votes with another, that gives a title to

24 The Hunting Countries of England.

the York and Ainsty Hunt and lies partly in the
Bramliam Moor. Here the soil is deep, the coverts
are small and the ditches are big. Most of the
Bramham Moor Country is easy to get over and
about — the fences being low simple hedges with an
ordinary ditch, the ground not too deep, and the
woods soundly-rided. Indeed, when a large field is
out {i.e., a large field for Yorkshire — seldom more
than seventy or eighty souls) the facility which the
country offers for everyone keeping with hounds is
in itself apt to create a difiiculty for a huntsman,
anxious to keep his hounds^ noses down. The. woods
in the centre of the country, such as those of Hare-
wood Park and about Bramham, are very extensive,
but at the same time neither deep nor difficult. In
the Ainsty corner, however, a very good horse is
wanted ; for, besides his having to gallop on through
strong clay, the fence at the end of the field will often
demand a tremendous effort — without any of the
advantage of a rush at it over clean ground. The
hedges are seldom bound and laid in the strong
artistic fashion that in the shires tends doubly to
advahce the study of anatomy — finding practice^ on
the one hand, for the country bonesetter, and, on the
other, drawing the attention of the novice to the all-
necessary subject of shoulders. But they are strong-
grown and closely trimmed, and of a height that often
just conceals a yawner till your horse^s spring is all
but defined. You perhaps perceive the gulf before
he does; but this makes the situation none the
pleasanter, for it is too late to urge him without
throwing him out of his stride, and the tension of

The Bramham Moor. 25

nerve is only prolonged; Hock and quarters, baclv
and ribs, are the cardinal points of a liunter for this
region — if he is to keep his rider with hounds, and
himself on his legs. If he can add pace and shoulders
to these other qualifications — then he is fit to go any-
where in the world. The Bramham Moor is not a great
horse-breeding district — though its neighbour the
Holderness at one time had a great reputation on that
score. The farmers do not lend their attention to
breeding a high class of horse for sale ; while those
who hunt (and their number is but limited) have more
often aimed at being comfortably carried about their
farms than at earning the distinction of being well
mounted at the covert side. The largest fields are
naturally found at the fixtures nearest the towns —
Harrogate and York to wit. Leeds is a manufacturing
rather than a sporting place ; but Harrogate not only
finds a strong contingent of its own, but brings in a
gathering, by road and rail from over the border.
York, too, is always full of hunting men; and has
ever been popular with all soldiers of becoming-
proclivities.

The west of the country, as already mentioned,
gradually merges into moorland and stonewalls : with
a great scent on the open hills whenever hounds are
tempted there. As a matter of fact, they do not
profess to go beyond a line drawn from about Darley
in the north to Burley in the south (from Burley to
Leeds again, being scarcely within the pale of fox-
hunting*) . Yet, as a sample of what may occasionally
happen, the outline of a great and enjoyable run of
last season (1880-81) is worth following on the map.

26 The Hunting Countries of England.

By good luck their fox took them along the narrow
valley of the river Wharf e^ and kept them on smooth
meadows for miles^ when a quarter of a mile on either
side would have put them on rough_, almost im-
practicable ground. Finding at Almscliffe Winn
(winn, be it remembered^ being synonymous with the
southern term gorse)^ they ran from out of their home
country right on to the Moors. Passing Stainburn,
Leathley, Farney Hall, Weston^ and Denton Park,
they killed their fox beyond Bow Wood Gill, near
Middleton Lodge, after a run of an hour and twenty-
five minutes and a point of nine and a half miles.
The shepherds in this wild region ran down delighted
to greet the unaccustomed sight of a pack of hounds
in cry. They had been taught to consider the fox
their common enemy, to be smoked out, or worried
with terriers, whenever he was to be found ; and this
run was after a well-known old fox that had escaped
them when they slaughtered his mate and cubs.

Another very long run of the same season (lOJ-
mile point) began not far from the same source. On
this occasion they found at the Cocked Hat Winn, at
Spofforth Haggs, left Spacey House Winn on the
left, past Beckwithshaw, through Haverah Park and
Hampsthwaite to Swarcliife Hall, where they lost
their fox in a strange country — and it is surmised he
found refuge in the Craggs.

The hunting days of the Bramham Moor are
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. The
river Wharfe runs across the middle of the country ;
and we can make use of it in pointing out approxi-
mately how the days are apportioned.

The Bramham Moor. 27

Monday is spent on the nortli of tlie Wharfe, or in
tlie Harrogate district, and is, perhaps, looked upon
as their best day — as the country is open, gently
undulating, and with a fair admixture of grass amid
the plough. And Monday, is, as already said, a
popular day both with the Hunt and the outside
public. Harewood Bridge is the great meet^ and is
the residence of Lord Harewood. From it are
drawn his Swindon Woods, which are situated in
the cream of the district. Kirkby Overblow and
Stockeld Park (Mr. Middleton^s) are other favourite
fixtures.

Wednesday is employed on the south of the Wharfe,
in the neighbourhood of Abberford and Bramham;
where are big woods, a limestone soil, all plough in
the open, an indifferent scent and plenty of foxes.
The chief woodlands in the chain of those of Bram-
ham, the woods of Parlington and Einge (belong-
ing to the Gascoigne Estate), Ledsham or the Boot-
and-Shoe Plantations, the coverts of Ledstone Hall
(Mr. Wheeler's), Micklefield Woods (the property of
Mr. Bland of Kippax Park), Becca, and Hazle Wood,
the property of the Yavasours of Hazlewood Castle —
the last-named family and that of the Gascoignes
being among the oldest and most historical in the
county of York. The Cross Roads, Bramham Moor,
Hook Moor, and the Boot-and-Shoe are among the
most common meets on a Wednesday for the woods.
Working on to Sherburn and Ferry Bridge we get
into a more open and better scenting country; but,
though nice level ground and good coverts extend
eastward into the corner formed by the junction of

28 The Hunting Countries of England,

the Ouse and tlie Aire^ tliere lias not been any notable
sport in this direction of late years.

Friday is, again, north of the Wharfe ; is devoted
to the north-east or Ainsty corner ; and includes all
the meets nearest to York. Beginning with a strong
flat plough country by Thorpe Arch, Catterton, &c.,
and working round to Tockwith and Cowthorpe, we
find ourselves in a mixed grass and plough district —
the whole being stoutly fenced. Thorpe Arch, Bicker-
ton Bar, Marston, and Whighill Village are some of
the leading meets ; and there are many capital coverts
such as Hutton Thorns, Marston Winn, Wilstrip
Wood, the Copmanthorpe Woods, and Ingmanthorpe
Woods (the property of Mr. A. Montagu of Ingman-
thorpe Hall) . For this part of the country especially
is a stout well bred horse a sine qua non.

Saturday is on the Bardsey side of the Kennels, and
is the second day given to the South of the Wharfe.
Here we get to smaller coverts than about Bramham ;
but the scent improves but little, and the plough is
still the reigning deity. About Bardsey itself, and
Scarcroft, is the best of this district — being a pleasant
open and undulating ground. The chief meets are
Bardsey, Wike, Collingham Bar, and Wetherby
Grange (Col. Gunter's place). Bramhope and Addle
are about the westernmost fixtures ; and, indeed, it is
not often that hounds are advertised as wide as these.
They draw as near to Leeds as Temple Newsam (Mrs.
Meynell Ingram's) ; but immediately west of Leeds
coal and iron have the country entirely to themselves.

For a visitor to see the pack at work, York is the
point for which to take train. The journey from

The Bramham Moor. 29

London is a long one as a matter of distance rather
than of time. Five hours from King's Cross will set
you down there — with every day in the week mapped
out for you. The Bramham Moor_, the York and
Ainsty^ the Holderness and Lord Middleton's,, hunt
almost up to the City Walls. Yorkshire is an immense
county, and is hunted religiously and thoroughly.
But a month's sojourn in its capital will introduce you
to most of its sport, if you ride to all meets within
distance, and train once or twice a week.

30 The Hunting Countries of England,

THE EAST SUSSEX.*

Sussex is a county whose claims for description
might, at least in the East, better be based on its
summer than its winter charms ; for it may well share
with its sister county Kent the appellation of the
Garden of England, and the very qualities which
call forth the term are in themselves rather against
than in favour of Foxhunting. East Sussex is very
freely, in parts almost continuously, wooded. Apart
from the woodlands, its rich deep soil, its strong and
carefully-kept fences, its well dug hopgardens — all
tend to beautify the country, but make it a difficult
scene for the chase of the fox. It is hilly too;
though not to a degree that interferes very much
with riding. In summer one is led to exclaim
rapturously of its beautiful wooded hills, of its fertile
and picturesque valleys. In winter one must own
with a groan that fertility has changed its name to
deep clay, and that sylvan beauty is now better
known as sticky woodland. But, for all that, fox-
hunting is carried on, well managed and well sup-
ported. The land and covert owners take care of the

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 22 and 23, and
Hobson's Foxhuntinff Atlas.

The East Sussex. 31

foxes ; county-people and farmers join the sport in
considerable numbers ; and visitors to Hastings or
St. Leonardos have it in their power to combine with
the advantages of sea air the priceless benefits to be
derived from exercise with hounds.

We compared Sussex to Kent a moment ago — but
it waSj mindj from a vernal not a venatic point of
view ; for^ in comparing the country of the East
Sussex with that of its neighbours the East Kent and
the Tickham, we find the most widely different
characteristics. In the two latter you may often ride
a bee line for miles without encountering any neces-
sity or even opportunity for jumping a single fence —
and you are goings the while, on the top of the
ground. In the East Sussex, on the contrary _, yoa
are in deep ground whether in covert or out; and, in
the latter case, can only make progress through the
medium of continual jumping. Many of the fences
are almost too strong to be attempted; and recourse
must be had to the '^ rackways^^ leading from field to
field. If time does not admit of the less ambitious
but safer plan of jumping off to pull the draw- rails
down, they are generally to be jumped — and constant
practice has made the men of East Sussex so familiar
with them, that they hold them altogether in contempt,
and, hke Mr. Pigg, seldom stoop to getting off. Thus
a man educated here, and seen with hounds elsewhere,
is likely to be found steering for timber involuntarily
— while others, brought up on the spot, are rather
diverging from it. Where timber can — and must —
be taken slowly, it may be (though the argument has
at least two sides to it, and we pretend to lay down no

82 The Hunting Countries of England.

absolute dogma on tlie point), as Assheton Smith ever
declared it, the safest fence possible. Even then it
requires the provisos of good shoulders and a horse
not blown. But in a country where strong split rails
have generally to be galloped at, the unlucky incident
of a fling on to firm turf must be the occasional
result — leading to a total change of opinion as to the
desirability of timber over any other kind of fence.
Let this be as it may, they like timber in Sussex ;
they are obliged to jump it and most other obstacles
at a slow pace — often at a walk or stand — and they
must have a horse that can do it. Speed is, to say
the least, a secondary consideration in a Sussex horse.
Stamina and jumping power he must have — or else he
must move over the border to the Downs. Only a
hedge and ditch, is the description of a good East
Sussex fence — but the word only must be as elastic as
in the case of "only a face at the window.'' The
ditch may have as wide a stretch as the qualifying
adverb, and the hedge grows trimly and stoutly out of
a rich soil — while the two together occur in deep
ground and can only be approached delicately. Thus
a horse must get as close to them as possible ; and if
he pauses when there, has a good look, and then
heaves himself as far as he can — he may be the horse
for East Sussex. He may, again, take a great many
jumps in other fashion ; but, if less flippant and airy,
this is the safest and least fatiguing method — and
answers best in the long run.

The East Sussex Country stretches along the sea-
coast — eastward of the Southdown, which was origi-
nally included in the former Hunt — from about East-

The East Sussex. 33

bourne to Rye. Hastings is tlie most notable point
in its extent ; and forms the source of the largest fields^
on the occasion of hounds meeting in its neighbour-
hood. Hastings is about two hours from London
(Charing Cross or Victoria) ; and if your doctor or
other motive agent, recommends Hastings or St.
Leonardos as your winter resort, you are within reach
of a good pack of hounds twice a week. These towns
command all Mr. Frewen's meets ; and if you do not
care about bringing down horses of your own, you can
hire something fit to carry you on the spot. Fox-
hunting comes to an end at Rye, where the '^ Royal
Military Canal" divides or marks the edge of the
Romney Marsh — a broad area of flat grass, rendered
impassable by dykes wide and unfathomable, which
drain the land and divide the fields. Nor, again, is
there any pack north of the river Rother, which forms
the practical boundary of the East Sussex. Why such
a stretch of ground should exist between the East
Sussex and the Tickham, its residents alone could
explain ; for to all appearance this slip of country is,
as regards coverts and practibility, quite as eligible
for sport as either further north or south. The hills
are very little steeper to climb ; there is as much open
space; and foxes are said to exist in improvable
numbers. In East Sussex, with an established pack,
there is no difficulty about foxes. About five-and-
twenty litters is the usual annual return ; which is
certainly above the average in a two-days-a-week
country. Among such large and frequent coverts
foxes are difficult to kill ; and it is not ground that
often admits of bursting them up at starting. But for

VOL. II. D

34 The Hunting Countries of England.

all that it is more than a fair scenting country. Scent
seldom brilliant^ is yet generally holding ; and a fox
may be hunted longer after he has gone than in
most countries.

The Kennels are at Northiam^ close to the residence
of the Master — Mr. E. Frewen — who has kept hounds
there for the last ten years, and whose first efforts in
direction of sport in his country were in the shape of a
pack of staghounds (once a week). With these he
had runs of immense length ; but his predilections for
the more legitimate sport soon reasserted themselves,
and the present pack was developed from blood of
Mr. Musters^, the Fitzwilliam, Southdown, &c.
Hunting twice a week, he suits his meets entirely to
the requirements of the country ; and, the Kennels
being quite on the outside, the distances to covert and
home are frequently very long. Home, in fact, is left
out of the question, both as regards distance of fixture
and direction of drawing. Near Hastings there exists
a configuration of ground that demands frequent
attention, and the most difficult labour — to wit, the
undercliff at Fairlight. The almost perpendicular
side of the cliff is hidden with covert, and is full of
holes and crannies. Foxes swarm here; and it is
almost impossible to kill them. Hounds can barely
scramble about, and their only chance of getting
together is when Reynard runs the sea beach for
awhile. Of course as soon as he is blown, or tired of
the fun on the shingle, he betakes himself again to the
cliffside for refuge, and has all the best of it with his
less agile persecutors. A boat on the water below is
the easiest and surest way of watching events -, but for

The East Sussex. 35

huntsman (who^ by tlie way, is the Master) and staff,
there is nothing for it but to tether horses and climb
about the hillside on foot. Cliff-born foxes, found
inland, naturally rush back at once to their native
fastness; and were the huntsman ever so bent on
slaughter, he would find spade and terrier only useless
toys against such a stronghold.

Any attempt to enumerate by name the coverts of
the East Sussex would be a work to puzzle the
Ordnance Survey Department, and, even if achieved,
would be useless to a visitor, and confusing to any but
a second whip of many years' service in the country.
Hop poles are grown and shooting-coverts maintained
all over the country. The names of a few of the
principal land-and-covert-owners — north, south, east,
and west — will suffice in some degree to classify the
resorts of the fox. Lord Ashburnham alone has some
ten thousand acres of property very strongly wooded.
The Master and Mr. Adamson own the principal woods
in the north. In the south are Mr. Papillon at Crow-
hurst, and the Duke of Cleveland at Battle Abbey.
In the East are Sir A. Ashburnham of Broomham,
who is con amove the secretary of the Hunt, the Misses
Brisco, of Coghurst, and Mr. Shadwell of Fairhght
Hall. Westward are Lord Ashburnham, Mr. Curteis
of Windmill Hill (a former Master), Sir. T. Brassey at
Normanhurst, and Mr. C. A. Egerton at Mountfield
(another previous Master) .

The meets may be summarised in the same way.
The best recognised ones in the north are Northiam,
Broad Oak, Cripp's Corner, and Udimore. To the
south are St. Leonard's Green, Bulverhythe, Westfield

D 2

36 The Hunting Countries of England,

just north of Hastings, and one of the best-attended
fixtures in the Hunt),, Sedlecomb, and The Harrow.
Westward are Battle, Normanhurst (Sir T. Brassey's),
Gardner Street (Mr. Curteis^) Lunsford Cross, and
John's Cross. The Bexhill district, Westfield, and
Guestling perhaps provide the best meets in the
country.

The Essex and Suffolk. 37

THE ESSEX AND SUEEOLK.*

A FLAT, and mostly deep, country, amid tlie outpour
of many rivers, the Essex and Suffolk occupies the
eastern delta of the two counties just north of the
Blackwater. The Orwell, the Stour, and the Colne
all wind their way through it ; and help, more or less,
to influence soil and surroundings. Plough from
end to end it is, in common with all this corner of
England ; and where it is stiffest and deepest, there
is found the best scent and the best sport. Col-
chester, Ipswich, and Harwich are the chief places
of note in its extent — the first-named being on its
western side, the other two on its eastern edge.
Colchester is the centre of its lightest and worst
district, but has the advantage of commanding many
of the meets of the East Essex. Ipswich and Harwich
on the other hand have some of the best of the home
Hunt close to their gates, but have no where else to
look for fox hunting — Harwich being on a point
running into the sea, while the ground east of Ipswich
owns no pack of fox hounds. We mention these
particulars for the possible use of such soldiers as

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 17, and Hobson's
Foxhunting^ Atlas.

38 The Hunting Countries of England.

may receive their ^' Routes ^' for one of these three
places ; while, for the sake of an inquisitive visitor, it
may be added that the journey down from London is
to be accomplished in about an hour and twenty
minutes to Colchester, and two hours to either of the
other towns (Liverpool-street Station, Great Eastern
Railway) . Small fields are the order of the day with the
Essex and Suffolk ; though there are a good number
of county residents mthin its limits, and the Service is
generally to be found represented at all meets within
riding distance of the garrisons. All told, however,
sixty is more than the average number for a field
here.

The river Stour almost exactly bisects the country,
and, being the divisional line between the two
counties, has Suffolk on its northern bank, Essex on
the southern. One day a week is accordingly given
to each, and a third day is fi^equently added where
most suitable. The lower part of Suffolk, towards
the mouths of the rivers, and the east of Essex
are the deepest districts in the Hunt. The coverts
of the country are all natural, and, with the excep-
tion of a few strong woodlands, are not very
large. The country is, in fact^ quite an open
one ; and, though there are plenty of coverts every-
where to hold foxes, they are not of a size or
frequency to make the latter dwell long when found.
And the supply of foxes is said to be better year
by year.

The present Master, Mr. Thomas Nunn, is in his
second term of Mastership — having now hunted the
country altogether some eight seasons. His uncle

The Essex and Suffolk, 39

hunted it no less than fifty-two years; after which
his father kept it for about ten seasons. The hounds
were given to the country by Mr. Nunn when he
resigned in 1870^ and are kennelled at Stratford St.
Mary, seven miles from Colchester. In the better
part of the country, the scent is, as a rule, decidedly
good ; and it is only in the light soil of the west
that hounds often have any difficulty in making
their way.

As a country to ride over, the Essex and Suffolk is,
of course, like its neighbours, very '^ ploughy.''^ But
there are no hills to distress horses or to give hounds
the advantage. The fences are quite of the better
Essex type — low hedges and broad ditches. Thus
your view of hounds is seldom interrupted by ground
or growth ; and, if you are fairly mounted, you may
ride as near the pack as your conscience, or the
Master, will let you. The term " fairly mounted ^Ms
meant to apply to the requirements of the ground in
question — and those requirements are substantial if
not very ambitious. Short legs and strong ones,
good heart and good wind, with a marked adapta-
bility for a long day and a good supper afterwards,
are by no means the least prominent requisites.
Sufficient stride and jumping power to enable him to
cover a wide ditch at short notice are all essential for
a horse here ; for the measurement of an Essex ditch
is frequently only to be obtained at the last moment.
And, though a horse is not every day called upon to
overhurry himself, he always has a strong day^s work
to perform before he gets back to his stable. A weed
will soon wear himself to a thread; and a rash

40 The Hunting Countries of England.

horse is sure to find a ditch to hold him sooner or
later.

The country is said to have become much more
open of late years — there being nowadays considerably
less covert, while the enclosures in many instances
have been enlarged and the fences lowered.

The hunting-days of the Essex and Suffolk are
Tuesday and Friday — Tuesday being for the Essex
side^ Friday for the Suffolk, with an occasional bye
day. A brief sketch of principal meets and coverts
may be made to include the few further necessary
details.

Among the Tuesday fixtures, then, is Bentley Hall,
which at one time was the first meet of the season.
It is the seat of Mr. Woodgate, who has a famous
covert in Bentley Hall Wood (a wood of about a
hundred acres, in the centre of some of the best
of the country). Weeley Street is for Weeley Hall
Wood, another very favourite place for foxes, belonging
to Mr. E. Weeley. Bradfield Street is an excellent
meet, leading to Simpson's Decoy and King's Wood
and the good coverts of Stour Wood (on the banks
of the Stour) and Copperas. Thorpe Street is fixed
to draw Thorpe Park and the Rows — the latter being
little more than thick double-hedge-rows, where they
often find and run to Bentley. By the way, as an
instance of how foxes of the same year will often take
exactly the same line, it may be noted that about
twenty-five years ago these hounds in one season ran
five foxes in succession from Bentley down to Thorpe
and killed them all. Had their foxes escaped, the
good point would naturally have been laid to the

The Essex and Suffolk, 41

credit of a single fox. This piece of country — from
Stour Wood down to tlie Landmere — is quite the best
of their Essex ground, being wide and open and
carrying a capital scent. It rides decidedly deep
hereabouts, but as we move towards Colchester
riding improves and scent falls off. The Osyth
district, in the extreme south-west, however should
be noticed first. Hartley Wood is a very favourite
covert here. It is now only about a hundred acres ;
but was at one time of much greater extent. St.
Osyth Flag is the meet for the last-named covert and
for the other Woods of the district, St. Osyth's Wood,
Riddles, and Maldon Wood. Towards Colchester is
Elmstead Market for Frating Hall Wood, Mill Grove,
and Thorrington Hall Wood (where Mr. W. S. Frost,
who is another excellent supporter, invariably has a
litter of foxes). Alresford Hall Covert is another
good draw. Beyond this Ardleigh Crown is the meet
for Langham, Lodge Woods, Bullock Wood, East
A¥ood and High Woods. In the south-west is Bere-
church Maypole for the Berechurch and Birch coverts ;
Golgrove for Golgrove Wood and the Hangings (a
good wood well cared for by Mr. Moy). West
Burgholt is for Burgholt Wood and Pitsburgh (lately
bought by Mr. Errington, who gives it up entirely to
the Master in the cause of foxes).

Turning to the Suffolk side we find Uadleigh
Crown for Howe Wood (a good covert of Mr. C.
Newman^ s), Groton Wood and Stack Wood — two
coverts of nice size — Groton Wood very thick with
brambles and undergrowth. Gifford Hall means
Mark Wood and Mill Wood, whence they draw on to

4^2 The Hunting Countries of England,

Polstead and the Tendring Hall Coverts (Sir G.
Rowley^ s) Boxford Street is for tlie Osiers, Edward-
stone Park and BulFs Cross Woods. Brent-Eleigh,
on the edge of the country, points to Preston Grove
(neutral with the Suffolk Hunt) and the Camps
(belonging to Mr. Brown of Brent-Eleigh Hall — a
staunch fox preserver). All the western portion of
this Suffolk side is, it may be repeated, quite a Hght
soil upon chalk. Hintlesham Park as a meet has the
Hintlesham coverts. Bamford Angel is meant for
Sir G. Broke Middleton^s coverts, Bulleyne Wood,
Bonny and Ditch Wood. Ofton Castle (said to be
the best meet in the Hunt) leads to the draws of
Middle Wood, Lucy, and Muckhanger. All this is
an open sporting country. The Muckhanger foxes
are remarkably strong ; and often carry hounds into
the heart of the Suffolk country. Coddenham, which
is also for Sir Broke Middleton's coverts, is about the
widest meet in this direction.

About Wattisham, again, the ground is lighter for
a while. There would appear to be some confusion
hereabouts in Stanford's Map : for the Suffolk
Hounds meet at Needham Market — the Essex-and-
Suffolk drawing up to Barking.

Wide on the west a strip on the edge of the country
has yet to be mentioned. Assington Park Gate is
advertised for the coverts of Assington and Wis-
sington, Cornards, and Mr. Mumford's famous wood
— light chalk hills on this side. Another meet that
must not be omitted is Stratford Hills (where lives
Mr. Josselyn, who, though not a hunting man himself,
always has a litter of foxes) — whence are drawn The

The Essex and Suffolk. 43

Commons, Dodnasli and tlie Tattingstone Coverts.
It may be added that during the past two seasons the
hounds have been much improved by drafts of eleven
couple from the Cheshire and eleven and a half from
the Milton.

44i The Hunting Countries of England.

THE YOEK AND AINSTY.*

Twisting its tortuous lengtli among half a dozen
other well-known Yorkshire Countries, the York and
Ainsty has a straggling outline quite unlike that of
any other countiy on the Foxhunting Atlas. It is
this very sinuosity and eccentricity of shape that
chiefly allows of its being a four- day-a- week country.
Its actual acreage would scarcely entitle it to that
allowance on its own ground. But, shaped as it is, it
has, so to speak, only to arrange its meets, and its
neighbours make up all deficiences on the score of
space. 'Tis only fair to add that the others fully
return the compliment — the procedm-e being a mere
matter of amicable necessity. Thus, the York and
Ainsty Country, starting just north of the Bads worth,
runs up between the Bramham Moor and the Holder-
ness, is narrowed at York between the Bramham Moor
and Lord Middleton's, throws a limb in between the
Bramham Moor and the Bedale, and carries its head
northward between the Bedale and Lord Middleton's
till it reaches the Sinnington. York is its centre — if
such a configuration can be said to have a centre.

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Poxlmntiug Atlas.

The York and Ainsty. 45

York is the starting-point for the hounds^ and the
necessary base for any visitor. Many of the meets
are so wide that they must be reached by rail ; but
hack or railway bring all the country within grasp
from here. York has its many sporting cities and a
regiment of cavalry : and from the two sources
supplies a strong proportion of the field at all the
nearer meets. With the army York has always been
a very popular quarter, both on sporting and social
grounds : and fond as soldiers are of a gallop — and
indifferent as they often are to the merits of a plough
country, especially in their youth — they ever speak
reverently and respectfully of the sport they saw and
the treatment they met with when quartered at York.
For the traveller who would see something of the six
Yorkshire packs above enumerated, the capital of the
county is easy to reach ; and presents every advantage
that a hunting-man can desire. The York and Ainsty,
Lord Middleton^s and the Bramham Moor are easily
within riding distance. So is some portion of the
Holderness ; while the Bedale, Sinnington, and Bads-
worth can each be reached by rail on their days,
without breaking into either breakfast or dinner hour.
London to York is a mere trifle of travel nowadays,
being but a five hours^ journey from London (Great
Northern Railway, King's Cross Station). The Ken-
nels are at Acomb, two miles out of York. The
Pack belongs to the Hunt : and by dint of careful
and clever management has been brought to a high
degree of merit, in field and on flag. Capt. Slingsby,
of Scriven Park, is now in his third year of Master-
ship, having succeeded Col. Fairfax, who held office

46 The Hunting Countries of England.

for six years, and in that time did wonders for the
kennel. Previous to the latter,, Mr. Lascelles was
Master for one year, Sir George Wombwell for three,
and Sir Charles Slingsby (whose mournful death still
remains vividly in the mind of most hunting-men) for
fifteen. Mr. Samuel Bateman, whose nine years of
Mastership terminated nearly thirty years ago, and
who is now in his seventieth year, is still an active
and honoured member of the Hunt.

The Pack was founded some forty years ago ; Sir
Charles Slingsby filled it with the Grove, Brocklesby,
and Lord Portsmouth's blood ; and Col. Fairfax, who
was one of the first to recognise the merits of the
Belvoir Fallible, brought a large infusion of blood
from that Kennel through the medium of breeding
and drafts. The fact that the Hunt is able to send
forty to fifty couple annually out to walk, is not only
an immense advantage, but speaks volumes for the
good feeling of the farmers.

The York and Ainsty country is a deep clay soil
throughout, with scanty exception in the north (about
Alne and upwards) and in the extreme west where
fox hunting and railway communication find a
terminus on hilly moorland. And it is only in this
last wide corner that anything approaching a hill is
to be found. Scarcely anywhere else till Knares-
borough is reached is there even an undulation ;
while all round York is a dead flat. The whole of
it, too, except this trifle of western moorland and a
few riverside meadows, is under the plough. The
fences are fair hedge-and-ditch, rendered difficult
only by the stiff holding clay through which you

The York and Ainsty. 4^7

have to ride to get at them. They are simple enough
when your horse is fresh ; but they grow no smaller as
a run goes on and his vigour begins to fail. As may
be remarked of a dozen other plough countries of
similar soil^ the York and Ainsty holds the best scent
when the ground is thoroughly wet and your horse is
going nearly up to his hocks. Then it is a good
scenting country ; and then you want a strong and
well-bred horse to carry you at all. At other times a
working scent and easy going is as much as you can
hope for^ or expect — for the ground dries^ and turns
to crust, very quickly under influence of sun or wind.
Again, as everywhere else, the running qualities of
the foxes vary in proportion to the power of pushing
them. On a day when hounds can really press them,
they may go pretty straight — even in the Ainsty
district, where the coverts are small and very close
together. On other and weaker days there are certain
parts of the country in which they will scarcely
travel beyond the parish in which they were bred.

The only large woodlands of the Hunt are situated
in the south and in the extreme north, besides one or
two in the Knaresborough district. The first-named
comprise Escrick Wood (of several hundred acres),
Moreby, and Nab urn. Those in the far north are
Sessay Wood and Brafferton Spring : while on the
Knaresborough side are Ribston, Goldsborough Wood,
and Goldsborough Moor. These are all the large
coverts of the hunt. The rest are small, and, in many
cases, artificial (including some five or six winn
coverts). Thus the opportunities of cubhunting are
very limited.

48 The Hunting Countries of England.

In former days tlie best sport was usually obtained
in tbe country a little to the north of York : when,
early and late in the season^ travelling foxes would
take hounds right up to the hills towards Easingwould
and Coxwould. But this line has not been so frequent
of late years. By the way_, the Olstead corner in the
far north should not have been included by Mr. Stan-
ford in the map of the York and Ainsty. During
Mr. Bateman^s mastership he used to draw it by
permission of Sir Tatton Sykes_, in the same way that
it jis now hunted by the Sinnington on sufferance
from Lord Middleton — of whose territory it is an
integral part. Thirkleby (sixteen or seventeen miles
from York) is now about the farthest meet of the
York and Ainsty. To reach this and other distant
meets north and west (and occasionally also south) the
railway has to be made use of for horses, hounds, and
men. In fact, there is probably no country in
England where the railway is so constantly in requi-
sition— a fact that alone points to much extra expense
to be borne by Hunt and individuals.

All the ^^ Liberty " of Ainsty is very enclosed ground:
but the country opens out again a good deal as you
move towards Tollerton and Easingwould. Galtres
Forest no longer exists, though at one time a " royal
forest. ^^ Indeed, the Royal Hunting Box is still to
be seen by the roadside between York and Sutton,
though its estate is now only that of a lowly farm-
house. The Ainsty used to be held in vassalage under
the Bramham Moor — the terms being that it should be
hunted by the York and Ainsty so long as a pack
exists under that title.

The York and Ainsty. 49

On tlie far west tlie moors begin somewhere about
Cayton ; and run into the hilly distance far beyond
Pateley Bridge, which is virtually the Land^s End of
the Hunt. Last season they ran several times from
the lower ground right on to the moors with strong
foxes worthy of the hills. From Scriven Park (the
residence of the Master) there is always a chance of a
good fox taking them up to the hills, though more
often the Copgrove direction is chosen. This was the
line on that fatal day in 1868, when four as fine riders
and good sportsmen as ever took the field (Sir Chas.
Slingsby, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Robinson, and Orvis) were
laid side by side in their dripping scarlet, cold and
stark, on a table in Newby Hall, and four dead horses
were stretched on the bank of the Yore. They had come
by Copgrove and the winn of Bishop Monkton — a line
already run twice that season — before they struck the
river opposite Mr. Clare Vyner^s, and called his
private ferry-boat into use to follow the pack.

The farmers of the Hunt are just as staunch and
sport-loving as ever, though unable, under pressure of
the times, to take the field as freely and as well-
mounted as in years gone by. There are still a good
many forthcoming from the Ainsty and the Easing-
wold district ; and, as times mend, no doubt they will
muster as strongly, and ride as good cattle, as in the
best of bygone days.

Inferior horses are out of place in Yorkshire. You
may get along well enough on a moderate one ; but he
is not in keeping with the tradition and teaching of
the county. What has been already written under
the head Blramham Moor will answer verbatim for the

VOL. II. E

50 ihe Hunting Countries of England.

horse required witli the York and Ainsty. It is quite
a country where men ride — not for sensation jumping^
but that they may be near hounds^ and may do credit
to themselves and their bringing-up. Near York^ and
especially on a Tuesday,, the fields are large — for any-
where out of The Shires. At the northern meets the
number may vary between forty at least and sixty at
most.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are the
hunting days, divided generally as follows : Monday
is held north of York way of Shipton and Skelton.
The open country between the latter place and S essay
has not a game preserver — with the single exception
of Hon. Payne Dawnay, of Benningborough Hall,
who, though he never rides even a pony, looks after
the interests of the Hunt throughout the district.
His own coverts (Skelton Springs, Overton Wood and
Cotehouse) are always full of foxes, Skelton being the
usual meet for this neighbourhood. Blue Bridge is a
roadside fixture for New Parks and Hawkhills ; while
Alve (to which the York men often go by rail) may be
for Alve Winn and Aldwark Wood, or for the same
coverts as Blue Bridge. Near York are the meets of
Strensall and Wiggington, from which a run into
Lord Middleton^s country is a likely contingency,
after drawing Strensall Common and Suet Carr (the
latter also being a rough open common generally
holding good foxes). Stillington is the nearest
fixture to Easingwould — the chief covert being
StilHngton Wood, which leads on to Hawkhills.

Tuesday is always fixed in the Ainsty to suit the
Bramham Moor, who in return give Friday on the

The York and Ainsty. 51

same side. Nearest to York is Dringhawses for
Askham Bogs — a famous covert^ in bog and rough
ground overgrown with beech^ and a sure find.
From here they are likely to go by Askham Winn
or to Colton Hagg, or run into the Bramham Moor
territory. Streethouses, on the Tadcaster Eoad^ is to
draw Coltan Hagg. Red House (the property of
Capt. Slingsby, and the old family residence^ though
at present let) is a very popular meet by the Ouse
side. There is a large and capital covert not far from
the House_, besides some few small spinnies. At Nun-
appleton are Sir Fred. Milner^s good coverts, with
Lord Wenlock^s Stubb Wood, a capital draw, to
follow.

Thursday is for the Knaresborough and Copgrove
side. From Ribston are drawn the large woods of
Bibston and Goldsborough (Mr. Dent's). At Scriven
Park — Capt. Slingsby's — (to which, as with other far-
western meets, hounds are more often taken by rail)
are various woods and the '^ Nidd Banks " (good
rough covert underbank). Copgrove has its coverts
of moderate size and scattered, and was last season
the fixture which led to long runs on to the Moors.
Allerton Park (the seat of Lord Mowbray) and Kirby
Hall (Sir H. Meysey-Thompson) — each have nice
coverts. From Ripley Castle hounds probably draw
Leonard's Winn and other small places ; and the
extreme meets in this westerly direction are Swarcliffe
Hall and Burnt Grate.

Saturday is almost entirely a woodland day — for
the big woods far north or due south. Thus, taking
train to Pilmoor or other station handy, they got

E 2

52 The Hunting Countries of England,

to Brafferton to draw tlie Spring Wood and S essay-
Wood, with Pilmoor (a rough moor) close by. Sessay
or Raskelf may also be named for the same draws ;
while, meeting at Thirkleby Park (Sir William Gal-
way's) they are likely to get back to the large woods
of Sessay and Brafferton.

The Southern meets on a Saturday are Naburn,
Escrick Park (Lord Wenlock's), Moreby Hall (Mr.
Preston's)^ Riccall, and Osgodby — all for the same
chain of big woods (aforementioned) and Skipwith
Common — a seven hundred acre waste, altogether
uncultivated. An occasional meet on the confines of
the Country, and close to the border of Lord Middle-
ton's and the Holderness, is Melbourne Hall, where
Mr. Christy has some nice coverts — after drawing
which hounds must work back in the afternoon to the
woodlands.

Lord Fitzwilliam's. 53

LORD FITZWILLIAM'S.*

It scarcely amounts to taking away the name of tlie
Country in question to say that only an intense love
of hounds, and the necessity to which he has been
born of residing here, could possibly have induced
Lord Fitzwilliam to have established a pack in such
an uncongenial quarter. Sheffield, Rotherham, and
their contiguous chain of factories and dwellings, with
Parkgate, Swinton, and Mexboro', form an almost
unbroken town across the country up to Doncaster —
cutting in two the only really huntable portion of a
territory that looks wide and extensive on the map.
The south is nearly all collieries; and so is a large central
strip from south to north. The west is high and
broken moorland — whither hounds only get by acci-
dent, and where men soon lose themselves amid its
gullies, walls, and unknown wilds. Wentworth (the
seat of Lord Fitzwilliam) stands the centre of one little
oasis, girt on every side by railways, rivers, canals,
collieries, tramways, and factories. The only other
piece of practicable ground for horse and hound is a
strip, two to four miles broad, along the edge of the

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 9, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

54 The Hunting Countries of England.

Grove, and stretcliing', practically, from below Rother-
ham to Doncaster — and, on sufferance, still further
along the southern bank of the Don. Lord Fitz-
william's little country, in fact, is nothing more than
a small outlying, and supposedly impossible_, tract left
unhunted between the Badsworth and the Grove. It
was thus that Lord Fitzwilliam found it when he suc-
ceeded to the Went worth Estates about a score of
years ago ; and here he at once proceeded to estabhsh
a pack, by drafts from the family kennels at Milton
and from Capt. Percy Williams. So successfully did
he make the best of a bad job, that, wherever his
hounds are able to get about at all, there are sure to
be foxes for them to hunt. Some very queer places
do they find themselves in at times : but love of sport
is the strongest instinct in every Yorkshireman^s soul,
and the hounds are everywhere appreciated — some-
times almost to persecution. To the few men residing
in Sheffield and Eotherham who have been taught to
hunt, the presence of such a pack is a blessing on a
par with Nature^s bounty in coal and iron — on which
they thrive and amid which they follow the hounds.
There are staunch and good sportsmen, too, come out
of Sheffield — quite apart from the thousands who will
travel half a dozen miles by rail, in order to join it on
foot and holloa a fox at the most suburban meets —
and still more apart from such an instance as went to
typify prosperity some years ago, when two colliers
bought a horse and hunting kit between them, and in
turn worked them three days a week. Fifty or sixty
horsemen are to be found at every meet; and tiny — even
makeshift — as the country is, three days a week are

Lord Fit zwillia Ill's. 55

enacted witli a well turned -out establishment;, and a
pack fit for the Shires. How the three days are made
up is a maiwel — scarcely to be explained. One day is
home : the other two are border days — or^ failing
ground or foxes, have to be contrived somehow, and
somewhere among the collieries — or the moors. Mon-
day, Wednesday, and Friday are the days chosen.

The map should be before you if you would learn
how little^ and which part, of the country is available
for foxhunting. You will see a large area credited to
the Earl ; but for all practical purposes you may run
a pair of scissors up its centre — from Chesterfield by
Sheffield up to Barnsley and the Badsworth_, following
a line of railway all the way. You will thus cut off
the western moors and many of the chief nests of
coalpits. The southernmost loop, too, between
Chesterfield and Sheffield, can do little in the interest
of foxhunting — collieries usurping the greater part of
its extent, and leaving only room for a single meet,
namely, Gleedless ToUbar, from whence they draw
Mr. Bagshaw's woods at '' The Oaks,-'' where they
generally find a wild moorland fox, but failing which
they draw Hanging Lea, a large gorse covert about
18 acres, recently planted by Lord Fitzwilliam.
Quite outside this district and on the edge of the
moors is a meet at Norton, with two or three good
woods of Mr. Cammell in the neighbourhood. Such
an advertisement is invariably a signal for a popular
holiday from Sheffield ; and thousands who ought to
be at work are footing it with hounds that day. The
other loop (for the whole district is a patchwork of
pieces enclosed by subdividing- railways), having

56 The Hunting Countries of England.

Wentwortli as its centre^ is, again, completely
separated from tlie remaining useful strip along the
east, by the narrow valley of the Don — having two
lines of railways, a river, and an unbroken street or
two, all along its border on that side. Indeed, a fox
found near Wentworth, can only run a narrow circle,
or dodge about from covert to covert till he is killed
— for a double line of railway, a river, and a canal
block him again round the north, and coal and iron-
works entirely cut off his escape to the west. It is
different with the eastern strip ; for a fox can travel
thence as far as he pleases into the Grove country.
There are plenty of coverts to lead him thither, while,
as already mentioned, the valley of the Don at his
back altogether prevents him turning his head in the
other direction. A little patch of gTass, good enough
for Leicestershire even, exists on the eastern border.
A three-mile circle would perhaps contain it ; but, as
far as it goes, it offers a charming soup9on amid ruder
fare. With this exception, all the open ground in
Lord Fitzwilliam^s country is ploughed — where
cultivated at all. As a whole, it puts forward httle
pretensions to being an agricultural country. It has
other, and more wealthy aspirations. ^Yhere cultiva-
tion comes in at all, it is generally done as if it were
merely a temporary operation. The stiff clay is turned
and tended to grow whatever it will ; but the fences
are more often built in the most heterogeneous and
haphazard fashion — especially as we near the coalpits.
Thorns, sticks — even wire and old chains — are thrust
together to make some sort of barrier. Ditches are
never dug ; and an honest post-and-rail is rare. In

Lord Fitzwilliam's. 57

the most " truly rural " districts tliere are simple
swish hedges, easy to get over or through — with
neither bank nor ditch to render them terrible.

The Wentworth country is all strong and deep clay,
The East is a lighter soil ; and a trip into Grove
territory probably puts you on a surface approaching
to red sand till you reach the fen land beyond the
borrowed ground below Doncaster. And the whole
is flat, until the moorlands are touched on the west
and south.

With a country so difficult and confined, Lord Fitz-
william yet keeps about fifty couple of hounds in
kennel, and, as already written, brings them out three
days a week. Wentworth and the home - coverts
supply one day ; and the eastern border has to bear
the brunt of the other two, aided by occasional trips
among the collieries and on to the moorlands. There
are plenty of nice coverts round Wentworth, and,
needless to add, plenty of foxes; close by, too, is
another part of the family property, viz., Hesley Park
and Tankersley Old Hall — the latter having been, a
hundred years ago, a very large Park, but now
altogether cut up. From here they may occasionally
run over the railway, beyond Westwood Station and
in among the collieries ; but this is neither very likely
nor desirable.

Turning to the east of the country, we find Ulley
Gorse, just south of Rotherham, and close to Treeton.
Wood, offering as good a chance of a run as anything
in the Hunt. It belongs to Mr. F. Foljambe, and
is, naturally, a safe find. Wickersley Gorse is another
nice covert, and for this the meet is Wickersley Toll

58 The Hunting Countries of England.

Bar. Eavenfield and Hooton-Eoberts (whicli Lord
Fitzwilliam retains in his own hands) have each a
good gorse : and at Denaby (a name that is best known
in connection with the great colliery _, employing some
3000 miners) is a large oak- scrub wood_, where several
litters of foxes are always bred. Crook Hill House is
another meet hereabouts : with Clifton (also remaining
in Lord Fitzwilliam^ s hands) close by. Half way
between Clifton and Wickersley lies Micklebring
GorsOj which is held to be the crack covert of the
Hunt — lying'^ as it does^ in the middle of a beautiful
little grass valley. Half a mile beyond Micklebring
is Mr. Wood's Gorse ; and the same good sportsman
who owns it also takes good care of Silverwood, the
meet of both for which may be Ravenfield or Hooton-
Eoberts. Foxes from any of this cluster of coverts
will most likely take their flight across the border for
Lord Scarboro's place, Sandbeck Park. A couple of
miles south of Doncaster is Edlington Wood — a
capital covert of some 600 or 700 acres, the property
partly of Lord Fitzwilliam and partly of Mr.
Foljambe, a joint ownership that speaks for itself as
far as foxes are concerned. The meet for the last-
named covert is sometimes Edlington Village,, some-
times Warms worth. Its rides are wide and well
turfed; and the favour it finds with foxes not
unnaturally extends to the field. A single day might
suffice to run through the little string of coverts just
enumerated. But, as each is likely to show a litter or
two every year, and there is plenty of space outside
and over the border, they stand a great deal of work
before the supply runs short. St. Catherine's Well

Lord FitzwiUiam's. 59

lies just on the edge of the recognised country ; and
here a fox is often to be found among the lowl3ring
"carrs^^ (fenland)^ with the choice before him of
turning back to Edlington or of going for Rossington
— in the latter case having a clear course before him,
with the exception of one small canal to swim.

Beyond Doncaster Lord Fitzwilliam sometimes goes
by permission into the extreme north of the Grove
dominion — for instance, to Cantley and Armthorpe
(Lord Auckland's) and Barney Dun. There are few,
if any^ strong coverts in this direction — but much
rough ground which may tempt a fox. When found,
he is nearly sure to leave sand and shingles behind
and make his way as quick as he can to Hatfield
Chase, a low heather- covered moor which can neither
be drained, cultivated, nor ridden over, and where
chances are strongly in favour of the pack being lost
possibly for the night.

60 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE CEAWLEY AND HOESHAM.*

Down, weald, and forest are the three varieties of
ground which compose the present Crawley and
Horsham country. In running down to the sea, side
by side with the Southdown (and between it and
Lord Leconfield's), it cuts into both the range of
down on the coast and the lower weald inland, which
stretch across all three Hunts. North of the weald
again is an undulating and strongly- wooded dis-
trict, still denominated ^' the Forest ; ^^ and thus
the country is made up of three very distinct
sections.

The geographical outline of the Hunt has been so
materially altered since the maps referred to in the
footnote were compiled, that they give little or no
idea of its present outline. The C. & H. (an abbrevia-
tion we must be allowed throughout this sketch) now
goes right down to Arundel, Worthing, and the sea
— by virtue of a gift of ground from Lord Leconfield.
On the other hand, the Hunt has thrown aside all the
western and cruder half of its old territory as coloured
on the maps, and has assumed an equally compact

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map/ Sheet 22, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Crawley and Horsham, 61

shape, with, the advantage of now having its kennels
almost exactly in the middle of the country.

The C. & H. is a country decidedly in favour with
the Londoners : for, while it is well outside the realms
of Cockueydom and shares none of the disadvantages
under which so many suburban packs suffer, it is
yet easy of access and is able to offer a great deal of
genuine sport. It is a fair — if not a rapid — scenting
country : is well off for foxes (at least in all its best
districts) ; and owns a capital working pack. Since
Col. Calvert took over the hounds — a dozen years ago
— he has maintained the numbers (some fifty couple)
almost entirely by means of Mr. Lane Fox^s annual
young draft fi^om Bramham, with the result that the
driving quaHties and cleanness of shape for which that
pack is now so famous are observable with the C. & H.
Kennels and hounds are the property of the Hunt :
and the Kennels, with proportionate stabling, are
extremely neatly built, and well situated close to the
station of West Grinstead. The 8 a.m. train from
Victoria will land you at Horsham before ten
o'clock, and in time for most meets ; or you may use
the train for points further south, such as Steyning
or Arundel. It is on days when hounds are most
accessible from the metropolis that the C. & H. fields
are at their largest. Not that they are ever really
big — one hundred being_, perhaps, their outside com-
plement. In countries such as Sussex visitors from a
distance are never likely to assemble in sufficient
numbers as to interfere with sport — or even to make
it such a matter of difficulty as sometimes in the
Shires. Moreover — whatever may be the case here —

62 The Hunting Countries of England.

there are few subscription-packs to which the visitors
do not readily contribute their full share ; and their
presence, therefore, is more often a boon than a draw-
back. Besides, the fences of Sussex are seldom of a
kind to suffer much injury under the passage of a field
of horsemen. They are more often a ragged growth on
a bank; and are scarcely disturbed by a horse
jumping on and off them, or picking his way over,
one foot after another. Where all the country is
under the plough, there is little need for strong
fencing ; but wherever it is found necessary to
strengthen the hedges, it is usually done by means
of strong wattle. A flighty horse is out of place any-
where in Sussex. With the C. & H. if it is not
always needful to look before you leap, it is certainly
necessary to look while you are doing so : and there
is no country where a horse learns more fully to take
care of himself. If at all rash, he is sure to tumble
about ; and as self-preservaton is the first instinct of
the noble animal, the chances are he soon steadies
down and earns himself a character for cleverness.
Besides being clever he must be stout; for most of
the C. & H. country (except the Downs) is a stiff
deep clay, and the rides in the Forest are holding and
tiring.

Roughly speaking, the Forest is situated to the
north-east of the kennels (or chiefly to the east of
Horsham), and is a tract of large disconnected woods,
with a certain amount of open country in between
them. Many of these woods have of late years been
let to Londoners for shooting purposes : and so it
often happens that master and keeper are alike

The Crawley and Horsham. 63

strangers to the country, and indifferent to any other
interests but their own. The rides are very deep in
places, but the woods are not, as a rule, difficult to
get about. On a good scenting day, and with hounds
close at him, a fox is very glad to leave the choking
brushwood and run the rides — the prettiest phase of
woodland hunting.

The weald, or vale, again, has coverts of a very
manageable size, thickly grown, and with foxes
plentiful. There is seldom a hurning scent, but often
a good one — especially when the ground is not too
wet and cold (a postulate that would seem to apply to
many stiff clay countries — the vice versa to those on
lighter soil). The foxes, too, are^ stout and tough,
and seldom give up their lives easily. Those of the
Forest are especially strong, and are remarkable for
their dark colour — their brushes being often almost
absolutely black.

The C. and H. now limits its operations on the
Forest side to the line of the London and Brighton
railway (which bisected the original country from
Three Bridges to Keymer). Its weald, and after-
wards the Down, now reaches from the Kennels along
the railway from Horsham to Arundel and Little-
hampton— the weald reaching about to Amberley and
Steyning, the Down and ^^ over-the-hill ^' to the sea.
The Down is much like that of the Southdown.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are the
four days of hunting, and Col. Calvert often adds a
bye day to these. Taking the Kennels as a centre
Monday and Thursday are for the north and north-
east (chiefly forest and woodland) ; while Tuesday

64 The Hunting Countries of England,

and Saturday are for tlie open ground south and
south-west.

Among the usual Monday meets are the following,
all of which lead to large woods often almost touching
each other (though a fox may sometimes be forced
into the open country outside), viz.. Holme Bush (Mr.
Clifton Brown's), where a good fox is often to be
started, Tilgate Lodge, Pound Hill, Fay Gate,
Rusper, Sun Oak, Leonard Lee (where Mr. Egerton
Hubbard, Secretary to the Hunt, resides — and always
has sterling foxes), Nuthurst, Peas Cottage, The
High Beeches. About Warnham and Rusper it is
very hilly ; and the ^^ giUs,^' or gullies, make it
extremely difficult to be always with hounds. Some
gorse coverts have lately been planted on these
slopes.

Thursday, again, is usually spent rather farther
south, and takes in the Bolney and Cuckfield district,
undulating ground more akin to the weald, though
the coverts are still very large. From Bolney they
draw the woods of Pickwell : Colwood Park is for the
well known, and favourite, Spronkett Woods (Mr.
Smith's) : Cowfold, or The Kennels, means the nice
coverts of Moon Wood and Gervoise's Woods — all
this part of the country, adjoining the Southdown,
being by no means the worst of the Hunt. Nuthurst,
which stands on a hill, has some large and tempting
looking coverts : Southwater is for the Trellar's
Woods, where strong wild foxes are always found :
and Muntham is the property of a good old sportsman,
Mr. Percy Godman, who invariably provides foxes of
a similar stamp. Slinford is for Col. St. John's nice

The Crawley and Horsham. 65

woods, and the Five Oaks. And, tliougli mucli to
the north of the rest of the usual Thursday ground,
the Master's place at Ockley is generally named on
that day. There is some very useful open country
about here, and, after drawing his own coverts, he is
likely to name Hitchcock's and the Roman Woods for
the afternoon.

Tuesday is taken for the south of the country —
either on the downs, or just '^ under'' or "over the
hill." Parham Park, where Mr Newton lives and
has some nice coverts, comes under the denomination
of under the hill — ^being close under the northern
slopes. Applesham is a hill-meet, and leads to the
gorses and similar down-country as already described
under the head of The Southdown. Among the more
notable of the gorse-coverts are Steepdown, Lancing
Ring, and Stunkbottom — the latter being a gorse of
considerable size. Steyning is another meet for the
same district. Patching Pond is " over the hill " in
what is more often known as " the Pindon country '^
for a set of coverts, large woods, chiefly owned by Sir
Henry Fletcher and the Duke of Norfolk. And
Findon itself is advertised with the same view, having
also the Clapham woods, from which a fox is likely
enough to cross right over the downs to the coverts
beyond. Worthing does much to swell the field when
hounds are anywhere in this quarter.

Saturday is purely in the weald, or vale ; where the
coverts are comparatively small, the country open^
foxes stout, the fences built stronger, and the soil a
stiff clay. A south-west wind and not too much
moisture — is the prayer of sportsmen here. Among

VOL. II. p

66 The Hunting Countries of England.

the fixtures are — Dial Post^ a very good meet for
Frencli Land Woods (Mr. John Goring' s^ who,
though never riding, is a thorough friend to the
Hunt) : Horsebridge Common, with coverts round it,
and a stout fox always at Cork Wood and Calcott
Wood : Broomer's Corner, for Mr. Carew-Gibson's
coverts : Coolham Green for Hose Wood : Ashington
for Hookland Plantation, The Baldwins, or American
Woods (capital draws, also belong to Mr. Goring) :
Wappingthorn Gate, generally for Sir C. Goring's
coverts : and Jolesfield Common — a large open
common, whence many a good run has started — with
Hatrell Woods and Lock Woods, and again every
chance of a run, to follow.

The West Kent 67

THE WEST KENT.*

A CONSIDEEABLE similarity of country runs througli
tlie whole of Kent. Its distinguishing features may
be more strongly developed in one locality than
another; but in the main its leading points are the
same throughout. More hill or less hill, more big
woods or fewer, more wold or fewer valleys — it is
only a question of degree. The East Kent and the
Tickham have already been dealt with ; and a sketch
of the West Kent, to stand by itself, would necessarily
contain a rechauffe of much that has been written
about the other two. As a matter of comparison, the
West Kent has, perhaps, more open country, less
rough and flinty highland, more pronounced vale than,
and not quite such immense woods as, the Tickham,
which intervenes between, and graduates down to, the
East Kent. But its hills are just the same chalk
slopes, with flint-covered surface and unfenced tillage ;
its frequent woods are of the same hazel, beech and
unthorned undergrowth, with narrow straggling rides.
Hop gardens fill its rich and sheltered nooks ; fruit is
freely grown where the soil favours orchard or garden ;

* Yide Stanford's " Himtiug Map," Sheets 22 and 23, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

p 2

68 The Hunting Countries of England,

and until lately grass was only to be seen along the
base of its valleys. Now, bowever, a good deal has
been laid down on the bills. A strong or constant
scent is not its cbaracteristic ; and tbe number and
propinquity of its coverts add greatly to tbe difficulty
of handling foxes. In tbe cubbunting montbs, and
in tbe early season, wbile tbe underwood retains its
foliage, tbe number of masks brougbt back to kennel
is very small, and tbe score for tbe year depends
obiefly on bonest success after Cbristmas. On tbe-
bills especially is it bard and trying work for bounds
and buntsman; and only science and perseverance
can ever lead to triumpb.

Tbe West Kent. Country is situated as follows. It
begins at tbe Tbames on tbe nortb — going as near
London as civilisation and bricks-and-mortar will
allow, and following its course by Greenbitbe,.
Gravesend, to tbe moutb of tbe river, to take in
tbe promontory known as tbe Hundred of Hoo»
Rocbester and Maidstone are on its eastern boundary
line, Sevenoaks on its western ; wbile Tunbridge and
Tunbridge Wells are witbin its confines on tbe soutb,
and it can stretcb as far beyond tbem as it cbooses.
Tbe towns mentioned all respectively furnisb tbeir
quota wben bounds are near tbem; and a few
Londoners come down occasionally. But, tbougb a
little more tban an bourns journey from Victoria
or Ludgate Hill will set borse and man down at
any required station witbin tbe Hunt, tbe West
Kent is not a country tbat attracts many visitors
from tbe big city. Tbe time-bonoured grounds
of tbe Old Surrey and Surrey Union still meet

The West Kent 69

with mucli more favour in the eyes of metropolitan
foxhunters, who of necessity or inclination are pre-
vented from going farther afield ; and the West Kent
field is chiefly local. Further, it is in a very great
measure composed of farmers, who, as a body in the
Hunt in question, are thoroughly fond of the fox and
the fun he brings; and even on the Tunbridge side
the numbers of all ranks seldom exceed fifty or sixty
people.

The Hon. Ralph Nevill (BirHng Manor, Maidstone)
has been for nineteen years Master of the West Kent.
For the first two years he shared the ofiice with the
late Mr. Wingfield Stratford; and for eight years
previously he had kept a small private pack, hunting
a part of the western woodlands of the Tickham, and
a part of the West Kent Country near his own
Kennels. The present West Kent pack is his pro-
perty ; and is kept up to its strength chiefly by means
of the young drafts of the Quorn and other good
packs. The same difiiculty as to rearing and entering
homebred puppies exists here as with two or three
other packs in the south of England; and though
walks can be found for thirty-five to forty couple of
puppies every year, it has been necessary, through
bad luck with distemper, to have recourse to drafts
from other Kennels. But, fortunately, so many
Hunts are nowadays able to find quarters for a
number far beyond their own actual requirements,
that young hounds of high class and breeding are
always to be secured. In a '^ first draf t,^^ too, from a
good Kennel, there are sure to be several undeveloped
youngsters that, like the ugly duckling, eventually

70 The Hunting Countries of England.

attain to a much, higher standard of looks — while for
work they may be no whit behind their more fancied
brothers and sisters. A foxhound must be at least a
fairly- shaped one for the county of Kent. He is of
little use if his back and loins are not muscular
enough to push him up hill with ease. If there is
any lumber about his shoulders he can never come
down the steep slopes at top speed ; while if his feet
are not compact and strong the flints will soon send
him back to iKennel a cripple. Even a good-footed
hound often finds it diflScult to move at best pace over
the roughest of the hills; and a whole pack will
sometimes be held back from driving to the front with
a good head — however strong the scent may be.

The requirements hold good for horse as for hound.
Your horse for the West Kent need not be a very
expensive mount ; but he must be able to go up hill
and down^ and^ further, if he has to take his turn
wherever hounds may be advertised, he must be
capable enough to jump some fair strong fences in
the vales of Tunbridge and Ightham. A good deal
of meadow and pasture is there met with ; and the
intervening fences, where wanting in natural strength,
are built up with stout wattle, and well- ditched
besides. On the hills you may often go all day
without jumping at all ; as a land-mark between
neighbour and neighbour is held to be sufficient
guard over the corn fields for all practical purposes.
During recent depression much hill land has been
thrown altogether out of cultivation, or at best
allowed to drift into rough sheep-walk ; and is now
rapidly assimilating itself to down. An improved

The West Kent. 71

scent and better going serve, though sadly, to
illustrate the saying as to an ill wind and the good it
blows.

The Kennels have until lately been at Wrotham
Heath ; but the present site is at Warren House,
near Otford — in many respects a more suitable place,
though at some distance from the Master, being no
less than twelve miles from Birling* Manor.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday have
been the hunting days, but this season hounds are out
five days a week and sometimes six, the Master^s
nephew, Lord George Nevill, hunting them when
they go into the Bridge country, which is generally on
a Wednesday. The meets are fixed as the require-
ments of the country demand — no particular rule
being observed, beyond that two days are generally
given to the hills and two to the vales, and that
Monday is nearly always spent in the Penshurst-and-
Tunbridge Vale, while on every third Saturday hounds
are taken down to the Hundred of Hoo. This latter
is a low-lying peninsula forming almost a little
country of itself, between the Thames and the Medway
and some fifteen miles in extent. There are few
coverts in it ; and foxes are generally found in the
reed beds near the shore. A fox must swim to reach
his kennel on some dry patch, hounds must swim to
draw for him, and more than one member of the pack
has in past years been lost in the effort. But there
is a good covert here of Lord Darnley's, called Chat-
tenden Roughs, always full of foxes. And there is a
nice thick gorse at Norhead, which place is one of the
two usual meets for the Hundred country — the other

72 The Hunting Countries of England.

being Four Elms Hill. The hounds have to be sent
on overnight ; and have generally taken advantage of
the hospitality of Mr. Hilton (Master of the Hoo
Harriers) or Mr. Hulkes of Higham.

There is some pleasant undulating ground along
the north of the country at the back of Gravesend ;
but you soon get on to the hills — while,, again^ all the
north-west gradually merges into fruit gardens, alto-
gether at variance with crosscountry foxhunting.
Cobham Hall (Lord Darnley^s) is a meet, though
hounds seldom go there nowadays ; and a fox has been
known to run from there through the outskirts of
Gravesend, to be killed on the Thames bank at North.-
fleet. Swanscombe Bottom (with some considerable
coverts near) is, perhaps, the northernmost meet here-
abouts ; and Swanley Junction the widest on the
north-west. On the East Hills foxes are stout and
wild — not easy to kill, nor easy to keep above ground.
One of their best friends is Sir William Hart-Dyke, of
Lullingstone Castle, whose coverts are ever a sure find
— as are those of Mr. Warings of Chelsfield (whose
love for the good red rover is quite a hobby) . Mr.
John E/UsselPs coverts at Horton, also, are notable as
being never drawn blank. Farningham, Hartley, and
Portobello are other frequent meets for these Hills.

To the south of them is a narrow vale running by
Ightham to Sevenoaks ; and near the latter are some
large woodlands belonging to Lord Amhurst, another
good supporter of the Hunt. Otford Gate, Ightham,
Crown Point, Wrotham, Addington-Park and Birling
Manor are all meets along the line of railway from
Sevenoaks to Maidstone; and just across the valley

The West Kent 73

by wliicli it runs, are the enormous Mereworth. Woods,
the property partly of Lord Falmouth, and partly of
Sir Francis Geary.

Over the hill, again, is the best of the country —
viz., the stiff, heavy vale by Tunbridge, Penshurst,
and Edenbridge. Double ditches, by the way, are not
at all unfrequent obstacles here, and the stranger
should be prepared accordingly. Lord Hardinge at
South Park, Mr. Mead- Waldo, and Col. Streatfield,
with the two Messrs. Field, are leaders among those
who keep this part of the country supplied with foxes.
Bow Beach, Penshurst, and South Park will frequently
occur as meets with this ground in view.

As we get on to Tunbridge Wells and beyond, the
country becomes again more undulating and hilly.
Bridge Castle is one of the meets for the Bridge dis-
trict. In conclusion, Mr. S. Umfreville of Ingress
Abbey has hitherto acted as a deputy-master, to assist
Mr. Nevill ; and is now succeeded in that capacity by
Lord George Nevill and Mr. L. Bligh, nephews of the
masters.

74 The Hunting Countries of England.

SIR ATATKIN WYNN'S.*

A VERY sporting and enjoyable country is that hunted
by Sir Watkin from bis beautiful seat at Wynnstay,
Euabon. From Chester in the north almost to
Shrewsbury in the south, from Whitchurch in the
east across to the Welsh Hills, comprises a territory in
which Denbighshire, Cheshire, and Shropshire are all
represented. And, though backed along its whole
length by the rugg-ed mountains of Wales, the bulk
of its extent is a level plain, eminently suitable for
foxhunting operations of the pleasantest kind. A light,
and fairly easy, riding country, carrying a good scent,
having a fine supply of foxes and a splendid pack to
drive them — no wonder Sir Watkin^ s is a popular
Hunt, or that men troop in over the borders whenever
opportunity offers.

In describing the country the mountains may be
left out of calculation altogether. Hounds never go
there, unless carried up by some highland wanderer ;
and then they get on to wondrous rough ground, amid
bogs and boulders, heather and moss, where they can
run hard, but where no horseman can follow them —

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 8, and Hobson's
Foxliuutinof Atlas.

Sir Watkin Wynn's. 75

unless tie has happened to have been born on the moun-
tain-side^ and knows every sheepwalk and hillpath. It
is said that one of Charles Payne's (the veteran hunts-
man) earliest experiences, in this direction when ho
first came to Denbighshire, was to find himself beyond
the pale of English-speaking humanity. For a time his
hounds were lost, so was his way and so was all power
of inquiry (for as yet his tongue was guileless of
Welsh liquid and double consonant). At length by
a happy chance he hit upon a shepherd who had seen
the world, and who could speak something of the
barbarous language of the lowlands. Delighted at
the lucky meeting, the lost huntsman eagerly inquired
his whereabouts — only to learn that here was ^^ The
Land's End," the last English-named place in the
mountains, and that all beyond was a black void of
Welsh Highland, in which he might as well inquire
after his hounds as search for them in the dark abyss
of Styx.

But it is the plain below — the valley of the Dee,
and the level sweep beyond — that constitute the
pleasant hunting grounds of Sir Watkin Williams
Wynn, and for which be formed his pack some eight-
and- thirty years ago. Some of it is under the
plough; but a great deal is beautiful grass — and
where the plough has been at work the soil is light
and firm rather than heavy and deep. In fact, the
Cheshire vale (up the Dee- side to Chester) is exactly
of the same character as the Cheshire Country over
the border, while the Shrewsbury (or Beschurch) and
Whitchurch ground are altogether of Shropshire
type — gently undulating grass and plough inter-

76 The Hunting Countries of England.

mingled. Small enclosures (and so, of course,
frequent fences) reign throughout. As with The
Cheshire, you almost live in the air when hounds
are running. There is nothing much to stop you,
while, on the other hand, every inducement is held
out to jump. There are few bridle roads, or lines of
gates ; though there are frequent lanes. But, when
once in a lane, it is often dijB&cult to see over the bank
on either side, nor is it always easy to get out of it
again. The fences, however, though varying in
strength in proportion to the use required of them —
for instance, whether on a grazing farm or among
cornfields — are generally very practicable, even tempt-
ing. A top-binder is a thing unknown. Every hedge
is trimmed on its own merits, without resort to the
artifice of laying and building that creates such
ramparts across the smooth pasturage of the Shires.
Thus (except, perhaps, in the case of a stile in a
corner) a horse is never turned over by the knees;
the sudden puzzled '^ Where am I ? What's happened ?
Where's my hat ? Get your foot out of it, you brute !
Not a bit, thanks, don't wait for me ! " represent a
sensation almost unknown in the counties of Chester
and Salop ; and, moral, a man ought to be able to go
on riding there for ever. The worst that ever happens
to him is to find himself bowled over, or into a ditch —
though even this depends a good deal upon circum-
stances and constitution for its charm, a charm that is
altogether wanting in the accident of the ditch being
just big enough for you both, and you the undermost.
Most of the fences are thorn growth upon a low bank,
whereon there may, or may not, be room for hind legs

Sir Watkin Wynn's. 77

in passing — a point tliat a horse should soon learn
to discover for himself, the more so that great pace is
not essential, even if it be on occasion permissible in
covering them. Given the ditch towards him, if he
cannot bring you safely into the next field he has no
business in a jumping country; for, if he springs at
all, there is nothing to throw him back or turn him
over. With the ditch beyond, and the hedge fairly
trimmed, it is a thousand to one on safe landing.
And in the whole country there are not a dozen
instances of the trap — a ditch on both sides. The
only difficulties that ever interfere with riding to
hounds are the dingles, occurring chiefly in the home
district, and caused, no doubt, by the watershed from
the hilltops. These are rough and wooded gullies,
forking it in all directions ; and, while you are
threading one arm, hounds may be doubling back up
another, of which their fox has only too gladly
availed himself. The greater part of the country,
indeed, is good plain sailing — allowing you to take
it at your leisure when the scent is cold, or to fly it
when the pack settles to run. Should the latter be
the order over the Cheshire Yale, you will need a
horse that can hold his own anywhere ; for you will be
riding to a flying pack in good company ; and he, and
you, must be quick to turn, ready to resolve, and in
every sense fit to go. As a rule, a very active, short-
legged horse is the one for the country.

Ruabon, near which the kennels lie, is some five
hours from London (Paddington or Euston Square) —
too far for the excursionist fox hunter, but by no
means a bad place for a man who would hunt four

78 The Hunting Countries of England.

days a week witli one pack. If variety is to be
sought, Cliester or Shrewsbury offers a better base,
and Whitcburch better than either — the last named
commanding almost all Sir Watkin Wynnes, the cream
of the South Cheshire, and many meets of the North
Staffordshire and North Shropshire.

Sir Watkin started his pack some forty years ago,
by purchasing the hounds of Mr. Leche (who had
been hunting the" country) and those of Mr. Glrout of
Kilgraston, the Master of the Perthshire. In its
earliest days the Kennel held several strains of good
blood, e.g., from the old Cheshire Kennel, the Duke
of BuccleugVs, Lord Tarboro's, Fife, Pytchley, and
Duke of Rutland^ s. Two years later (1845) Sir
Watkin bought five couple at Mr. Foljambe's sale ;
and about twenty years ago his Kennel owned two
hounds that have since made it famous — Painter
(who goes back to the Belvoir Druid, and his dam
to the Cheshire Bruiser), and Eegent by the
Fitzwilliam Eegent. At the present time it would
be difficult indeed to name a pack whose build is
cleaner and whose legs and feet are a better
model.

The present series of sketches is not intended to
include notice of the existing huntsmen of Countries
described : but, in connection with Sir Watkin' s, it
cannot be left unwritten that Charles Payne of
Pytchley renown is in this year 1881 about to enter
upon his fiftieth season of service with hounds, — to
all appearance as fresh and vigorous as when all the
world used to talk, and Mr. Whyte Melville used to
write, of his brilliant achievements from Crick and

Sir Watkin Wynn's. 79

Mistertou. Beginning in a minor capacity with the
Quorn, in the days of Sir Harry Goodrick, and the
kennels at Thrussington, he went at the end of five
years to whip in to the Oakley and George Beers. Ten
years later he came to the Pytchley ; and, after nine-
teen years unexampled success with them, took service
under Sir Watkin, and is now in his sixteenth year at
Wynnstay, with all his old keenness and happiness in
the sport as strongly marked as ever.

The coverts of the Hunt are nearly all small places
— chiefly of natural growth. Beyond the Duke^s
Woods and their immediate neighbours there is
scarcely a covert large enough to be of use in cub
hunting, though all the country is well stocked with
foxes.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday are
the four usual hunting days ; and in noting how they
are distributed we can point out any peculiarities
marking the different sides of the country.

Monday and Friday generally alternate with each
other in being assigned to the home district or to the
Shropshire — more often termed the Baschurch — side.
The home district includes the roughest ground in
the Hunt and the only strong woods. The latter are
Brynypys, Duke's Woods (Lord Brownlow^s), Penley
Dingles (the property of the widow of a very fine
sportsman, the late Eev. E. H. Dymock), and The
Wyches, part of which belong to Mr. T. Drake, part
to Mr. God sal. They are all situated in a line, and
are thoroughly cared for from end to end. Brynypys
(Mr. Edmund PeeFs, an excellent preserver) is the
most common meet for these coverts. The Trotting

80 The Hunting Countries of England,

Mare lias a rough country round it, but stout straight
foxes. Duke^s Woods, by the way, are mainly long
straggling covert and dingle, affording ample shelter
for foxes, but such shelter as they cannot cling to
long when pressed by hounds. Marchwill and Sutton
Green are two other good places. Greddington is
also in the home circle, and has some long plantations
to draw. The only fixture on the Welsh side of the
Welshpool and Chester Railway, now in vogue, is
Brogyntyn (Lord Harlech's) just under the mountains.
Till lately there was a strong covert at Pentrebychan
(now grubbed up), from which foxes nearly always
ran up the hills. The Shropshire or Baschurch side
is nice ground, especially in a wet season — a good
deal of plough about it, but a light soil, fences not
difficult, and the coverts small woods and plantations.
Near Oswestry, however (Oswestry to the Severn
being held to constitute the Shropshire side), is a nice
gorse known as Aston Gorse, belonging to Colonel
Lloyd, who at one time was a hard rider in the Mid-
lands. A new gorse was also planted two years ago
at Little Ness by Mr. Darby. Baschurch Rednal,
Woodhouse, Whittington Petton and Oteley are all
well-known meets in this district.

Wednesday is more frequently for the Cheshire
side, which is quite the best of the country. From
Broughton to Eaton Hall is known as the Chester
Vale j nearly all is beautiful turf ; scent scarcely ever
fails ; and foxes are fully plentiful. The River Dee
occasionally makes a difficulty ; for, if a fox cross it
and no bridge be handy, it is impossible for horsemen
to follow ; for the stream is wide and deep, and the

Sir Watkin Wynnes, 81

banks liigli and overlianging. The present Duke
of Westminster nearly lost his life when, as Lord
Grosvenor, he attempted, years ago, to swim it.
Among the best meets for this districts are Broughton
(where resides Mr. Howard, who has sons hunting
though he no longer often joins the chase himself —
and whose gorse has been the source of many a recent
good run) ; Worthenbury (where is another good
friend to the sport, the Rev. Theophilus Pulleston) ;
Ohorlton ; Garden Park, with favourite little coverts
of gorse and blackthorn ; Macefen, with a good
gorse (well preserved by the Hon. E. Kenyon, and
whence there is almost invariably a run) ; Farndon ;
and, just beyond, Aldersey (the seat of Squire
Aldersey), with the Aldersey Brook close, a continual
source of merriment and misfortune. For the Broxton
Hills, on the outside of the country, and joining the
Cheshire Hills, the meet is Edge Green; and the
Cheshire Hills are drawn neutrally with The Cheshire
as far as what is known as The Gap.

Saturday is understood to be, as a rule, for the
Whitchurch side — the east of the country — where the
ground is more undulating, grass chiefly grown, and
the sport generally good. Iscoed Park (the seat of
Mr. Godsal, who is connected by marriage with the
family of Sir Watkin) is a capital meet, with good
coverts at hand and good foxes ensured. At Hinton
is Mr. Ethelston-Peel, who, like his brother, is a
thorough fox preserver. There are coverts round the
House, besides PeeFs Gorse — a certain find. Whit-
church is often fixed — sometimes with a view to
Peel's Gorse, or, it may be, for Brown's Moss (a lake

VOL. II. G

82 The Hunting Countries of England,

with gorse round its edges) . Ash is a very popular
meet_, with excellent country all round, and Ash Wood
and some new coverts right well looked after by
Major Bulkeley who lives close by. New- Street-Lane
Lodge is for Styche or Shavington, in the comer
beyond Whitchurch. Styche itself is often adver-
tised^ for Styche Wood and Shavington Park
(Lord Kilmorey's). Sandford is the residence of
Mr. Sandford, a model for preservers. The reed
beds, osiers, plantations, &c., never fail to be thickly
tenanted. The meets of Ightfield and Cleverly may
point either to Sandford or Cleverly.

Wednesday in the Cheshire Vale generally brings
out the largest fields, made up from The Cheshire,
Liverpool, Manchester, &c. But the Whitchurch side,
too, often has a very full attendance.

The Hursley. 83

THE HUESLEY.*

A EOUGH little country of wood and wold, but well
preserved and well hunted, and where sport is worked
out in spite of difficulties, is the Hursley, under the
management of Col. Nicoll. Some thirty couple of
hounds (chiefly of Lord Portsmouth's blood) are
kennelled at Pitt Farm, close to Winchester ; to hunt
the down that stretches to Stockbridge, and the wood-
land that runs down to Southampton and adjoin the
New Forest. The Kennels may be somewhat primi-
tive ; but they are eminently healthy and comfortable
— being well thatched buildings, warm in winter, cool
in summer, and with the bracing air of the downs ever
playing on the hillside where the hounds are exer-
cised.

The north of the Hursley country is akin to that of
its neighbours, the Tedworth and the H.H. — mile
upon mile of sweeping undulations — the thin soil that
covers the chalk tilled everywhere for grain or green
crop ; sharp flints scattered broadcast over the surface;
and never a fence to check horse or hound in his
stride. Here and there the outline of the cornfields is

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 21, and Hobson's
Poxhnnting Atlas.

G 2

84 The Hunting Countries of England.

just marked out with what may once have been a
hedge, but now is merely a thin broken hne of thorn
bushes : and a dogcart might be driven over the face
of the country for miles, without an upset or even a
damaged spring. On a real scenting day over such
ground, a fox positively cannot live before hounds if
they start on good terms with him. For there is none
of the scrambling, tailing, and difficulty that must
accrue to the best of packs when forcing its way
through and over a stiffly enclosed country. Where
fences are strongly built — too high to fly, and too
thick to let hounds more than dribble through — not
only the fox, but the field, have six to four the best of
the game, especially if the enclosures are small and
the fences, consequently, close together. In such a
case, Reynard slips through his chosen smeuse without
check or hindrance, and gains many a length at each ;
while the more keen and eager the hounds, the more
they tumble over and check one another — and the
more chance they give a jumping field to cut off
and interfere with them. Again, a beaten fox or
a bad one, will assuredly dodge up a hedgerow —
and does it, moreover, with the advantage that
the pack behind him is having a tiring scrimmage
of its own at every fence, that the quickest hound
to extricate himself is blowing the others, and that
the whole energies of the remainder are concen-
trated in the effort to squeeze past each other and
overtake the leader. On the downs, on the contrary,
Reynard gets no respite from the moment he starts.
He is half killed before he thinks of turning, and then
he has nowhere to turn. The worst thing that can

The Hursley. 85

happen to him in any country is to be ^' bustled off bis
legs '' in the first twenty minutes. Here he has no
chance of dodging to recover his wind and distance.
There is nothing to cover_, prompt^ or assist^ his flank
march. He can be seen for miles on the open hillside ;
and merely plays into the hands of his enemies by
turning short. Meanwhile a racing pack has been
stretching along in his wake' — every hound going up
to the front, and every hound in better training than
the object of pursuit. Thus a quick pack need never
ask for more than five-and-thirty minutes to twist up
an old fox over the downs — be the downs Hursley,
Hambledon, Tedworth_, or Craven — given the two
named conditions of a good start and a proper scent.
True, all the needful conditions don^t come every day.
If they did, we should all turn out to overrun Hamp-
shire— especially in the case of hot-headed old age,
failing nerve, or a better term, matured judgment.
We should buy a galloper, and fling field after
field behind us as gaily as when in early life we
sought distinction from Melton Spinney or Waterloo
Gorse — and found it at the first unexpected oxer.

It is in wet weather that hounds can do most justice
to themselves over the open down — or, more properly,
wold — of the '^ top country," by which name that
part of the Hursley above Winchester is generally
known. The ground mast be thoroughly damp to
hold a scent to which they can race. To be ready for
such occasions, hounds, and horses too, should be not
only speedy, but fit. And, besides being built to skim
over the ground, each must have feet calculated to
withstand the flints, which crop up to the surface so

86 The Hunting Countries of England.

lavishly that they are often raked into heaps to clear
the ground for agriculture.

The coverts of this upper country are fewer, less
extensive, and more concentrated than in the southern
division. Especially round Crawley and the Win-
chester Racecourse (where they get by sufferance from
the H.H.) have they had many merry gallops over
miles of smooth and open hillsides.

The lower or "bottom country '^ is totally different
and difficult. It gradually merges into a close mass
of almost unbroken woodland. Round Baddesley is a
small round vale, fenced with bank-and-ditch, and
carrying, like much of the stiff clay of the lower
country, a fair — often a good — scent. Elsewhere there
occurs the occasional opportunity of crossing a few
strong-banked enclosures : and then a short-legged
clever horse is useful. But for the most part foxes
will run the coverts ; and horse and hound and man
must be of the stuff that is willing to persevere, and
stick to steady work. There are plenty of foxes, not
only in the south but all over the country — the supply
having increased largely in the last decade or so,
forming thus a practical tribute to the success of
Colonel NicolFs twelve years of Mastership.

The days of hunting are Monday and Friday, with
an occasion bye : and Monday is for the lower country,
while Friday is reserved for the upper. Having com-
menced our notes by referring to the upper country,
we may continue to give precedence to the Friday
ground. The meets on that day command much the
largest attendance — a fixture near Stockbridge or
Ashley bringing considerable numbers over the border

The Hursley. 87

from Lord Radnor's, the Tedworth, the Vine, and the
H.H., till a field of a hundred and fifty is sometimes
attained. Men will come from a long distance for a
gallop over down (the term being in the south of
England used synonymously with wold), when they
will not go a yard out of their way for a day in the
woods.

Some of the chief coverts in the '^ top country " are
those of Winterdown, North Park, Dumper's Oak,
Northwood, and Crab Wood; but with luck and a
good fox you are soon out in the open from any of
them. And some of the leading Friday meets are —
Leckford Hut, from which they draw Leckford Plan-
tations and Chilbolton Gorse, with open country all
round and every chance of running back to Winter-
down and the woods : Crawley Warren, whence, after
drawing the warren, they probably fall back to the
woodlands. Meeting at Winchester Racecourse, they
have Cuckoo Bushes and Worthy Groves, afterwards
North wood, and the larger coverts again. From the
Rack-and-Manger, too, they get to Munglees and
Winterdown. Wyke Down is the meet for Crab
Wood, a very thick and extensive covert near
Winchester. Sombourn Park^ and Farley Mount,
are meets for the strong coverts of Sombourn Wood,
Ashley Wood, and No Man's Land. On the western
edge of the country is an excellent wood at Mitchel-
marsh. It belongs to Hon. R. Dutton, is a certain
find, and generally leads to a run through Parnholt.
Lower Eldon is the usual meet for it.

Turning southward, to the "bottom country," which
is taken on the Monday, we find some good scenting

88 The Hunting Countries of England.

ground and tlie chance of a pleasant ride in tlie little
vale about Baddesley, or_, rather, between Cbilwortb
Hill and Romsey, with strong woods in the immediate
neighbourhood. Baddesley Wood is a boggy place;
which you should know your way about, before
venturing in without a pilot : and the fences outside
are large rough banks^ often thickly perforated with
rabbit holes.

Chilworth stands on higher ground, with some little
open table land in its neighbourhood. Lord^s Wood,
just beyond, lies in a very rough district with many
awkward bogs.

The Chilworth property belongs entirely to Mrs.
Fleming ; who, like the rest of the covertowners here-
abouts, preserves foxes staunchly and goes in but little
for game. Nightingale Wood (Lord Mount-Temple's)
is a very favourite wood of considerable size. As a
matter of fact, the distance between Chilworth and
Stoneham is almost continuous woodland. Stoneham
Park contains some most useful ground for harbouring
foxes — to wit, ferns, rocks, &c. It has, besides, a
home covert — a sure find. One of the best runs the
Country ever saw was from here. A strong woodland
fox took them right up to the north of the country,
and was killed at Littleton — a point of at least nine or
ten miles, after a run of two hours and twenty-five
minutes. Hursley Park is the residence of Sir
William Heathcote, who is the largest landowner and
one of the best supporters of the Hunt. There is
some covert in the Park itself ; and Hursley Common^
a fine wood close to Cranbury Park, also belongs to
Sir William. It contains a great deal of gorse and

The Hursley, 89

fern ; and is more like an old forest, with its open
glades and wild timber. From here we get into the
great chain of woods across the country — Forty Acres,
Trod^s Copse, Ampfield Wood, &c. The last-named
is looked upon as the chief covert in the Hunt, several
litters being bred there annually.

Of the Monday meets there is Chilworth Clump Inn,
for all the Chilworth district, Lord^s Wood, &c.
Standing on Chilworth Hill and looking- round, the
country below would seem to be one great tract of
wood on every side. Toothill Brick-kiln or Lus-
borough Pond are fixed for Nightingale Wood and
its neighbours. From the Hut-Inn, Chandler's Ford,
the first draw is probably Stoneham ; and from
Hursley Pond the Hursley Coverts. Standen Gate,
near Otterburn Hill, is on the east of the country,
adjoining the Hambledon.

Winchester and Southampton are, of course, the
two chief quarters from which you may by chance
have opportunity of seeing the Hursley. You are not
likely to visit the Country from a distance ; though,
should you be prompted to do so, Winchester is less
than two hours from London (Waterloo) and South-
ampton than two and a half.

90 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE HAMBLEDON.*

As well as being a mucli larger country than its next-
door neighbour, The Hursley, The Hambledon is more
regularly enclosed and fenced — though by no means
in the sense of being cramped or confined. Its wold
is fairly marked out in widespreading enclosures ; its
vales are apportioned off by bank-and-hedge-and-
ditch into firm sound fields of grass and plough ; its
woodlands are very strong, but there is always open
ground of vale or wold to be reached from them, and
a day entirely in the woods is very exceptional indeed.
Foxes are generally inclined to leave the great coverts;
and seldom double about them after the cubhunting
season.

The Hambledon Country is the extreme south-east of
Hampshire — the Southampton Water dividing it from
the New Forest, which takes up the other half of
South Hants. Commencing on the north with wide
sloping wolds such as go to make up the body of the
H. H. country — it gradually merges into strong vale
and a style of soil and culture more akin to Sussex
and the country of Lord Leconfield, which adjoins it
on the east.

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 21, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Hambledon. 91

Winchester is its extreme nor'-westerly point. From
there it runs down to Southampton ; and carries fox-
hunting along the Southcoast, as near to Gosport and
Portsmouth as the fortifications of Ports down Hill will
allow, till it reaches Havant — where Lord Leconfield
takes up the thread, lending, however, to the Hamble-
don a strip of his territory between (approximately)
Up Park and the village of Funtingdon. The Ham-
bledon Country, indeed, is (with the exception of a
small corner of Lord Leconfield^s) the only source
from which the soldiers and sailors of these garrison
seaports can get their hunting — unless they take the
train inland, or the ferry-boat across to the Isle of
Wight. Some few of them adopt the sensible plan of
keeping their horses at the pretty little town of
Bishops Waltham, which besides being nearly in the
centre of the country — and easily commanding' all the
best of it — is only a short distance from the Kennels.
The last point is always a desideratum when you are
hunting with a single pack. The day's proceedings
and duration, the direction and order of the draws,
must necessarily be arranged with the hounds as one
of the leading considerations. If your starting-point
is much the same as theirs you naturally share the
benefit. But, besides this and besides the advantage
of their company and guidance to covert and home if
wanted — there is the opportunity for acquiring a
vested interest in the doings of the pack that you will
attain in no other way. You may learn to know
individual hounds before you see them at work as a
body ; you can then note them in the field when no
one is at your elbow who could help you with name or

92 The Hunting Countries of England.

description ; and you can verify on tlie road home what
you have seen during the day. There are few hunts-
men but are glad of a sympathetic interest in their
favourites ; and there are few who will not cheerfully
assist it. We may not all be imbued with such an
interest, or care to cultivate it. But there are many of
us who do ; and to whom it represents a considerable
part of the pleasure we derive from foxhunting.
Masters of foxhounds and huntservants are naturally
those who take the deepest interest in the subject of
hounds. But there is no reason that it should be con-
fined entirely to them — though it is undeniable that
there are some very few of either class who not only
deny the possibility of its existence elsewhere^ but
would prefer its remaining unrecognised and unen-
couraged except among themselves. So rare, however,
are the instances of individual jealousy attempting to
guard the study of hounds as if it were a branch of
the Eleusinian mysteries, that they fortunately stand
out only as exceptions to prove a strongly marked rule
of unselfishness and good feeling.

It is, of course, with a field of moderate dimensions
that most opportunity is given to the looker-on of
seeing what hounds are doing, and how they do it.
And the Hambledon field is at no time a large one —
gauged by comparison with what is to be seen with
many other packs at a distance from Hampshire.

The kennels are at Droxford, some three or four
miles north of Bishops Waltham. ^Ir. Walter Long,
who carries the horn himself, is the son of Mr. W.
Jervis - Long, of Preshaw House, who hunted the
country previously for twelve seasons. He has had

The Hambledon. 93

the country seven years, and has built his present
pack almost entirely from the Cottesmore Kennel;
and with it has been very successful both in killing
foxes and showing sport. Preshaw_, with its good
coverts, lies so as to overlook the down, or wold,
district — hill after hill succeeding each other in
smooth strong dip and rise across the whole north
to the country from Winchester by Hambledon to
Idsworth. So much more severe are the Hambledon
hills than the milder undulation of the H. H., that
when hounds find a scent on which they can extend
themselves it is very difiicult to ride the line with
them, and it is generally advisable to cling as much
as possible to the upper ridges. On this light thin
soil, though, scent is by no means an everyday com-
modity ; and at all times it is necessary for hounds to
be close at their fox if they are to press him. Beacon
Hill and Old Winchester Hill are the two great land-
marks of the north of the country : and the latter
hill, with its background of covert, is regarded by
most foxes found near it as a sort of city of refuge
for which they should make at once.

The north-east or Petersfield corner comprises some
pleasant vale of the Sussex type. Amid it the
'^Petersfield Hangers'^ form quite a feature — being
hillside covert so steep that not only would riding
through be out of the question, but it is the practice
of the wood- cutters to let the wood as they cut it find
its way to the bottom by its own weight.

The Foxhunting Atlas shows most plainly the
natural geographical types of the several parts of the
country. From it will be readily seen that south of

94 The Hunting Countries of England.

Hambledon and its hilly wold comes a great stretch
of woodland, written down as the Forest of Bere^ but
now more generally known as ^^ The Liberties " — and
reaching almost from Bishop's Waltham to the eastern
edge of the country. It is only, however, in the
extreme east that the mass of wood is so great that
there is anything to preclude the feasibility of driving
a fox quickly into the open. Even there much of the
timber has been swept away, and given place to
agriculture. Once in the open a fox has the choice
before him of turning up over the wold and making
for Old Winchester Hill, or of running the nice vale
which, nearly all grass about Southwick, continues
with grass and plough intermixed for many miles
along the railway to Bishop stoke. As the Atlas
would convey, there is scarcely a break in the style
of country, as you pass Wickham, Botley, take in
Bishop's Waltham, and go on by Durley to Bishop-
stoke. The enclosures are small, the fences are
hedges (mostly trimmed, never laid) on a bank with
a ditch on one side and often on both ; the soil is a
stiff clay, and scent is generally fair, often good.
The Southwick neighbourhood, indeed, is considered
the cream of the country ; and a find there seldom
fails to lead to good results. Last season (1880-1881)
the Hunt was treated to two of their best runs from
Southwick.

It will be easily understood that for the Hambledon
vale and woodland a clever horse, shortlegged and
strong-backed, is required : while on the hills a turn
of speed is desirable, or even essential.

The hunting days of the Hambledon are Monday,

The Hambledon. 95

Wednesday^ Friday, and Saturday, arranged mucli as
follows : —

Monday is generally for tlie eastern hills and the
woods of Idsworth and district, or, as it is more often
termed, the Horndean side. Idsworth House is the
seat of Sir C. Jervoise, the oldest subscriber, and,
with his son Col. Jervoise, one of the staunchest sup-
porters of the Hunt. He has many large woods with
plenty of foxes in each. Besides Idsworth, Horndean
is a frequent meet hereabouts — for Horndean Holt
etc. Butser Hill and Highden Wood are also often
advertised — the latter being a large covert, with hills
and light ground close at hand. Barn Green, Water-
loo Inn and Leigh Park (the seat of Sir F. Fitz-
wigram) are the chief meets for the old Forest.
Occasionally Southwick Park may be fixed for a
Monday — giving the vale country on that day. But
more often Wednesday is the day for the Vale, and
for such meets as Holywell House. Here they have a
string of nice coverts (Queen^s Liberty the largest)
bordering the stream that runs from north to south
of the country, and where foxes are always to be
found. Nearer Fareham is a good and frequent
fixture. Old Vine, with nice vale till Portsdown Hill —
a kind of frowning seawall — is reached. From little
Park (the property of a good sportsman, Mr. C. Ead-
clyffe) , you get into some woods of considerable extent,,
such as Hall Court and Fairthorns. Swanswick is an
occasional meet beyond the railway towards Netley.

The alternate Friday is for the Preshaw side, and
again for hills and strong woods. There are several
of the latter on the Preshaw estate, with^ of course.

96 The Hunting Countries of England.

abundance of foxes. Corhampton House (Mr. King-
Wyndliam's) is at no great distance from Presliaw ;
and, like it, tas good coverts and many foxes. Warn-
ford Park points to Old Winchester Hill and neigli-
bourliood — Warnford Osier Beds and small coverts
along the bottom, whence a fox will generally cross
over tlie hilltop.

The other Friday is employed on the strip of country
lent by Lord Leconfield on the eastern border. To
reach this, hounds have to be sent on overnight,
generally to Idsworth House or Stanstead Park (Mr.
G. Wilder's). In these weeks the vSaturday meet is
fixed in the Preshaw, or regular Friday, country.

Saturday may be for either of the two extreme
northern corners of Peter sfield or Winchester. In the
former, Baising Park (Mr. Nicholson^s) near Peters-
field is situated in some pleasant vale country. West
Meon Hut and Westbury House are both for the
coverts of Mr. Lewis, an excellent fox preserver.
Near Winchester, again, we get Longwood House
(Lord Northesk's) where are goodly little coverts and
open downs ; while Morstead Village has small wood-
lands and a similar kind of open country near it.

Lord Coventry's. 97

LORD COVENTEY'S.*

The Severnside_, from Worcester to Tewkesbury for
its lengtli : its breadth from tbe Malvern Hills on the
west_, to tlie North Cots wold and The Warwickshire
boundaries on the east — will convey in some degree
the whereabouts and extent of the country hunted by
Lord Coventry. The southern quarter of Worcester-
shire would make an equally good definition ; and, as
most counties have their special peculiarities affecting
the fox banting in their midst, perhaps the latter
specification may be found the more explanatory.
Worcestershire is in character, as it is in position,
something between Warwickshire and Herefordshire.
While it has the small enclosures of the latter, and
many of its orchards, gardens, and paddocks, its
fences are more of a mild Warwickshire type. That
part of it hunted by Lord Coventry is — with the
striking exception of the Malvern and Bredon Hill
and the rugged north-eastern corner containing the
Ridgeway — more open and level than the bulk of
Herefordshire. The Malvern Hills run, a bold and
abrupt range of some fifteen hundred feet in height,

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 14 and 15, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

VOL. II. H

98 The Hunting Countries of England.

and which foxes will very seldom face_, down his
western border and into the Ledbury Country. The
Bredon Hill is an isolated eminence^ more practicable
for foxhounds in the extreme south-east ; and, with
these two landmarks in view from end to end of the
country, a stranger should find it difficult to lose his
way by daylight after his first week^s experience.
The Ridgeway is a rough hilly woodland overlooking^
the Avon and the narrow vale separating 'it from The
Warwickshire Territory. What with the Severn and
the Avon, Lord Coventry's country is singularly
well dealt with in the matter of river-water and
heavy vale — the two streams forming their junction at
Tewkesbury after piercing the country, end to end,
from two different directions. Thus in times of severe
rain, such as in the years 1879-80, many miles of
ground are under the flood, and remain deep and wet
for months afterwards. A cold clay soil follows the
course of the rivers, and is common to a great part of
lower Worcestershire. A wet season accordingly
places the lower ground at the worst advantage. To
carry a scent it requires a dry and warm rather than a
wet and chilly winter : while, to offer pleasant riding,
the less water has been soaked into the soil the better.
Much of the country, again, is a rich loam rather than
a clay soil; and this, on the contrary, requires wet.
Without it, the grass may carry a scent, but the
plough will not. A great deal of grass is scattered
over the country in small meadows, especially round
and near the numerous villages. Agriculture, which
would appear to be the staple industry of Worcester-
shire, is carried on chiefly on the principle of small

Lord Coventry's. 99

enclosures, and, when hounds are running in some
parts of the country, you are no sooner into a field
than you should be gathering your reins for a jump
out again. A rash horse might even swing you out
over a second fence before you had fairly collected
him, and yourself, after landing over the first.
Fortunately the fences themselves are not of a
description that need make even such an accident
appalling — unless it led to jumping into an apple-
orchard. If they ivere strong and high, as well as close
together, it would be often difiicult to ride and diffi-
cult to see, when hounds are going fast. As it is,
they are generally small flying hedges mended with
timber, and often, though not always, guarded by a
ditch. The hedge is seldom encouraged to grow to
any appalling height, nor are the thorns stoutly
bound and entwined. But timber is plentiful, the
Worcestershire farmers leave no gap, and post-and-
rails fill up every weak place. It is upon the size and
strength of these, upon the deepness of the ground,
and upon the presence and depth of an unforeseen
ditch, that the variety and occasional difficulty of
crossing the country depends. As a rule, to keep
hounds in sight is well within the scope of a fair
horseman and a strong useful horse — " useful," you
will remember, being the complimentary epithet earned
by Mr. Sawyer^s horses when transplanted from the
provinces to more fashionable Market Harboro'.
Limited size of enclosures and frequency of the
fences are, of course, all against hounds — and in
favour of a fox, when he is tired, or by nature a
short runner. Not only are hounds then constantly

H 2

100 The Hunting Countries of England.

hindered by the fences ; but every inducement is held
out to a fox to dodge when pressed^ or to run his foil
when going at his leisure well in front.

The country round Twining- Fleets however, near
Tewkesbury, in the extreme south, is of quite a
different type — being a beautiful tract of rich grass
land, fenced with strong oxers, and over which
hounds always carry a head. But the coverts in this
vale, being only small osierbeds, will not stand
frequent visits, though foxes are well and carefully
preserved.

Lord Coventry has excellent Kennels at his seat at
Croome Court near Severn Stoke (and eight miles
from Worcester) : and, as is to be expected from one
whose judgment on the subject of hounds is so fully
acknowledged and so freely sought, his pack is not
only of high class and appearance, but of great merit
in their work. He first took hounds in 1867; and
began his pack with the purchase of several lots at
the sale of the South Wilts and the Quorn, and from
various other sources. Since then the friendship of
the Duke of Eutland has given him constant access
to the best Belvoir blood ; and he has also had the
use of stud hounds from Brocklesby (among them
Random and more lately Flamer). The greatest
instance of his success was in " Rambler,^^ the present
patriarch of the pack, and who, though nine years
old, is still quite able to take his part in killing a fox
with the young ones. Lord Coventry's Rambler is
by Lord Fitzhardinge's Collier, out of a bitch who
combined the most favourite strains of Lord Henry
Bentinck's blood — and he is already the sire of more

Lord Coventry's. 101

than sixty couple of working hounds in different good
Kennels.

In the far north are two good woods^ Bow Wood
and Grafton Wood, which have shown much sport of
late years. These are neutral with The Worcester-
shire; that Hunt taking them one month_, and Lord
Coventry the next ; and both are the property of his
Lordship. Peopleton is a favourite meet which may
lead to them or to the coverts of the Kev. James
Cook and Mr. Acton. In the North of the country
the enclosures (all deep plough) are found much
larger, and ditches are almost invariably dug.

On the northeast or Eidgway district, the chief of
the large woods are Weethley (neutral with The
Warwickshire), Old Yewel and Salford Coppice.
Very stout foxes are found in these coverts, and great
sport has been had from them during the last three or
four seasons — a point of eight or nine miles into the
Worcestershire country having been by no means
uncommon.

The coverts of the country are generally of a very
manageable size ; and are almost entirely natural
plantation and wood — as opposed to gorse and other
artificial covert. There are strong woods enough for
all cubhunting and schooling purposes without the
country being in any way blocked by woodland.
Thus there is the chain of woods between Pershore
and Croome, chiefly belonging to Lord Coventry;
there is the wooded length of the Kidgeway, well
typified by Eough Hill Wood at its far end ; and there
are the good scenting coverts on Bredon Hill. There
is also good woodland at Old Hills across the Severn

102 The Hunting Countries of England.

and at Suckley in tlie far North-west. The supply of
foxes throughout the country is quite up to require-
ments.

The two rivers are of course apt to keep foxes found
near them to particular lines, though occasionally a
fox mil set them at defiance, breast the water, and
make a distant point. In the case of the Severn this
may be awkward enough for the field ; for with the
exception of the two ferries, at Fixham and near the
Rydd, there is no means of crossing between Worcester
and Upton.

The hunting days are Tuesday, Thursday and
Saturday; and the meets are aiTanged as the
demands of the country may seem to suggest.
Thursday, however, is more often the day on which
hounds are out near the kennels, or Bredon Hill, for
which the meet is probably Nafford Mill, Kemerton
Quarries, or Elmley Village. Among their best meets
hereabouts are Brockeridge Common, Severn End
and Pirton Yillage. Brockeridge Common, being on
the edge of the country nearest to Cheltenham, is
also the most thickly attended. On the Malvern side
are Bransford Station, Suckley, Powick, Newland
and Old Hills. Lower down is The Rydd (the pro-
perty of Sir E. Lechmere, a true fox-preserver), with
nice coverts and a good country round. From the
Cliffe, which is in the same property, they had the
best run of last season — fifty minutes with a kill in
the Team.

One point that should be noticed in connection with
hounds for Worcestershire is i\iQ absolute necessity for
their possessing pluck and hardihood to face the

Lord Coventry's. 103

blackthorn, which grows so freely in the coverts and
punishes hounds very severely.

Worcester and its environs do most towards swelling
Lord Coventry's field. Malvern is more of a summer
resort than a hunting quarter. The little town of
Pershore is not far fi'om the centre of the Hunt and
only four or five miles from the Kennels. Worcester
is three hours from London (Paddington) ; and
Pershore^ being attainable only by a slower train,
requires about another half hour. Worcester has The
Worcestershire Kennels and country at hand : Per-
shore is within reach of The Warwickshire and The
North Cotswold. Between Worcester and the
Kennels at Croome, and along the north of the
country, is pleasant open ground of mixed grass and
plough ; and the same continues down the east bank
of the Severn to the junction of the rivers — improving
after it passes the Kennels, till the Strensham district
is looked upon as the best scenting ground in the
Hunt. There is nice fair hunting country again
between Worcester and Malvern about Bransford;
and again farther south near The Rydd. But this
side of the Severn is often very wet and deep.
Bredon Hill is rather a favourite place in the interests
of hounds; and its summit offers a scene quite
different from the rest of the country. There you
find yourself among heath and stonewalls; but it is
capital scenting ground, and its foxes are very strong,
often standing nearly two hours before hounds. From
the top you look down upon the Avon half embracing
the foot of the hill on the west ; while northward lies
a good vale, and a run from Cropthorne to Bredon

10^ The Hunting Countries of England,

Hill is an event of frequent occurrence — tliough it is
difficult to induce a fox to take the converse direction
and make a point from tlae liill across the vale. To
the north-west of Pershore are several strong coverts,
notably Tiddesley Wood (some 300 or 400 acres, and
Lady Wood, a large wood belonging to Sir John
Sebright ; Croome Perry Wood the Broughton Woods
and Deerfold Wood, belonging to Lord Coventry.
Tiddesley Wood and Drake^s Broughton are, perhaps,
most frequently advertised, when this range of coverts
is to be drawn.

The Grove. 105

THE GROVE.*

If the Grove as a country does not typify all the
rapid requirements of the modern school of fox-
hunting, the Grove Hounds (Lord Galway^s) have
long held high rank, and been a source from which
the pack of nearly every flying country has derived
assistance. Lord Galway's pack, is, in fact, one of
the oldest in the kingdom. On the late Mr.
Foljambe first taking hounds, he purchased it from
Lord Scarboro^ — ^in the year 1825 or 1826. Lord
Galway (father of the present) became Master in
1858, on the health of the present Lord Scarborough
failing; and finally bought the hounds from Mr.
Foljambe in 1866. He continued to hunt the country
till his death in 1 876, when his §on the present Lord
Galway took over the Mastership and the horn. The
Grove Hounds are quite as celebrated for their
working power as for their rich quahty — and both
virtues are carefully maintained as ever (a short note
on their recent breeding will be found farther on).

But it is with a Country rather than its Hounds,
the present series of sketches has to do — that the

* Vide Stanford's " Himting Map," Sheet 9, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

106 The Hunting Countries of England.

stranger may learn where lie will be going, wliat lie
will ride over, and what he should ride upon. The
Grove, then, is in the main a plough country,
occupying the north of Nottinghamshire and the
south-east corner of Yorkshire. It is divided from
the Lincolnshire countries (Burton and Brocklesby) by
the river Trent; is separated by the Don from the
Badsworth ; lends a feasible strip on the north and
north-west to Lord Fitzwilliam^s almost impracticable
territory; and has the Rufford on its southern, or
Nottinghamshire, border. Doncaster and Retford,
the one at the top, the other nearly at the bottom of
the country (besides Worksop on the M. S. & L.
Railway) are its chief towns (each about three hours
from King's Cross, London) ; and it does honour to
the yearly festival at the former place by rousing the
cubs in its neighbourhood on the mornings of the
race meeting. It has hght limestone and sand over
three parts of its extent ; and deep clay on the
fourth, where it adjoins the Burton. It has collieries
and hills on its south-west corner, and runs to the
flattest fen on the opposite one ; and, strong a con-
trast as these two districts offer in most ways, they
share the privilege of possessing nearly all the grass
in the Hunt. A leading feature, again, in the Grove
country is found in the Dukeries, which it shares
about equally with the Rufford, and which provide
charming spring and autumn hunting for both packs.
The Dukeries as a whole have been already described
under the head of The Rufford. That part of them
within the Grove boundaries includes Welbeck Abbey
(the seat of the Duke of Portland), the greater part of

The Grove. 107

Clumber Park (the seat of the Duke of Newcastle),
and Worksop Manor (also the property of the Duke
of Newcastle, but the residence of Mr. I. Cookson).
Welbeck has a splendid open park in addition to its
large coverts ; so has Worksop ; but Clumber, as far
as the Grove draw it, is a collection of great woods,
mth only a field or so between each — bracken and
fern within and cultivated ground without — and only
two or three grass meadows by the lake.

But, beyond the Dukeries — which, after all, are
very limited, being only, as the name implies, ducal
estates wooded and parked) the Grove is an open,
g-ently undulating country, that a mistaken system of
agriculture has worked with the plough, and that may
yet, under pressure of foreign import, possibly relapse
into honest grazing ground. Under present con-
ditions it is not high scenting ground. How can it
be, when the surface is constantly upset and dis-
turbed and infected ? A fox smells sweet to a hound
or even a foxhunter. But as well ask the latter to
try Chateax Margaux after ^34 port, as ask a fox-
hound to do duty to fox while his nose is reeking
with the high flavoured assistants that science dictates
for soil-improvement. A foxhound does not care for
violets, and a sniif of eau de Cologne will make him
shun you for a day. But he likes a rich pungent
smell — and I am by no means sure that he would not
(till taught better) prefer to roll about in a fallow just
manured with the overplus of the Lincolnshire fish
markets rather than have an hour to himself after the
'^biggest fox whatever was seen.^^ From our point
of view the fascination working upon his nose is

108 The Hunting Countries of England

in proportion to tlie degree of nastiness : and we try
to prove it by asserting tliat his instinct will make
him run a red herrings while education is necessary to
make him run a fox. But the fact remains, that a
good pronounced odour will drive a weaker one out
of his nostrils, or at all events act detrimentally. In
plain language, a single well-manured field is five
minutes^ law to a fox : and well-farmed arable is
seldom long fi^ee fi'om the tainting effects of savoury
top dressing. The distinction of smell is altogether
apart from the delicacy of nose which allows a hound
to discriminate between fox and hare — as exemplified
in a pack once owned by a still-living sportsman,
which in the same season and in the same country,
killed thirty-two foxes and seventy-five hares, never
changing from one scent to the other when settled to
a line.

These remarks, thoug*h, are applicable to plough
countries generally — not to the Grove only or
especially. It may or may not, be relevant, either,
to assert that there are many more good packs of
hounds in provincial countries than in the Shires — a
fact easily to be understood when it is borne in mind
how frequently Masterships are passed from hand to
hand in the Midlands, and also how little the neces-
sary virtues of a foxhound vary between one country
and another. A foxhound like a poet must be born ;
and, like a gentleman, it takes three generations to
breed him. The poetry of form and the purity of
birth are only to be seen in old kennels ; and many of
those old kennels exist in out-of-the-way places.
This brings in a note that the Meynell blood (perhaps

The Grove. 109

the oldest established and authenticated — for the
Meynell Kenuelbook goes back to 1818) has been
prominently used by Lord Gralway in recent years, as
also the old and valuable strains from the kennels of
Lord Portsmouth, Lord Yarboro% Mr. Parry, the
Duke of Eutland, &c.

Lord Galway has four hunting days — Monday,
Tuesday, Thursday and Friday — and occasionally
gives a Saturday byeday. Even this requires a wide
extent of well-preserved country ; but, in addition, he
is able to lend all north of the river Torne to Lord
Fitzwilliam — while the fen beyond Awkley and
Misterton is practically useless. Foxes run over it
occasionally, it is true ; and the smooth grass holds a
great scent. But the open drains are all wide and
deep; and many of them quite unjumpable. We
shall continue our notes best by glancing in turn at
the district in which each of the four days is usually
spent.

The Kennels, then, being about two miles outside
Retford, are just on the border between the Clay and
the Forest — the latter being the remains of old
Sherwood Forest, including the Dukeries and the
country up to Serlby Hall (the residence of the
Master) near Bawtry. And this is the Monday
ground. Once clear of the Dukeries, there are no
very large coverts; but Mr. Foljambe has two or
three strong places at Osberton, e.g., Manton Planta-
tion and Scofton Wood. From Osberton to Bawtry
the country is all open, with small coverts here and
there ; and the whole is a light sandy soil, whereon
scent is very uncertain. The enclosures are large.

110 The Hunting Countries of England,

and the fences only low quickset without a ditch.
There is, indeed, nothing to stop a horse if hounds
run, except want of pace ; and pace is therefore his
first requisite. The Dukeries may either lead to a
run out here, to a turn in the kindred woodlands of
the Rufford, or to remaining in the same neighbour-
hood all day. The ordinary meet for the Dukeries is
Trueman^s Lodge, which is situated just between
Worksop and Clumber, and commands all three big
■places. Above this, Osberton is a frequent advertise-
ment, for Mr. Foljambe's coverts; and Checker House
generally points to the same. Scrooby Top House
and Serlby are both for Lord Galway^s nice little
coverts. Blyth Law Hills are sandy rising ground,
with some little covert upon them.

Tuesday is for the Doncaster side — from about
Walling Wells up to Braithwell and Fossington round
to Ankley and Misterton. Up to Rossington you ride
chiefly over a limestone soil, with rough hedges and
good ditches ; but above this you get on to what is
known in Yorkshire as ''^Car^'' — soft black ground
with wide open drains, carrying a strong scent, but in
wet weather often too deep and boggy to carry horse
and rider. From Rossington to Edlington Wood (in
Lord Fitzwilliam's country) is all Car, and is a very
frequent line. The same kind of limestone plough is
found round by Finningley, till again we get to car
and fen — Finningley Park (Mr. Lister's), for Fin-
ningley Woods, being about the farthest meet.
Maltby is usually the meet on the morning following
the Leger; and Sandbeck Park (the seat of Lord
Scarboro') is also generally fixed for the same week.

The Grove. Ill

Maltby Ridings is a splendid wood of Lord Scar-
borough's, with great firm grass rides through it
along which a carriage may be driven — every ride
meeting at a common centre, whence each quarter of
the wood can be seen. Stainton Village is a fixture
for another strong wood of Lord Scarborough's
adjoining — a beautiful covert, always full of foxes.
Tickhall Spittal or Hesley Hall (Mr. Whitaker's),
are for Hunster Wood, Martin Beck, and Swinnow
Wood — also nice coverts. Rossington (Mr. Streat-
field's) has the Low Woods on the border of the car ;
and North Carlton is for Walling Wells (the estate of
Sir Thomas White and famous for foxes), and for the
Firbeck coverts.

Thursday is as a rule devoted to the south-west or
Derbyshire country ; to which hounds are often taken
by train : and which is also a limestone soil of toler-
ably light consistency. It has, however, more grass
than the centre of the country and carries a better
scent. As with the rest of The Grove, the more wet
the stronger the scent, is here the rule. Indeed, the
more mud your horse splashes about, the more likely
are hounds to run. The fences hereabouts are mostly
fair hedge-and-ditch; enclosures of medium size, and
the grass is generally rough and course. Coalpits are
worked all down the border — about Aston, Harthill,
Clown, &c. Aston Hall (Mr. Yerelst's) is a very
favourite meet, to draw Brampton Gorse and Nicker
Wood. A gallop from Aston across to Laughton Le
Morthern is a frequent and pleasant occurrence, and
takes them over a very sporting vale and a good deal
of grass. Laughton, standing on a hill, is a promi-

112 The Hunting Countries of England.

nent mark ; and tliere is no covert till Throapham is
readied — where is a common and a nice gorse. On tlie
far west the river Rother bounds the country — only
because beyond it the ground is too hilly and the
collieries too frequent, to admit of pleasurable fox-
hunting. Other meets on this side are Dinnington
for Dinnington Gorse; Barlborough Hall, for some
large and good woods of Mr. De Ehodes^ ; Steetley
Bar, whence they go to Whitwell Wood (some two
thousand acres belonging to the Duke of Portland,
and having good grass rides radiating from the centre);
Thorpe Salvin, for the covert there ; and, occasionally
Harthill, for Norwood (a fine covert of the Duke of
Leeds').

Friday is on the Lincolnshire side of the Kennels_, in
what is always spoken of as The Clays, being a deep
clay district between Retford and the Trent. It is
only some twelve miles long by seven wide, and hounds
often work their way through it all in a day. But
Treswell Wood makes it fully able to bear one day
every week ; and the other coverts, though only small
gorses and thorns, all stand their share. Treswell
Wood belongs to Mr. Yernon of Grove Hall, who
makes the stronghold so famous that it bears the
name of "The Clay Nurseries. ''' It supplies foxes
enough for all the country-side ; they are all stub-
bred ; but they soon learn to look upon the Wood as
their chief refuge, and invariably run thither when
found anywhere in the vale. It is about 150 acres in
size, and its rides are very deep. Hounds are con-
stantly in it, scattering the foxes abroad — from early
cubhunting till late spring ; and they meet for it at

The Grove. 113

Hall Grove about twice in three weeks throughout the
season. From Grassthorpe in the south to Mister ton
in the north is the extent of the vale_, the whole of
which is made up of small enclosures stoutly fenced
with stake-and-bound hedges and broad ditches. It
rides soundest and best after heavy rain — and then it
is also that hounds go quickest and you must have a
strong horse and a powerful jumper. In wet weather
it is better scenting ground than common. Darlton is
a meet for all the far corner of the Yale ; and from
here they may draw Babington Springs_, a nice ash
covert. They have also a good gorse at Fledborough
belonging to Lord Manvers^ both coverts being under
the charge of Mr. G. Billyard. Meeting at Sturton
they go to a capital covert in Fenton Gorse, and to
Rampton Thorns, both of which belong to Mr. Fol-
jambe. Laneham Covert (blackthorn) was bought
expressly for the Hunt by the late Duke of Portland.
Gringley-on-the-Hill, on the north edge of the Yale,
is for Gringley Gorse (the Duke of Portland's) and
Walkeringham Thorns — from which there is every
possibility of a fox taking them among the soft ground
and open drains of the Car beyond.

VOL. II.

114 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE WEST NOEEOLK.*

The extent of Norfolk over which Mr. Hamond
might at the present moment hunt is practically only
limited by distance from kennel and strength of
establishment. His Country still remains The West
Norfolk : but there is no other pack in the county ;
and the boundary-line only exists to mark where the
former Lords Hasting hunted from Melton Constable,
and in case their Hunt should be again revived.
Thus, unhunted ground stretches away to the east till
the sea is reached. On the other three sides are fen
and seaboard, except where the Suffolk hounds draw
on south border of Norfolk ; and practically the West
Norfolk country stands isolated — a slightly raised
plateau of sound hunting ground above the half-
encircling marsh and sea.

King^s Lynn and Swaffham are its chief towns,
each about three hours from London (Liverpool-
street or St. Pancras) . The kennels are at Great
Massingham, about the centre of the country, on Mr.
Hamond' s own property, and about a dozen miles
from either town.

* Vide Stanford's " Himtiiig Map," Sheets 11 and 17, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

The West Norfolk. 115

It might be imagined that, Norfolk being essen-
tially a shooting county, the interests of foxhunting
would be looked upon not only as having no place,
but as being absolutely antagonistic. On the con-
trary, foxes have every chance given them in Norfolk,
are plentiful everywhere ; and, as there are lots
of rabbits for them, they interfere but little with
partridges or pheasants. Shooting undoubtedly holds
great sway in the county : but the large proprietors
are unselfish enough not to demand a monopoly, nor
to wish to oust the pursuit which finds fun for the
majority. Thus they encourage foxes, and are quite
satisfied if in return their shooting arrangements are
duly considered, and game not needlessly driven away
on the eve of their beat. In Mr. Hamond's country a
great part of the shooting — particularly in the centre
— is left in the hands of the farmers, who are all keen
foxhunters. In the majority of instances they farm
several hundred or even a thousand acres ; and being
obliged to ride something in order to get round their
farms, they take care to provide themselves with useful
young* horses, which are generally worth double the
money at five years old that they cost at two at Rugby
or Horncastle. And an excellent school it is for educat-
ing a young one, especially on the light or upper country
where the fences are small and easy, and teaching can
commence at the rudiments. A young horse will
always jump a big place when his blood is up, if he
has acquired thorough confidence over small and varied
fences. But he is likely enough to be made shy and
shifty, to say nothing of the chance of accident, if
" outfaced '^ or terrified in his early efforts. All the

J 2

116 The Hunting Countries of England.

Castle Rising and the Massingham district, and the
Sandringham side, is of the easiest type — thorn fences
on banks, with occasional small ditches, and sheep-
hurdles everywhere : and the young farmers, in making
their rounds, seldom go to the trouble of opening a gate.
East of the Kennels, again, is a much more strongly
fenced country — the banks are big, the ditches are
double, and the thorn used to grow to great strength.
Many of the old hedges have in recent years
been cut and lowered ; but still there is always
enough growth to constitute a fence above the bank,
and weak interstices are filled up with stout thorn
wattle. From Watton up to Fakenham is all fenced
in this way ; and is a strong good soil, upon which
grass freely intermingles with the plough. The light
country of the west, on the contrary, is all light, flinty,
arable — wild and open, with many acres of waste
heath and gorse upon which rabbits flourish by hun-
dreds. The land is scantily populated; and you may
ride a bee line from the Kennels down to Hilborough
with scarcely a cottage in view by the way. Towards
Sandringham, too, there is nothing but light gallop-
ing over quite an open country. In the winter all the
sheep are hurdled in their turnip-pens ; there are no
cattle to soil the ground ; and with the surface thus
sweet and clean, hounds have every chance in the
lighter country. They want rain_, and plenty of it.
Given this, they will run well. The ground game may
be puzzling to youthful noses ; but there is so much
of it that hounds seldom take long to acquire a proper
sense of discrimination.

Sound, good, feet of course are veiy necessary for

The West Norfolk 117

hounds in the lighter part of the country_, where flints
most abound. And in this requisite Mr. Hamond's
hounds are by no means deficient,, while at the same
time they are remarkable for bone and strength of
limb. The pack has been in existence for fifteen years.
It was first founded on drafts from Milton ; received
much assistance at the hands of Mr. Chaworth Musters
(cousin to Mr. Hamond) ; and has since been main-
tained by constant return to the Fitzwilliam blood,
and by infusions from the kennels of The Belvoir,
Lord Coventry, Lord Fitzhardinge, &c.

The West Norfolk is, on the whole, quite a fair
scenting' country. Dry weather does not suit any of
it, and least of all does it suit the light plough. But
after plenty of wet, hounds can generally run over any
part of it. Foxes, too, are ready enough to travel ;
for the coverts are but small, and the hills, such as
merit the denomination, are long, sweeping, and
unbroken — so that there is none of the temptation to
a fox to turn and double that is offered by short steep
hill-and-dale. The only large coverts are those of
Lord Cholmondeley at Houghton — some fine woods
just to the north of the kennels, and of great value
for cub-hunting. They stand in the middle of the
" light country,'''' which elsewhere depends for its foxes
as much upon its open heaths as on plantations or
wooded coverts. The supply, as already mentioned, is
good everywhere ; and the enforced rest of two
frosty winters has done much to assist the stock.
Amid the wild heather of the west a fox is to be
found at any moment. The gorse bushes and dry
sand suit him just as well as they do the conies ; and

118 The Hunting Countries of England.

he is glad to make his bed witli food always ready at
hand.

Mr. Hamond hunts three days in the week — fixing
his days and meets as most convenient to the country,
local markets entering largely into the calculation. He
seldom goes farther west (nor, indeed, would the fen
allow him) than the Line between King's Lynn and
Downham (or Stow Bardolph), nor farther south than
Stow Ferry, Oxborough, Stanford, and Merton (Lord
Walsingham's). Mr. Yillebois of Marham, who was
many years Master of the West Norfolk, assisted Mr.
Hamond for several seasons after the latter' s accession
— by keeping up a pack to hunt the country south of
King's Lynn and S waff ham.

The ^' light country,'' then, occupies the greater part
of Mr. Hamond' s territory ; and in it you will want a
well-bred, galloping horse — while for the eastern vale
your mount must be a sturdy hunter, who has a leg to
spare in difficulties, and whose back can lift him on to
a bank and across a ditch. Massingham is surrounded
by the former kind of ground, which reaches away
almost to the sea. Foxes lie in the open heather all
round the kennels ; and they are found in plenty also
at Rougham — where Mr. North has capital coverts and
always sends a large contingent into the field. There
are the gorse coverts, known as Cook's, Kendle's,
Sewell's, Soigne and several others — some existing
when the late Lord Leicester (Mr. Coke) hunted the
country, and some are new. Hillington (Sir William
Ffolke's) is another good meet and draw; and so is
Anmer, where Mr. Coldham preserves as heartily as if
he still hunted hard. Congham has many nice little

The West Norfolk. 119

coverts ; and Gayton, where Lord Romney shoots, is
another good place. At Sandringham are many plan-
tations and rough heaths, with one nice fox-covert in
addition. From the latter hounds last season exem-
plified this side of the country to the full by running
for two hours almost entirely over heaths — killing their
fox. The rabbit holes of the light country, by the
way, are a fruitful source of falls, even to the wariest.
Other favourite resorts on this side are Narford,
Middleton Towers (close to Lynn, and the residence of
Sir Lewis Jarvis, who has three sons hunting), Ash-
wicken (Mr. Groom^s), Hunstanton (where Mr. Le
Strange has many foxes), and in the south, notably
Marham (Mr. Villebois') . It should be mentioned that
Lord Leicester owns some sixty thousand acres in the
Hunt — over much of which the tenants are given the
right of shooting, some also hire, and all do their best
to further foxhunting.

The Vale, or strong country, runs up as above-
mentioned from about Watton, taking in Necton,
Bradenham, &c., up to Rainham and Fakenham in the
north. Besides the places named (all of which, except
the last, are sources of sport) there are good natural
coverts at Pickenham, and the strongest wood of the
district at Saham. Tittleshall^ again, is another good
meet in the Vale.

120 The Hunting Countries of England,

THE BEDALE.*

By no means the worst of tlie Yorkshire Countries are
The Bedale and Lord Zetland\s — which_, by the way,
have so many points in common that taking them in
succession gives little room for any incisive comparison.
Diffuse description of both would involve considerable
repetition ; for much that may be said of The Bedale
will naturally apply equally to Lord Zetland^s. Both
are divided pretty equally between low level vale, and
hills rising into moorland. Both of them possess more
grass than is found in the other countries of York-
shire— their hills being almost entirely turf, and their
vale mixed grazing land and plough. The fences,
whether on hill or vale, are very similar with either
Hunt — as we shall see : and the scenting properties
in either territory are on the whole very much on a
par.

The two countries occupy the north-west border of
Yorkshire, take in the beds of the several rivers
running along the foot of the hills that border on
Westmoreland — and the fox is hunted as far up the
latter as rock and moorland allow.

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Bedale. 121

The Bedale, besides having the dales and forests of
Westmoreland to back it up on the west, has the
Hambledon Hills facing it on the east. Thus a
channel is formed through which the rainfall of the
upper ground rushes southward in several streams.
All the lower country is in this way cut up and in
some degree marred by the confluent rivers — no less
than three of which (in addition to the Cod along its
margin) run down the Bedale vale_, to form the Ouse
of the York-and-Ainsty. These three are the Wisk,
the Swale, and the Yore. The first-named is just
jumpable in places. But the other two are not ; and
the Swale running through the length of the country,
has in a distance of twenty miles only three bridges,
besides that of the railway — which is not available
for hunting purposes. Foxes appear to swim the
rivers like otters, and to make their points quite
irrespective of the opposing streams. Hounds of
course make no inquiry as to the propinquity of a
bridge : and are generally over before it would be
possible to stop them — even if desired. And thus,
in the case of the Swale^ the field is often left on one
side, while fox and hounds go on beyond with the fun
to themselves. Occasionally it has been a matter of
difficulty for even the staff to recover the line of
pursuit : and not very long ago the pack crossed the
boundary and went a full hour^s run into the York
Country before they could be reached.

A curious old Roman Road, the Leeming Lane, also
cuts through the country from north to south —
Catterick Bridge to Borough Bridge — nearly side by
side with the Swale. It turns neither right nor left.

122 The Hunting Countries of England.

pursuing an almost equally unbending course — upwards
through Lord Zetland^s, and downwards through the
York-and- Ainsty ; and a drive along it will lay before
you the bulk of the two former countries. The
Kennels are built beside it, about midway between
Bedale and Scruton (the residence of the Master) — on
a high point overlooking the vale to the east and the
hills to the west. For, all to the east of Leeming
Lane is lowland (heavy to the north_, lighter to the
south) ; and another narrow valley bears the railway,
from Northallerton, between two ranges of hills to
Leyburn — which is the farthest point whither hunting
operations are purposely carried. The western line of
demarcation_, indeed, runs considerably inside the-
area coloured on Stanford's Map ; and, approximately
speaking, may be drawn from Leyburn, by Middle-
ham, to Masham, and from Masham to Skeldin and
Eavestone. A fox might, no doubt, be run still
farther westward ; but it would be difficult to find
him, and occasionally hazardous to pursue where crags
crop up and wooded precipices unexpectedly drop.
The grass looks tempting, and the stonewalls seem
built to jump ; but, the farther west we get, the more
rugged becomes the hillsides and the more broken the
beds of the stream, till the scene becomes more akin
to the home of the chamois than of the fox. The
stonewalls grow higher, stronger, and more frequent,
as you rise from the low country and get more fully
among the sheep walks. Built of loose round stones,
they are pleasant enough jumping as long as their
dimensions keep within bounds. On the upper
ground, again, there is always a scent — whether on

The Bedale. 123

the grass or the highest moorland reached by hounds.
The Yale^ however, varies . much in its scenting
properties. The north — say, from above Scruton to
Cowton — and on into the Hurworth — is stiff clay,
chiefly under the plough, and irrigated, as it were, by
the Swale and the Wisk. It carries a capital scent,
and is looked upon as some of the best sporting ground
in the Hunt. West of this (beyond Catterick and
Leeming Lane) the ground becomes undulating and
gradually hilly — till it merges into the western moor-
lands. The centre of the vale (Bedale, Gatenby, &c.)
contains rather more grass, and is fair scenting
ground. But as we work south, and touch the edge
x)f the York- and- Ainsty, the country gets gradually
lighter, the soil less capable of holding a scent, and
the fences small, almost to insignificance. The fences
of the Bedale Vale are nowhere very big or difficult ;
and are of the simple hedge-and-ditch type. But
whereas in the north the hedges grow well, though
clipped down to a level that interferes neither with your
view of the hounds nor the safety of your neck, and
the ditches are well dug — in the south the hedges
would in most cases fail to stop a pony, and in many,
indeed, would scarcely carry a poacher^s snare. This
is, as it happens, all to the disadvantage of the hounds
and huntsman : for the largest fields of the week are
on the York side. Small fences and a sandy weak-
scenting soil are only too encouraging to a galloping
field ; giving' the latter frequent opportunity of
putting themselves between fox and hounds. As a
general rule, the Bedale fields are anything but large ;
and, except in the south, fifty is almost an outside

124 The Hunting Countries of England.

number. Most of these will be farmers — who,
throughout the country, are keenly wedded to the
sport. Resident and foxhunting landowners there
are few — a great drawback to the country, and a
difficulty of some consequence in the case of a
subscription pack.

West of Ripon, we get again upon hills — a rough
but sporting country, of moorland, grass, and stone-
walls, which until the last year or two has not been
much hunted, but which the present Master is striving
hard to utilise. Its natural qualifications are sterling
enough — if only local influence will, as is hoped, assist
to develope them.

Major Dent has now had the country three seasons ;
and hunts the hounds himself. The present pack
was founded in 1856 by Lord Feversham, who bought
the Forfarshire Hounds, and added lots from Sir
Richard Sutton's sale. Lord Feversham himself sold
lis hounds in 1867; but many of the best were
purchased on behalf of the Bedale Hunt by Mr. J. B.
Booth, the late master, and drafts from the Brocklesby
and other Kennels obtained to make up the pack.
Major Dent has recruited his Kennel largely from
Lord Zetland's and Mr. Lane Fox's; and has gone
to The Milton and The Belvoir for blood to cross with
that at home. The Bedale Country, however, is of
much older date. It originally formed part of the
immense track hunted by The Raby Hounds, the
property of the Earl of Darlington, who, about the
year 1794, gave up the Badsworth and took the Raby
Country (including the present Bedale). As a
separate Hunt, the Bedale was (jriginated by Mr.

The Bedale, 125

Mark Milbank, of Thorp Perron, near Bedale, in
1832.

The coverts of The Bedale are all either whins or
natural and comparatively small woods and planta-
tions. There are no strong woodlands in the Hunt ;
and the only exception, to the rule of small coverts is
in the case of the Duke of Leeds' fine woods at
Hornby — which, however, have hitherto only been
open to the hounds after early shooting. Hornby is
a beautiful place situated on a brow of undulating
ground, looking across to the Kennels at a few miles'
distance.

The town of Bedale in the centre, or Thirsk and
Northallerton on the eastern boundary, are the choice
of quarters for an intending visitor. The two latter
are on the main line of the North-Eastern Railway ;
and are about five hours from London {via York,
and King's Cross or St. Pancras). The horse the
visitor should bring may perhaps be gathered from
the foregoing. Short legs and strong back are
desirable ; and it is better that the animal should
jump within himself than fling too far and freely.

Major Dent hunts three days a week — for which his
country is more than ample. Monday, Wednesday,
and Friday are his days, distributed much as follows
— Monday is usually for the centre of the country;
and Bedale (3i miles from The Kennels) has for years
been the first advertised meet of the season), to draw
the Bedale Woods (the property of Sir Henry
Beresford Peirse). The Leases (the site of the
Kennels — the chief claim of which, by the way, to
be in keeping with the Hunt must rest solely upon

126 The Hunting Countries of England,

their antiquity) is also a frequent meet. So is Scruton
Hall, where there are many nice plantations, and a
good covert on the property. Newton House is a
favourite fixture ; and is the seat of Mr. W. D.
Russell, a very staunch preserver, who has several
small coverts, besides Gatenby Wood and its adjoining
whin. Patrick Brompton is another place of meeting;
and to the west they get to Leyburn and a higher and
wilder country.

Wednesday is for the south — the farthest and chief
meet being Kirby Hill or Kirby Windmill. From
here hounds either draw westward by Marton-le-Moor
and Devonshire Wood (all Mr. Clare Vyner's) or east-
ward by Milby Whin, and the small woods at Cundall
and Leckby — in both cases being accompanied by a
large field over the light vale. Meeting at Studley
(Lord Ripon''s) they take the other side of the Yore,
and seek a fox by the banks of streams and the wooded
glens which intersect a wild but very possible hunting
country. There is covert for miles along the little
river Laver; and at Spa Gill — whither Fountains
Abbey draws as many sight-seers from Harrogate in
the summer as a meet at Studley does in the winter.
For a second fox — or a first as the case may be — they
work on homewards over quite a goodly hill- country
by Azerley ; Baldersby also (Lady Down^s) is fre-
quently fixed for the lighter part of the vale, for the
coverts there and for Hutton Moor ; after which they
may draw up to Norton Conyers (the ancient seat of
the Graham family) . Or, again, meeting at Norton
Conyers they may draw the converse way, finishing at
Baldersby.

The Bedale, 127

Friday is for the north of the country — the pith of
which is the stiff clay vale, through which run the
Swale and the Wisk, with many minor streams and
stells (large open drains) — all of which are too fre-
quently full to overflowing, rendering the ground deep
and holding. Of the meets here Scorton is in great
favour — close to it being Uckerby Whin, from which
many and good runs have of late been constantly
scored. Near Kiplin Hall Capt. Carpenter has just
founded a new whin of great promise. Pepper Hall
is a favourite meet ; and Langdon Hall (Mr. Elliott^ s)
has plantations full of foxes, besides Thrintoft Whin.
At Hunton Bonville (Mr. Hillyard^s) are several small
but good detached plantations and a whin, on the
border adjoining the Hurworth. For the higher
ground Catterick, Hipswell, and Scotton often figure
among the advertisements ; and there are good coverts
on the hills opposite Richmond.

128 The Hunting Countries of England.

LOED ZETLAND'S.*

The country now hunted by the Earl of Zetland is
the home portion of the immense area which^ during
the latter part of last century and the early part of
the present^ constituted the celebrated Eaby Country
of the Earl of Darlington (afterwards Duke of
Cleveland) . Raby Castle, the Ducal residence, stands
in the heart of Lord Zetland^s territorj^; and the old
Raby pack not only took in the ground of the present
Bedale in the south, but in the north worked much
farther into Durham — where there were then^ of
course, none of the railways now slashing and cutting
the face of the county into so many minute slices.
Nor, on the other hand, did the iron horse exist to
whisk hounds down to their far distant meets : and
how the old Earl could cover such a vast extent of
country, even with a most lavish expenditure, is a
very marvel.

Lord Zetland^s Kennels are at his beautiful seat,
Aske Park, near Richmond, on the southern borders
of his existing country — which embraces the extreme
north-west of Yorkshire and the south-west corner of

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxhnntinsr Atlas.

Lord Zetland's. 129

Durham. The river Tees divides the two counties,
almost bisects the Hunt, and here and there does no
little mischief by its presence — with its wooded^
rocky, and dangerous banks, among which hounds
can often scarcely get about, much less force a fox
away. Aske is on the edge of what are here known
as the Yorkshire Hills, and overhang the vale running
up the east of the country — much as farther north
Eaby Castle is between the Durham Hills and the
Durham Vale.

A continuation of the Bedale, Lord Zetland's
Country runs along the side and base of the moorland
hills with which Westmoreland encroaches upon York-
shire. The same grassy slopes, the same heathery
summits, and the same well -watered plain, are
common to both. More use is, perhaps, made of the
wild good-scenting moorlands of the latter : but in
the main the two countries are very similar. Lord
Zetland's has none of the light sandy plough into
which The Bedale drifts in the far south. His vale is
nearly all the same as the best of the Bedale low
country (mixed grass and plough — the latter pre-
dominating) : and the fences also are much alike —
easy hedge-and-ditch, occasionally, but not often, on
low banks. The hedges grow wild and unkempt ;
but are seldom of formidable strength. Timber is
but little used ; gaps being generally made up, where
such labour is considered necessary, with wattle and
thorns. You will have a great deal of jumping; knd
every opportunity of making a horse clever, without
trying him too high. The jumps are such as an
ordinary hunter will make light of. The clay of the
VOL. n. K

130 The Hunting Countries of England.

vale is also more than '' fair scenting ground/' and
hounds that can work will seldom fail to make their
way over it. At the same time it can scarcely be
termed a '^flying country/' either for horse or hound
— though in a favourable season (with plenty of rain)
hounds will often run hard. Staindrop across to
Aycliffe is especially fine vale. As you rise from the
vale on to the lower undulations of the hills, grass
becomes more prevalent and by degrees altogether
takes the place of tillage ; the hedges grow higher
and stronger; stone walls come in and ditches go out;
till gradually walls alone mark the enclosures. The
grass is rough and soft, and almost always holds a
scent : while the heather and moor above hold a better
still — and hunting may here go on into the spring as
late as would be possible, and fair, anywhere. On
the upper ground a rider should know his way about ;
for in the roughest and stiffest parts there may be
rocks and other impediments to circumvent, and the
stonewalls themselves are not always negotiable. On
the whole, though, Lord Zetland's is a most pleasant
riding, and good hunting-, country — with plenty of
foxes everywhere, and records of sport of recent years
that will bear comparison with that of any Hunt.
The hills are seldom steep enough to make riding
difficult : and, indeed, are very popular ground.
There is always a scent on them ; and, as there are
no strong woodlands in the country, most of the cub-
hunting has to be done on the moors — where plan-
tations and ling (heather) find ample shelter for the
hardy race of foxes there to be found.

Nearly all the Durham side of the country is the

Lord Zetland's. 131

property of the Duke of Cleveland; and it is in the
Durham vale that the largest fields are seen with
hounds — though the number even here seldom exceeds
fifty or sixty horsemen. As with the Bedale, the
resident gentry who hunt are comparatively few —
though the farmers are fond of the chase^ and^ even
when unable to take part in it, are very liberal in
walking puppies for the Hunt. The strongest meets
(such as those at Heighington and Piercebridge) are
made up by an influx of strangers, either by train
from north and south, or from the two neighbouring
Hunts, The South Durham and The Hurworth. The
little town of Croft, on the border of the latter, is a
very favourite and convenient resort. From it hounds
can be reached by road six days in the week ; and
variety is offered by four packs, viz., The Hurworth,
Lord Zetland's, The Bedale, and The South Durham
— such choice and such easy distances being attainable
nowhere else except at Melton Mowbray. Darlington
(on the main line and about five hours from King's
Cross or St. Pancras) is another good resting-place,
on the junction-point of Lord Zetland's, The Hur-
worth, and The South Durham : while Richmond, on
the boundary between Lord Zetland's and The Bedale,
should be a charming station for the soldiers who are
fortunate enough to be quartered at its imposing new
Barracks.

Lord Zetland has owned hounds for six years ; and
has now an excellent pack. To Mr. Cradock belongs
the credit of founding it — some fifteen years ago :
and the materials came chiefly from the kennels of
Lord Portsmouth, Lord Henry Bentinck, The Milton,

K 2

132 The Hunting Countries of England.

The Bramham Moor, and Mr. Parry. But par
excellence the father of the present kennel is a hound
named Wanderer (by Lord Poltimore^s Woldsman out
of Lord Portsmouth's Hasty) who was entered in
1870 — having been brought from the west of England
by Mr. Cradock at the time of Lord Poltimore's
famous sale. The old hound is still in this year 1881
enjoying a luxurious, if decrepit, old age among the
strawricks and outbuildings adjoining the kennels.
Besides Wanderer and a worthy son of his, Warrior^
at home, Lord Zetland has of late gone very largely
to Belvoir and Milton — with the best results.

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday are
the hunting days ; which are arranged about as
follows —

Monday is generally round home, chiefly on the
Yorkshire Hills, and taking in but little of the vale.
The chances are, indeed, that you will be among grass
and stonewalls all day. Among the principal Mon-
day meets are Hartforth Hall (the residence of Mr.
Cradock, the late master), to draw the good coverts
on the estate and afterwards Gilling Wood (Mr.
Wharton's). To follow these are Lord Zetland's nice
plantations and small woods. Meeting at Aske itself,
they probably get to the Easby coverts — also small
woods, belonging to Mr. Jacques. Other good fixtures
are Barningham (Mr. Milbank's) on the banks of the
Greta; while Greta Bridge is for the Brignall Banks
(Mr. Morritt's). Forcett also is frequently named.

Tuesday gets the cream of the Durham Vale. Very
deep when wet, it is yet at its best for sport after
plenty of rain. Unfortunately it depends mainly on

Lord Zetland's. 133

gorse for its coverts : and almost all tlie gorse coverts
are at the present moment laid waste by the severe
frosts of the last two winters. Pierceb ridge is a very-
leading meet — with Fanny Barks^ and several little
gorses, to draw. Heighington, too^ is a very
attractive feature — with Redworth Whin, Sim
Pastures, Wilkinson's Whin, and the Grey stones
Whin, all good gorse coverts. Selaby is for the Selaby
Woods ; and Legs Across, on a little eminence above
the level of the vale^ has the gorse of Toytop^ and the
plantation and whin of Trundlemire. The coverts in
this district are all quite small — the Houghton Planta-
tions, which may be reached from nearly any Tuesday
meet, being the largest. There are_, by the way, but
few water jumps — properly so called, either in the
Tuesday country, or elsewhere in the Hunt, though
broken and often wooded streams are frequent.

Thursday is usually for the Yorkshire Yale —
Halnaby way_, so to define it — perhaps the stilfest
country to ride over in the Hunt. Among the meets
is Manfield, for the whin of that name — a nice
covert. Cliff e (where lives Col. Wilson) has the
Cliff e Woods. Halnaby (Mr. Wilson Todd's) is for
the Halnaby and Clavaux coverts (most useful little
woods). Stan wick Park, the residence of the
Duchess of Northumberland, has coverts round it ;
Sedbury (Mr. Gilpin Brown's), with its plantations
and privet, is quite a nursery for foxes ; and
Middleton Lodge (Mr. Backhouse's) is another meet
to be noted.

On a Saturday hounds are taken to the far end of
the country — to the west of Barnard Castle and Baby

134 The Hunting Countries of England.

Park. The Black Banks, on the course of the Weir,

and on the extreme edge of the country, are quite a
feature in this district — forming a chain of tremen-
dously strong covert. It is altogether a rough wild
tract — with heather, bogs, rocks, and riverbeds. The
Tees in its higher and earlier stages is peculiarly
crude and rocky. There are few regular coverts of
any size. Foxes lie in the heather, in the wood
fringing the streams, or in the occasional straggHng
moor hedges. Marwood is the meet for the Tees
Banks ; and Kinninvie for such coverts as the little
woods of Hollandside, Paddock, and Hough Gill. On
Tuesdays and Saturdays, it should have been men-
tioned, the hounds have to be vanned — to the distant
meets beyond the Tees.

The Craven. 135

THE CRAVEN.*

From the Hampsliire Down of The Vine and Tedworth
on the south — to the Lambourne and Fsley Downs
(and the Old Berkshire and Vale of White Horse
Coumtries) on the north, maps out the latitude of The
Craven. The South Berkshire and the Duke of
Beaufort^s bound east and west respectively — New-
bury being on its eastern border, Marlborough close
to its western — joined one to the other by the Old
Bath Road. When we add that there are Downs
again at the latter place, it might easily be supposed
that the Craven Country is down, and nothing but
down. It certainly owns to a good deal of it ; but it
has also a belt of " London clay ^^ along its southern
border, and a great deal of light plough cast over the
whole centre of the country. The Bath Road cuts off
the clay district at the foot of the Hampshire Hills,
and has the Great Western Railway and the river
Kennett running side by side with it the greater part
of the way from Newbury to Marlborough. North of
the Old Road the ground grows gradually lighter till
the higher grass level is reached, and we rise from.

* FicZe Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 15. and Hobj^on'.s
Foxhunting Atlas.

136 The Hunting Countries of England.

flinty tillage to mossy sheepwalk. On tlie lower
ground, and wherever tlie plough has been at work,
it is a case of noses-down and steady hunting always.
The clay carries the better scent, but seldom one at
all approaching brilliancy. Nor are the downs to be
galloped every day. When there is a scent upon them,
hounds fly as they do on the Southdown hills, and
burst up their fox in from twenty to five-and-thirty
minutes. The gorses being small and handy, hounds
can be slipped away on their fox^s back — and he
never gets a moment to catch his second wind.
Taken as a whole, though, the Craven must be
spoken of as a cold-scenting country ; and its
attributes generally are scarcely of a type to raise
it above the level of ^^ provincial.^' This character
applies, of course, to the Craven as a country, not as
a Hunt : for as a Hunt it has always been maintained
on a high footing. Some few years ago the members
of the Hunt subscribed to build excellent Kennels
and stabling on the present site — which came into
Sir Ei chard Sutton's hands with his present estate
at Benham. Sir Eichard is commencing his second
season of Mastership — having taken the country in
1880, and brought thither the bulk of the establish-
ment with which Lord Spencer had been hunting the
Pytchley woodlands, to wit, huntsman, feeder, some
twenty-five couple of hounds, with five horses and
saddlery, &c. His Kennel, therefore, contains much
the same blood as is to be found among the present
Pytchley; while in the existing and lately created
Craven pack that he found on his arrival, there was,
with other material, much from the Quorn Kennel.

The Craven. 137

Altogetter tlie pack last season numbered sixty
couple ; and, with a quantity of puppies beyond the
average out at walk, there is little doubt that it will
rise rather than descend in the scale. The men are
mounted not only suitably for the country, but with a
liberality and judgment that would meet requirements
much higher than likely to be exacted here.

Speaking generally, little is demanded of a horse in
the Craven country beyond that he should be able to
gallop on the level, and scramble over a rotten bank.
On the downs he will have nothing at all to jump
(with the rare exception of a small stake and bound)
but will often have to extend himself for a bursting
gallop. In the middle country the fences are no more
tended and kept intact than amid the half enclosed
ploughs of The Vine, Tedworth or H. H. In the vale
he will have to encounter small banks, which probably
crumble away as he is climbing over — leading often to
his suspension midway or to a harmless roll on the
other side. An evil phase of fence-making has, how-
ever, come much into vogue of recent years in the
Craven country — to wit, wire, in its worst form. It is
not even set up broadly and ostentatiously with a line
of posts, as in the Shires : but is twined through the
tops of thorns — turning the almost contemptible little
hedge into a cruel and dangerous trap. Of course
wire has not yet become by any means general ; but
it is already too frequent to be pleasant — and a
country that of itself is by no means a horseman's
paradise, is thus endowed with a most untempting
characteristic.

If we must allude to another drawback, it is one

138 The Hunting Countries of England.

affecting hounds — and consequently of dire importance-
to those whose task it is to find them and to keep them
in health. We mean the flints, which lie so thickly-
over the whole country. If the palm is to be given
anywhere for quantity, it is perhaps due to the E-ams^
bury district, where you could scarcely drive the tine-
of a fork into the ground without its ringing against a
loose sharp flint. But they are most to be dreaded on
the downs, where they are often half embedded in th&
turf, with firm keen edges above the ground to cut a
hound's foot or leg like a knife.

There are not many big coverts in the Craven
country as at present defined. Perhaps the largest
are the woods of Chaddle worth and Welford (in the
middle of the Hunt), with Aldbourn Chase, and, in
the extreme south, Pen Wood. The latter is a great
boggy place, wherein it is almost dangerous to leave
one ride to make a short cut to another. On the-
downs you find only nice small gorses, where a fox
can neither dwell when found, nor rest when tired.

The Downs, which run round all the north of the
country, may be said to commence about Ilsley and
Catmore, and continue by WooUey Park, Lambourne,.
Russley and Marlborough — the country shelving
downwards thence past the Kennels (which are at
Walcot, close to Kintbury Station) till it reaches its
lowest at the foot of the hills on which stand Butter-
mere Combe, &c. Along this southern boundary-line-
there are various neutral coverts — for instance. Butter-
mere Gorse and Combe Wood — drawn conjointly with
The Tedworth; and the woods of Dairyhouse,
Nuthanger, and Fro Park with The Vine.

The Craven. 139

The best attended meets are generally those near
Newbury, which bring in the South Berkshire men ;
while the Down meets attract many from The Old
Berkshire ; and the Rockley side, again, will often
tempt some from The Duke of Beaufort^s. But on no
occasion are the Craven fields really large.

Savernake Forest is no longer hunted by The
Craven, as the maps referred to would lead one to
suppose ; but its wooded and well rided depths
provide sport for The Tedworth in autumn (when they
go there for a continuous fortnight), winter, and
spring. The Craven often find themselves in it — as
they meet on two sides of it. Mildenhall, for
instance, is only just outside; and a fox from the
Borders is as likely to cross the Kennett and make his
way into the Forest as to mount the hill and
embark on a trial of speed across the Marlborough
Downs.

The Kennels are admirably situated to command the
country ; and we may well take them as a central point
in fixing the whereabouts of some of the chief meets.

Sir Richard Sutton hunts four days a week —
Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays,
which, with occasional variation are generally distri-
buted as under :

Monday is probably near at home, or to the south of
the Kennels and of the Bath Road. Benham Park —
the residence of the Master and three miles from
Kennels — is often named. It has many coverts, and
of course many foxes — among the former being Scots
Wood, Wickham Heath, &c. Hamstead Park is
another fixture; and Stype Wood (Rev. H. MitchelFs)

140 The Hunting Countries of England,

often leads into the Forest of Savemake. From
Woodhay House they draw over common and through
wild, rough, scattered covert — often amid bogs whose
peaty surface bends and shakes under the footfall like
Irish snipe-ground. Sometimes when the south of
the country has been worked hard, Wickham Five
Bells may be named as a Monday meet. From here
they get Norbyns Wood, Winding Wood, and
Heathanger, or else have Benham and its coverts.

Wednesday is always for the Sidmonton side — to
avoid clashing with Newbury market, which is on a
Thursday, when hounds accordingly go far away to
the west. Sidmonton Brick-kiln is for the coverts
neutral with the Vine, as above-mentioned ; while
working homewards, there are Adbury, Sandleford,
&c., to be drawn. Blind Man's Gate is a fixture
close to Pen Wood, which belongs to Lord Carnarvon.
Three Legged Cross is for the same draw ; the result
of which, if a find, may lead over the hill into Vine
or Tedworth territory. The meet named directly for
the Sandleford district is usually Greenham.

Thursday being more often for the west of the
country towards the outskirts of Savemake Forest —
there is the meet of Eamsbury, with Blake's Wood
and Aldbourn Chase (where covert follows covert),
just on the verge of the Marlborough, or Ogbourne,
Downs. When Aldbourn is advertised, the gorse is
drawn, and the Chace comes after. Mildenhall is for
the Mildenhall Borders (a number of timber and
connected belts), with Rabley Wood to follow. East-
bury Park has a nice wood ; and Preston Gate has the
same in Marriage Hill. Nearer home are AVelford

The Craven. 141

Woods (Mr, Eyre's)^ witli Chaddlewortli Woods (Mr.
Wroughton^s) adjoining.

Saturday is tlie day for the Downs — alternately on
the Lambourn and the Ilsley side. In the former
direction is Baydon, whence they often move off to
Ashdown Park — which, again, is itself a meet, with
two nice wood coverts. From Seven Barrows they
get to Mr. Hippisley^s small but wonderfully preserved
coverts close to Lambourn Yillage, and thence to
Letcombe Bowers. On the Downs, on the way to the
latter, are several gorses, such as Eastbury Gorse, &c. ;
from which hounds can always start on good terms.
Woolley Park, or Tinker^ s Corner, are for the small
coverts at Woolley (where Mr. Wroughton has always
many foxes). At Lockhinge Bottom is another
staunch fox-preserver — Sir R. Lloyd Lindsay.
Farnboro' is the fixture for Ilsley Down and the good
gorse coverts thereabouts. From Peasemore (just
below the down) they draw the very useful woods of
Breedon Park (Mr. King^s) ; and go on, perhaps, to the
small but favourite coverts at Langley — Ooreburgh
and Prior's Court. From Hermitage (the most
southerly of the Saturday meets) they are likely to
work on to Catmore Borders.

142 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SURREY UNION.*

SuREEY no longer presents the same facilities for the
London Nimrod as in the days when Mr. Jorrocks
looked upon Surrey as the peculiar province of
cockneys. "Surburban yillany'^ has grasped half
the hunting ground of The Surrey Union and the Old
Surrey : and the red rover has been driven to regions
only attainable by the help of the steam covert-hack,
by those who would breakfast in Town. Not only
that — but, unless ready to bear his fair share of the
burden of the day, the Londoner is not told where he
can calculate on finding hounds. Rightly enough, it
is considered that the hunting field was never intended
as a mere outlet for irresponsible mischief ; and,
accordingly, it is expected that the shareholders in
the fun should be limited to the shareholders in its
maintenance and expense. And so, like various other
packs in the immediate neighbourhood of London, the
Surrey Union adopts a plan, which, ere long, will
probably become universal — and declines to advertise
its meets to the world at large. No doubt, though,
a reasonable subscription will at all times insure due

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 22, and Hobeon's
Fo^tbuntinec Atlas.

The Surrey Union. 143

notice by post, and enable the London sportsman to
put himself in the train at Waterloo^ Victoria, or
London Bridge at an hour not more inconvenient than
if he had ten miles to canter. That many to whom
business is first. Pleasure an after consideration, do
avail themselves of the chance, is shown by the
number of horse-boxes and pink coats conveyed by
the morning trains every Saturday during the hunting
season. The Surrey Union (and other Hunts who
have supporters in London) make their arrangements
to chime in with — rather than to thwart — the Satur-
day exodus. Thus every meet of the Surrey Union
on that day is in easy reach of Epsom, Leatherhead,
or Weybridge — each of which, again, is within a forty
minutes' journey from Waterloo. On the other two
hunting-days (Tuesday and Thursday), the train may
be utilised to Leatherhead, Dorking, Baynards, or
Guildford — as the case may be.

The Surrey Union Country, as now hunted, falls
considerably short of the area it is entitled to occupy.
Stanford's Map, however, shows pretty accurately the
extent to which operations are at present carried.
From Guildford to Reigate is its breadth. The
prettiest bit of the country is the strip through which
the railway runs as it passes Ewell on its way to
Epsom — and this is about the nearest point to London
where the Surrey Union hounds are ever seen. Mr.
Richard Combe hunts that corner of their country
which formerly took them up to Aldershot Camp ; and
at one time they used to work some of the ground
mow occupied by Mr. Godman. Even now the Surrey
Union is quite an extensive Country for three days a

144 The Hunting Countries of England.

week ; and it is only by railing the hounds to covert
that the woods and clay of the southern weald can be
utilised.

A ridge of chalk and grassy down runs from
Guildford to Dorking, and round the eastern edge of
the country by Walton, Epsom and Banstead. With-
in this half circle, to the north, all is a rather cold-
scenting plough — lighter where the ground is higher,
but heavier in the valleys such as the neighbourhood
of Cobham, Wisley, and Ripley. South of the
Guildford and Dorking ridge you drop at once into
a deep clay, amid strong woods and a better scent.
There are some great coverts, too, in the north —
notably, the Princess Woods and St. George^s Hill.
The former belongs to the Crown : and is believed to
have received its name when the Prince de Joinville
and the Due d^Aumale resided at Claremont, and had
the sporting rights of the adjoining woods. At the
present day there is said to be a special clause in the
lease, making a condition of the holding that foxes
are always to be forthcoming to meet the require-
ments of the Surrey Union Hunt. No such condition
would be necessary with the present tenant; but it
is a satisfactory instance of foxhunting being still
held in high places as The Sport of Kings. Deep
and wide are the Princess Woods — and many a time
has the London sportsman been condemned to spend
the whole of his Saturday outing amid their holding
rides and vast extent. St. George's Hill, again, is
a rough stretch of heather and plantation, reaching
from Cobham nearly to Weybridge. Deer abound in
it — the story going that some years ago a German in

The Surrey Union. 145

the neiglibourliood bought himself half a dozen deer,
extemporised a paddock of sheep hurdles, and next
morning was surprised to find his herd had disappeared.
Since then they have increased to such an extent that
there must be at least a couple of hundred in this
wild tract : and, as it is often impossible for whips to
get at hounds amid its bogs and thickets, there is
great difficulty in keeping the youngsters of the pack
from riot.

A great deal of the Surrey Union Country is very
much the same, to ride over, as the Crawley and
Horsham (already described) — chiefly ploughed fields
of limited size, divided by straggling fences often
built on a bank. This especially applies to the
northern half of the country; where a horse^s chief
merit is to be able to scramble cleverly and to take
things quietly and untiringly. On the downs he will
be going on the top of the ground ; and may have to
gallop. But considerably more is required of him in
the stiff clay weald in the south of the country.
Here the fences grow strong on the top of high banks
— with a deep ditch on one side, or even both. There
are few gates, in the ordinary acceptation of the
term ; but the farmers get from field to field by means
of draw-rails, as in Sussex. Here the name for them
is heave-gates ; and, though they are of the stiffest
timber, men accustomed to the country jump them
readily, and often in preference to the bank-and-fence
alongside. Again, there is often a good scent in this
southern, or Cranleigh, country; so that, as the
inclosures are quite small, and there is little time for
dismounting to lower the heave-gates, a man who

VOL. II. L

146 The Hunting Countries of England.

would ride to hounds must be continually on the
jump. A horse for this part of the country must be a
strong, clever fencer : and be able to gallop through
dirt and to jump out of it.

The hounds are kennelled at Fetcham, close to the
residence of the present Master, Mr. J. B. Hankey —
whose grandfather and two uncles held the post before
him. Mr. Hankey took office five years ago — succeed-
ing Mr. Scott — and he then brought the pack back to
its former Kennel near Fetcham Park. The Pack,
though an old-established one (the property of the
Hunt) has necessarily been chiefly maintained by
drafts — the difficulty that exists with the Crawley and
Horsham, and various other packs south of London, of
getting a sufficiency of puppies reared at walk, being
felt here. Thus in recent years The Surrey Union has
been dependent chiefly upon the Meynell, Mr. Tailby,
Lord Fitzhardinge, and the Puckeridge. To the
first-named, however, they are indebted for a hound
named Falkland, by whose help they have been success-
ful in putting forward some most creditable homebred
stock.

Foxes are fairly plentiful everywhere — except where
in isolated cases the shooting interests may have been
established by a non-resident and allowed by him to
run counter to those of foxhunting. It is in this way,
rather than by the presence of inconvenient numbers
in the field, that the Hunt feels the neighbourhood of
the metropolis. As a rule the residents in the Country
do all in their power to welcome foxhunting and to
forward its interests.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday being the three

The Surrey Union. 147

days of hunting, Tuesday is generally occupied near
home, and among its meets is Fetcham Downs. From
here they take Norbury Park, the residence of Mr.
Grissell, who, though never taking part in the chase
except on foot, gives up his coverts entirely to foxes,
and always has a great supply. From Leatherhead
Downs, they work by Epsom to the Banstead coverts.
Boxhill is another meet — for the great wooded hill of
that name. Being a dry chalk height, it is in such
favour with foxes that they are ever ready to accumu-
late here in great numbers. To find five or six brace
on it is by no means uncommon ; and to devote a whole
day to routing them out is often a necessity. Margery
Grove is the name of a meet and good covert close to
Eeigate, with a nice country all round, and every
probability of a trip into Old Surrey territory. Another
Tuesday meet is Wisley Heath, where they have heath
and plantation to draw. From Ripley Green they go
to Clandon Common. Clandon Park has beautiful
coverts ; and used to be a favourite resort. Bramble
Ride and Hatchland's Park are two good draws.
East Clandon is the usual fixture for the Norcotts.

Thursday almost always takes the Cranleigh and
Ewhurst, or southern clay, country. These two places,
indeed, are about the only meets in this district — each
having large chains of woodland in its proximity.
The foxes are wild and strong; and, when forced
from the coverts, often go wide across the border over
the vale. Hounds, too, can generally drive them
through the woods, and force them, even if they cling
to the woods, to run the rides at best pace. Meeting
at Ewhurst, the usual routine is to draw Sir Trevor

148 The Hunting Countries of England.

Lawrence^s well preserved, coverts, e.g. Somersbury,
The Buildings, &c. ; while from Cranleigh they have
Upper and Lower Canville, the property of Mr. Sadler,
who owns also Bowles Rough and Fishpond. Near
these are Longhurst Hill and Coxland (Mr. Thurlow's)
— all being large woods almost continuously con-
nected. For these meets hounds are always put on
the rail to Baynards Station. A Thursday fixture
too is Abinger Cross Roads, for the Pasture Wood
(Mr. Evelyn), with some pleasant country and a good
sprinkling of grass near.

Saturday takes in the north of the country — though
there are some meets that may fall either on that day
or on a Tuesday. Hawkshot Flat is always fixed for
Saturday, with a view to The Princess Woods — above
described. Outside The Princess, in the direction of
Hook and Ewell, is nice fair hunting ground to
Banstead, when a fox will take that direction. Fair-
Mile is another equally frequent Saturday meet ; and,
while probably meaning Claremont (close to Esher)
for a start, is almost sure to lead eventually to The
Prince's^ or the other big woodlands of St. George's
Hill.

I>A_RT V^.

THE OLD SURREY.*

In the year 1750 Mr. Gobsall kept foxhounds at
Bermondsey — on the site of the premises and wharf
now in possession of the Messrs. Dudin. The remains
of the Kennels and stables are still to be seen ; and the
pack is said to have had an uninterrupted existence
ever since. No wonder that the Old Surrey was its
title^ long prior even to the appearance on the scene of
the most immortal Jorrocks.

Gradually pushed out by the relentless encroach-
ment of brick and mortar, the Old Surrey Hunt has
been driven farther and farther from the bank of the
Thames, till now it can bring the sound of hound-
music no nearer London than the outskirts of Croydon
and Bromley ; and the citizen who would jaunt in
scarlet to the Surrey hills can no longer mount his
hunter in Broad-street, but must either take the same
steam covert hack which the worshipful hero aforesaid
reserved solely for the " cut-^em-down countries/^ or
else make a suburban residence his base alike for

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 22, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

VOL. II. M

150 The Hunting Countries of England,

business and holiday. Thus, a certain number of
Londoners are in the habit of taking train from
London Bridge or Charing Cross — returning by the
same means at night. But by far the greater propor-
tion of the present Old-Surrey-City-menhave brought
their Lares and Penates to some middle point — such
as Croydon, Bromley, Beckenham, Norwood, &c. —
whence they can easily get up to daily business, or
take the saddle and trot to covert from their own door.
Saturday has for years been given by the Old Surrey
to the hills sweeping southward from Croydon; and
he must be a very overworked man indeed, who cannot
at least snatch a Saturday at only twenty minutes'
distance from the City.

The hounds are quartered at Garston Hall, a mile or
so from Kenley station, on the line branching to
Caterham, from the main Croydon and Reigate
Railway. Train to Caterham will, in fact, land the
visitor within easy riding distance of every meet in
the Hunt, whether " on the hills ^' or in the southern
^^vale.^' Garston Hall is a queer old mansion, that for
generations has belonged to the family of the present
master, Mr. E. Byron of Coulsdon Court, Caterham,
and the pack is the property of the country — having
been, together with the hunt horses of the time,
presented by Sir Edward Antrobus on the occasion
of his resigning the mastership in 1843. Much of
the old blood still remains in the Kennel ; though,
owing to the difficulty which — in common with several
other southern packs — exists of entering sufficient
hounds of home breeding, it has been found necessary
to obtain almost yearly drafts from other sources.

The Old Surrey. 151

The Old Surrey country is divided between hill and
vale — the former being about double the extent of the
latter. " The hills," then, occupy all the north and
centre of the country; and, whether claiming to belong
to the county of Kent or of Surrey, are much of the
same pattern throughout — steep, sweeping slopes of
flinty plough, with woods, and chains of woods, freely
interspersed over the whole. The country, of course,
has its drawbacks — otherwise, so close and handy as
it is to London, there would be no need for men to
journey down to Leighton or Weedon. Hounds can
frequently run hard over the Old Surrey hills, and the
foxes will travel a long distance. But the coverts
come too close together, the ascents to be breasted
can often only be swarmed at foots pace, the flints cut
horses^ pasterns and fetlocks almost as freely as they
do the feet of hounds ; and, finally, the fascination of
riding over fences has little or no opportunity here.
The last-named would anywhere constitute a serious
drawback in the eyes of the majority of hunting men.
It is especially a shortcoming in the view of men
whose days with hounds are only occasional — who have
to do additional work at other times that they may
snatch their outing, and who naturally look for all
they can get on the holidays they manufacture.

The woods of the Old Surrey hills are tangled depths,
of the same hazel, ash, and other growth as belong to
the woodlands of Kent — cut down about every tenth
year to form hop -holes and wattle. The rides are deep,
vague, and casual ; but a huntsman must go boring
on through them, while the field generally work their
way round to rejoin the pack as it regains the open

m2

152 The Hunting Countries of England.

beyond. After the leaf is once dead, there is usually
quite as good a scent inside the woods as in the open.
Long runs are very frequent : and foxes get to run
certain lines, which a regular attendant and observer
may soon learn with some degree of certainty. Tom
Hills, the famous huntsman (whose son now carries
the horn) knew the run of the foxes so thoroughly that
he was constantly in the habit of making up for
deficiencies of scent by long forward casts, with,
apparently, only instinct to guide him. On the open
ground assistance is often forthcoming in the shape of
a holloa ; and, indeed, were it not for the frequent
coverts to obscure the view, a travelling fox might, in
the absence of hedgerows, be seen for miles. It should
be noted, by the way, that, owing to agricultural
depression, a good deal of land between the kennels
and Cudham has completely lapsed from cultivation,
rendering this district — naturally secluded and un-
populous, in spite of its vicinity to London — especially
wild. Scent varies very much " on the hills. ^^ More
often it has to be picked out than galloped to : but a
better scent is forthcoming on many occasions than
the appearance of the ground would warrant — and
this is notably the case under the dry east winds of
March.

The Yale, again, or " below the hill,-*' is, as may be
supposed, quite a different class of ground. Running
along the southern border of th© country from Gatton
and Reigate to Chevening and Brasted, it merges into
Burstow territory about Crowhurst and Edenbridge —
the railway from Reigate to Tunbridge being the
boundary line between the two countries. Reigate is

The Old Surrey. 153

indeed a very favourite resort witli men who set a
proper appreciation on the Surrey Vale. Keeping
their horses stabled here, or at Nutfield close by, they
can run down — not only to the best of the Old Surrey,
but to the pick of the Burstow, or to share a gallop
with Mr. Nickalls and the Surrey Staghounds. The
latter (whose Master is a fine sportsman) are kennelled
at Nutfield ; and a stag, with his head set for the vale,
must show excellent sport before he regains his cart.
The Vale consists chiefly of small inclosures — many
of which are grass; the soil is deep, and the fences
strong. The latter are by no means of any one
particular type. The greater number, perhaps, are
built upon banks, and are ditched on either side.
Some are of hazel, and many are built up with strong
wattle. Some have to be crept ; while others, again,
have to be flown. It will be gathered, then, that a
horse must know his work to be a safe conveyance.
He need not be exactly of Leicestershire class, but he
must be a ^^knowledgeable hunter^' with a leg at all
times to spare. He must be sturdy and strong, both
for the Vale and on the hills : and he will seldom be
called upon to race — though if his lungs are not
perfect, it is certain that he will soon be crying
enough, either in the deep ground below, or up
the steep hillsides above. For the Vale is apt to get
very deep in mid-winter; and then carries a better
scent than ever. The fields with the Old Surrey are
seldom large, except on Saturdays, when, if the meet
is near Croydon, a field of a hundred or a hundred
and fifty is occasionally seen. As may be seen from
the above, this is not altogether a favourite scene for

154 The Hunting Countries of England.

excursionists ; and, consequently, the gathering at the
covertside is in a great measure local. The farmers
are very keen in their adhesion to an institution
which dates back to their grandfathers ; and a great
number of them join the chase, while all of them do
their best in its interest.

Monday, Thursday, and Saturday are the hunting
days — Thursday being for the Vale, the other two
days for the hills. Monday takes in ^'the Kent hills,^*
i.e., the north-east of the country. Among the lead-
ing Monday meets are Addington for vSpring Park
and the coverts of Sir J. Lennard, who is one of the
principal members of the Hunt ; Down, from which
they draw Sir John Lubbock^s coverts at, and near,
his place at High Elms, such as Cuckoo Wood and
the stronghold of Sow Wood. On the edge of the
hills are Chevening and Knockholt, for Lord Stan-<
hope's coverts ; while the meet of Tatsfield points to
Mr. Gr. Christy's woods, which form a chain with
those of Sir John Lubbock.

Among the Saturday meets on the hill — in Surrey
proper — are Merstham and Alderstead Heath, for
coverts of Lord Hylton, who, though he does not
himself hunt, preserves foxes heartily for the amuse-
ment of others. Banstead has the wood of Banstead
Park, and a chance of running over the Surrey Union
downs. Bradmore Green or Coulsdon Common are
fixed for the Master's coverts; and Coulsdon Court
is the opening meet of the season. Botley Hill takes
them to the woods of Mr. Leveson Cower, the largest
landowner and covertowner in the Hunt. Titsey
Plantation, for instance, on the edge of the low country

The Old Surrey, 155

is a sure find (Titsey and Limpsfield being meets for
his strong vale coverts). From Farley Green are
drawn the large woodlands roand, such as the Selsdon
and Sanderstead Woods.

Thursday is the day for " below the hill/^ where,
again,, there are many strong woodlands, though the
western vale towards Bletchingley and Nutfield is
open enough. Three foxes out of four found in the
Vale, may make at once for the hills ; though now and
again one will set his head in the direction of East
Grinstead and point southward for Burstow Park or
Felbridge Park. The east of the Yale is much taken
up by ^' charts " — great wild forest wastes of beech
and oak, about which hounds may run for hours while
the rider wanders through as he can find a track, or a
semblance of one. Brasted Chart and Limpsfield
Chart are very big j and there is a great deal of covert
round Crockham Hill, of which a detached rise of woods
(mostly on the east side) belongs to Mr. Williams.

Limpsfield, as before mentioned, is all the property
of Mr. Leveson Gower of Titsey Park. Wester ham
(Col. Warde of Squerries) is the meet for Westerham
Wood and Tower Wood; and from Tandridge and
Oxted they go to Lord Cottenham^s coverts and the
Barrow Green Woods (the property of Mr. Master).
In the best of the vale are the meets of Nutfield,
Bletchingley, and Godstone, with smaller coverts in
their neighbourhood. The Nutfield district is more
sandy, as compared with the holding soil of the vale.
Ifc is rapidly getting built over — though Mr. Fielden,
who has a small park there, seldom fails still to have
a fox.

156 The Hunting Countries of England,

MR. EICHAED COMBE'S.*

Between Mr. GartVs and tlie Surrey Union_, the
H. H.^ tlie Hambledon, and Lord Leconfield's^ runs a
strip of rough country — the like of which is only to
be found on Dartmoor or Exmoor. Each of these
Hunts was ready to hand over to Mr. Combers libe-
rality, or to share with him, some few miles of ground
within reach of his house. He accepted the gift, and
the task, with determination to make the best of it,
and his resolve has been steadily and successfully
carried out during the half dozen years past. On the
wild heathered tracts, and amid the rough jfir woods,
between Chobham and Guildford, between Farnham
and Petersfield, foxhounds were but occasionally seen.
Now a good pack is regularly at work here five days
a fortnight; and for those who love hunting for
hunting^s sake there is ample opportunity of study and
amusement. The Aldershot soldier is especially the
one who should be grateful. And in the main he
certainly is — though, truth to tell, he is more likely to
be exigeant, especially in his first youth and keenness,
than almost any other class of man. For, with all due

* ViclQ Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 21 and 22, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

Mr, Richard Combe's. 157

respect to the profession, quite a majority of its
members, if they do not '^ hunt to ride/^ at least look
upon the riding as a leading corporate virtue in the
composition of foxhunting, and believe that in it is
contained the charm, the steel, the very life of the
pursuit. Who shall blame them ? Certainly not I.
What is the moral that I find deduced from the
researches necessary to this long series of sketches ?
What is the measure by which the merits of a Hunting
Country are gauged — not by an individual scribbler,
not by local residents, but by the general public ?
As in racing, so with hunting, the public are the best
judges. And the public show plainly how they fi.x
a comparative scale of merit for the Countries of
England. That is the most popular — and therefore
that is the best — country, which gives the pleasantest
ground to ride over and the hottest scent to ride to.
Happily, the two conditions are, more often than not,
found conveniently linked together. Blood (if worth
anything from its birth) will have its fling — and be
young as long as it may. When age has diluted its
current and weakened the power of its throb — then
is it time to draw rein, and to seek company and
pastime more in keeping with staid experience and
demure reflection. So argues, not wholly without
reason, the spark of chivalry whom destiny has
brought to Aldershot. Content to swallow in the
summer as many pecks of Long Valley dust as may
be deemed needful for his country's good (provided
always, and of course, that his season ticket will allow
of his washing it down each evening with the pink
wine of Piccadilly or Pall Mall), he is yeb only

158 The Hunting Countries of England.

allowed by an inconsistent Government thoroughly to
devote some two months and a half to the most
important part of his military education — to wit, cross-
country riding. Mr. Combe, Mr. Garth, and Mr.
Deacon (H.H.) in some degree, it is true, assist
him, without thwarting the authorities, by bringing
excellent packs of hounds within reach of camp. But
he has seen for himself, or at at any rate been told,
that the green board on which Kriegspiel can best be
played, lies far afield from Aldershot; and it is to his
exceat he looks for indulgence in it in the more
perfect and instructive form. His vacation studies are,
in fact, what tend most to fit him for his degree — as
soldier and fox-hunter. Still, for steady and zealous
practice, hearty exercise, and a measure of sport, he will
find material plentifully to hand in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the Camp — and prominently at the hands
of Mr. Richard Combe. Again, la jeunesse is by no
means necessarily all doree — least of all, as a matter of
fact, in military life. Ungilded, it may yet be sport-
ing ; and in such case will make the most of what it
can find on the spot, foregoing the extravagance
attendant on ambition and travel. In plain words, it
is not in the power of every man who bears Her
Majesty^s commission to keep a stud of hunters at a
distance from his regiment; and there are a great
number of oflBcers at Aldershot who, having one horse,
or two, are thankful enough to ride out of camp twice
a week, to see a pack of foxhounds working well in a
rough country. Had the Horse Guards (no, it^s all
War Office now) sent them to Weedon or North-
ampton, they would have sallied out with increased

Mr, Richard Combe's. 159

fervour^ possibly^ for the same number of days ; but a
paternal Government, as before observed, pays little
heed to fostering the tastes of its warriors in this
direction; and for one chance it gives them of a
quarter in a high-class country, it insists ten times on
placing them in an indifferent one.

To ride with hounds across Mr. Combers territory
requires some little nerve ; and is excellent practice
for either man or horse. Both must use their eyes ;
the rider must learn to use his hands, and the horse
his legs. Miles and miles — in fact, the bulk of the
country is clad, and hidden, in heather. Here and
there a little strip of vale is found, where cultivation
has a chance, where the soil is deep, and fences are
strongly built. But most of the country is of one
pattern, light sandy soil, on which heather and fir
alone can flourish. The Government are the leading
proprietors, and it is especially suited for the require-
ments of camp and exercise. Thus, for a quarter of a
century sappers and miners, gunners and linesmen,
have been practising every variety of earthwork and
trench digging — more particularly over the north of
the country and the neighbourhood of Aldershot. The
pits and trenches made by the troops have seldom been
filled in, when the lesson of the day is completed; and
they now remain, overgrown with heather, a constant
succession of pitfalls for the rushing aide-de-camp
or the artless foxhunter. Here and there, too, high
banks divide the moorland ; and the ditches on either
side are often completely hidden by the luxuriant
heather — making it difficult for a horse new to such
ground to measure his stride, or change it, with

160 The Hunting Countries of England.

sufficient readiness to avoid a fall. Kuts made by
timber carts or the passage of heavy guns, are, again,
very frequent and often deep ; and, altogether, horses
have every opportunity given them of blundering on
to their heads, or of learning to know better. It is a
maxim of the country that if a horse can keep his legs
intact for one season, he will probably go on unharmed
for many a year. A small horse and a compact one is
the best mount, and least liable to accident. Hounds
will sometimes run very fast ; for on a favourable day
scent not only hangs to the footfall or floats in the air,
but clings to the heather which Reynard has perhaps
brushed as he passed. Thus it is often possible to
drag up to a fox for a mile or two before he is un-
kennelled ; and it not unfrequently happens that a fox
will lie close till the pack is all round him, when he
runs a great chance of being chopped by jumping up
in the midst. Once afoot he can keep going for a long
time before hounds — for he belongs to a sturdy breed
that is accustomed to travel wide for its food. When
pressed, he will keep as much as possible to the tracks
or paths, where any such exist among the heather.
With such a mass of covert, whether wood or heather,
spread over the country, it will be easily understood
that difficulty must often exist in hitting upon the
foxes — even in districts where they are known to be
plentiful. In the early part of the season a litter is
generally to be found settled together somewhere in
the neighbourhood of its birthplace. But once dis-
persed, it may remain widely scattered; and hours
may sometimes be spent in drawing over ground
where plenty of foxes have been only recently seen.

Mr, Richard Combe's, 161

Perhaps tlie most sporting and best scenting part of
tlie wliole of Mr. Combe's country is the Woolmer
and Brimstone district in the far south — chiefly rough
and hilly forest ground, over which the H.H. and
Lord Leconfield still maintain a right. Two strong
bits of vale run outwards from the Woolmer Forest,
viz., the Hartley Vale (from Brimstone to Hartley
Wood in the H.H. country), and the Liss Vale (from
the Forest southwards towards Petersfield). These
two, with the little Wanborough Vale, running under
the Hog^s Back from Ash to Gruildford, form almost
the whole of the lowland of the Hunt.

The Kennels are on Mr. Combers property at
Pierrepont, some three miles from Farnham — the town
being three miles from Aldershot, and less than an
hour and a halfs journey by L. and S.W.E. from
Waterloo Station. North and South of Pierrepont
the country runs for about a dozen miles, as the crow
flies — though its width is nowhere more than five or
six. Immediately round Pierrepont itself, woods and
heath stretch for miles, in some directions uninter-
ruptedly. The hounds are of excellent blood — being
in the first instance composed of drafts from many
leading kennels, such as the Grove, Lord Ports-
mouth, the Milton, Quorn, &c. During the last two
seasons Mr. Combe has been able to put forward an
entry of home breeding nearly equal to his require-
ments.

The days of hunting are Tuesday and Friday in the
one week, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday in the
next — the usual rule being, Monday or Tuesday near
home, Wednesday in the upper country by or about

162 The Hunting Countries of England.

Aldersliot, and Friday or Saturday in the soutli — i.e.,
the Liss district or Woolmer Forest.

The meets in the north of the country are Frimley
White Hart or Frimley Green, whence they draw the
Government heaths, such as Chobham Eidges, and
where a fox, if found, is sure to be a good one ; and
Pirbright, for the same ground drawn in the contrary
direction. Ash Station or Tongham Station are fixed
for the Wanborough coverts and Seal Gorse or the
heath and fir coverts of Hampton Lodge — the latter
belonging to Mr. Howard. Worplesdon, again, is
another occasional meet north of the Hog^s Back.

The home meets of Wrecklesham, The Kennels, or
Pierrepont, are for Mr. Combe's estate — his shooting
extending here for at least five miles, of heather and
fir trees, across the country to The DeviFs Jumps, the
hills on the east. Batts Corner and the Holt are
fixtures for the woodland chain behind the Kennels.
This is again Government ground ; and the coverts
hold capital foxes. Thursley Village is the usual
meet for The Jumps ; while from Churt they
draw the Churt coverts before getting on to The
Jumps.

In the south, which as above-mentioned forms the
Friday or Saturday ground, Hawkley Hangers and
Steep Hangers mark the hilliest part of all. The
meet of Brimstone Bottom points to the heart of
Woolmer Forest (also Government property) and may
lead over the Hartley Vale ; from Liphook they come
on to Weaver's Down, &c. ; Liss is on recognised
neutral ground (with the Hambledon) for Bushey
Copse and Hawkley Hangers; and Hawkley is for

Mr. Richard Combe's, 163

Greatham Hill and Old AVarreu. Grayshot and
Headley bring us back again in the direction of the
Kennels ; from the former they draw Mr. Philips's
heath and woods ; while from the latter they get to
Lidshot^ &c.

164 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE BURSTOW.*

An unpretending but very sporting little country is
the Burstow— close at hand for the Londoner, yet as
free from artificialism and Cockney attributes as if in
Yorkshire, instead of within twenty miles of the
metropolis. Not a grass country, over which hounds
can always race and horses must fly, it is yet the scene
of capital runs and good hound work. It has a rough
tract of forest in which to teach and practise a pack ;
the rest is flat and pretty vale — a Saturday holiday
ground, on which many a London business man finds
sport as ready to hand, and quite as bright and
thorough, as he can reach elsewhere. Of the two
days a week, Wednesday is advertised, that who will
may join in forest hunting ; while Saturday is kept
snug for subscribers, and for those who hold a local
interest in the vale. For, with Eeigate, Horley, and
Godstone, three stations on the edge of the vale, it is
easy to understand how readily the little country
might be inundated with excursionist foxhunters, from
city and suburbs, if an open invitation were given for
a day when everyone is at liberty.

See Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 22 ; and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Burstow, 165

The Burstow pack existed as harriers for nearly a
century (latterly under the mastership of Mr. H.
Kelsey, of Burstow Park), before Mr. Birkbeck
assisted in giving them a nobler vocation, rather more
than twenty years ago. Started as a farmers^ pack, it
has during its career never been hunted by a pro-
fessional. In the chase of the hare it showed
wonderful sport, in days when the vale scarcely
owned a drain, and when its followers ran on foot,
carrying long poles to help them over the broad
ditches and wide unkempt fences. By degrees the
country came under better cultivation, and an occa-
sional burst after a fox whetted the appetites of those
who now found it no longer possible to keep with the
hounds except on horseback. So it dawned on Mr.
Birkbeck and his friends to fly regularly for the
higher game ; the Old Surrey Hunt courteously met
the suggestion, conceding a sufficient area for the
purpose ; and the Burstow became henceforth a pack
of foxhounds. Mr. Hooker continued to hunt the
hounds for Mr. Kelsey till the season ^QQ-QI-j when
Mr. H. Gerard Hoare took his place^ and on the death
of Mr. Kelsey, about two years ago, also assumed
the duties of mastership. Excellent sport having
throughout accompanied his efforts.

The pack takes its stand chiefly on its old blood,
aided in recent years by strains from the Badminton
and Yale of White Horse Kennels. The hounds are
all made of a pattern to go, and their tenacity in
clinging to a cold scent, in covert and out, is a special
attribute. The coverts (beech, oak scrub, and hazel
woods, of true Kent and Sussex type) are frequent

VOL. II. N

166 The Hunting Countries of England.

and of some size — even in the vale country — while
the Forest was once a continuous mass of rough covert,
large areas of which still exist. Hounds, therefore,
must be full of tongue, and must perforce, work for
themselves — a maxim that is held equally to apply
when their fox leads over the open, the stiff clay of
which may, or may not, hold a scent, as weather and
other conditions direct. When wet and warm, how-
ever, the vale is often good scenting ground, and is
then as pleasing an arena as any in the south
of England. The inclosures are small; a good deal
of grass is scattered here and there; banks and
ditches add to the pastime a zest, of which the riding
men of Surrey are well appreciative. A certain
number of county sportsmen live on the spot ; but by
far the larger proportion of the field are business men,
who, living in London or its suburbs, either keep a
horse or two on the scene or bring one with them by
rail for the day of hunting. The vale not only offers
them better sport and holiday ; but is much easier of
access than the Ashdown Forest ; and therefore it has
become a matter of custom for the Master to fix
Saturday as the subscribers^ day, between Keigate and
East G-rinstead or Hartfield — keeping The Forest and
the far south of the country for Wednesday's work.
The Kennels are at Smallfield Common near Burstow
(the nearest station being Horley, little more than an
hour's journey from Victoria Station) — and many a
long journey home have hounds to make after a forest
run.

The outline of the Burstow country has been sub-
jected to, many variations in past years. The Surrey

The Burstow. 167

Union at one time lent a slice of ground in the north-
west as far as the vicinity of Leith Hill ; and, again,
the Burstow hounds used to draw the Penshurst
neighbourhood and up to Tunbridge Wells (which has
of late reverted to the West Kent). Now they make
up their country by the help of the Crawley and
Horsham, which Hunt has given them territory from
East Grinstead down to the borders of the Southdown
— and this portion forms their Wednesday ground.

The vale of course gets deep and holding in mid-
winter, though it is by no means so sticky after recent
rain, however heavy, as on the breaking up of a frost.
In the former case, choosing the furrows, you may
splash along the surface with tolerable ease : in
the latter, your horse's feet are held as in wax, and he
must be a stout one to make any progress at all. The
vale coverts are not so large but that plenty of
travelling room is left outside; though, as they are
often deep to ride through, they are extensive enough
to exhaust a horse before he reaches the open. Woods
of twenty to thirty acres are more common than larger
coverts. That of Cutandly is perhaps the biggest, as
it is also one of the best, in the vale. As with the
Crawley and Horsham, and other southern packs,
shooting considerations not unfrequently affect the
interests of foxhunting — and this is particularly the
case with many nice coverts by the side of the main
line, from London to Brighton, the shooting of which
has been let to strangers. But on the whole the
Burstow country is fairly stocked — as is proved by the
fact that during the late very open season (1881-82)
hardly a blank day occurred. And the foxes are of a

n2

168 The Hunting Countries of England.

strong breed, that will often stand up before hounds
for two hours or more, even on a good scenting day.
The country being so limited in extent_, the coverts
have occasionally to bear considerable pressure; and
foxes will then take refuge in any small spinnies, or
sometimes even in a strong hedgerow. They will,
however, seldom if ever lie actually in the open; as
after October there is not even the shelter of a stubble
to protect them.

The fences of the Burstow vale are almost entirely
bank-and-ditch — not difficult for a hunter taught in
the country, but just such as must bring to grief a
horse whose education has been limited to jumping
everything he meets at a fly. Hazel, or sometimes
thorn, is grown on the banks ; but the hedge itself is
less of an obstacle than a blind, being as a rule merely
loose growers, trimmed or straggling. But the ditch
may be broad ; the bank the same, and high ; and a
hunter has to jump the one, alighting on the other.
A shortlegged horse, with a muscular back and his
full allowance of ribs, is the style of mount for the
Burstow vale, and he will do well enough also for the
Forest. It is an excellent country to make a tyro into
a horseman ; but it is not an easy one over which to
teach a young horse and see the sport at the same
time. It should be mentioned that the vale in question
is exceptionally level throughout, a fact that in itself
leads to the deep ground proving less severe upon
horses than if it were more undulating.

In spite of not advertising the vale fixtures, the
Saturday field is often quite as large as convenient,
to itself and for sport — though, as all things go by

The Burstow. 169

comparison, tlie number of seventy or eighty will
scarcely represent the idea of a crowd to a man who
may happen to have to take his lot elsewhere among
hundreds. And as with hundreds, so with seventies,
it seldom happens that each one of these is a
subcriber.

" The Forest/^ though as above-mentioned no
longer an unbroken tract of woodland, is only partly
under cultivation — considerable portions of it still
remaining in wood and heath. Here and there a
patch of bog or swamp is still to be fouud ; and in
neighbourhoods where such are known to exist it
behoves a rider to fight shy of rush or mossy grass.
But there are gentlemen''s seats and pretty parks in,
and around, the Forest — and in all as much, perhaps,
of open ground as of timbered covert. If not popular
with the outside public (and seldom do a score attend
hounds here) this district is very valuable to the Hunt,
being capital schooling ground for hounds, and where
few of the restrictions in vogue on so many shooting
preserves are allowed to hold. The hounds can thus
go in the Forest almost where and when the Master
chooses. Lord Sheffield, though he does not himself
hunt, is one of the country^s main supporters; and
" Sheffield Forest '' is some of the most favourite
ground on this side. And the same cordial help is
given to the Hunt by Sir Spencer Wilson, the adjoin-
ing proprietor (who, as well as his sons, takes an
active share in the sport), by Mr. Hardy of Danehurst,
and by Lord Delawarr at Buckhurst. Another who
renders the greatest service to the Hunt on the Forest
side is Mr. Cutler of Fletching, a farmer and good old

170 The Hunting Countries of England,

sportsman^ who is always working in tlie interests of
fox hunting. Fletching is, perhaps, the farthest
meet of the Forest ; but it is difficult to say exactly
where the southern boundary line is drawn.

It will be understood that to map out all the meets
of a Hunt that purposely refrains from advertising,
would be superfluous if not out of place. It may, how-
ever, be allowable to note a few of the principal fixtures
on either side of the country. Thus in the vale, and
near Eedhill Junction, is Salford^s Gate, with various
nice little coverts at hand and the probability of getting
to Burstow Park. Petridge Wood (Mr. Maple's) is
als ) near ; and a safe, unfailing find is Ham Roughet
(of which, if I mistake not, Mr. Morrison, the
esteemed secretary of the Hunt, has the shooting).
The same may be said of South Hale, which is cared
for by Mr. James Elliott, one of the oldest and
staunchest supporters. South Hale is a covert com-
posed of some three or four patches of furze running
one into the other. " The Bell,^' Outwood, is a very
sporting meet with a good covert. Dorman^s Land is
another place of meeting, and the Lagham coverts on
the farm of Mr. Mills are exceedingly well cared for —
as are those of Mr. Hooker, jun., at Crowhurst. From
Dorman^s Land, too, they reach the coverts of St.
Pierre, where another tenant farmer and sportsman of
old standing — Mr. Hamlin — secures the well-being of
the Hunt. From "The Duke's Head,'' Copthorn,
they draw Felbridge and Cuttandly, a great strong-
hold in the hands of Mr. Gatty. Finally — before
leaving the subject of the vale — it must not be left
unwritten that the Kennels, their arrangements and

The Burstow. 171

surroundings, are still looked after by Mr. Hooker
(now in his eightieth year), who for so many seasons
made the woodlands ring, and who still drives out in
his carriage to holloa a fox over a road with a voice
that age has robbed of none of its power and rich-
ness.

In the Forest, or, rather, on the borders of it, are
the meets of Holtye or Markbeach, near which are
some good coverts of Mr. Clay's, of Ford Manor, of
Mr. Smith's of Haramerwood, and Mr. Talbot of Fal-
conhurst. Withyham is advertised for Lord Delawarr's
preserves, and further on into the Forest proper is
Forest Row, for Mr. Larnach's coverts, Hindleap
Warren, (Mr. Fresh field's), Broadstone Warren, and
Pippingford (Mr. Grey's). Then there is the "Shef-
field Arms" for Lord Sheffield's estate and that of Sir
Spencer Wilson ; and Skeynes Hill for Mr. Grantham's
and Mr. Hardy's coverts. Horstead Keynes and
Hoathly are other Wednesday meets — and with these
our sketch may come to a conclusion.

172 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE HUEWOUTH,^

Oeiginally a part of tlie famous Eaby country, the
Hurworth first started into independence about half a
century ago. The old Earl of Darlington (as distinct
from the subsequent Duke of Cleveland) used to range,
with one pack and a limited establishment of horses,
over a territory that included part of the present
North Durham, all the South Durham, Lord Zetland^s,
the Bedale, the Hurworth, and (missing the Bramham
Moor) most of the Badsworth countries. To this day
the Hurworth, Lord Zetland^ s, and the Bedale, continue
to wear the black collar of the Raby. The history of
the Hurworth, in a few lines, is as follows. The
brothers Wilkinson, of Neasham Abbey, first started
the separate pack — the one acting as huntsman, the
other as whip. The next name of note in its annals
is that of Mr. Frank Coates, whose fame as an amateur
huntsman was wide and pronounced. Some time
afterwards Mr. Tom Parrington — whose talent and
judgment on the flags are still fully recognised — carried
the horn for two seasons. Mr. J. Cookson of Neasham
(the breeder of many famous racehorses — Mincemeat,

* See Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Hurworth. 173

Kettledrum, Dundee, Regal, St. Louis, among others)
was then master till 1873, when Lord Castlereagh
took them for two years. Major Godman had them
for four seasons ; since which Mr. Cookson has again
held the mastership.

The position of the Hurworth country is half in
Durham, half in the North Riding of Yorkshire, and
it runs north and south, with the Bedale and Lord
Zetland^s on its western border, the Cleveland and
Sinnington on its eastern. With the two former
Hunts it shares the stiff clay vale running between
the Westmoreland Hills on the one side and the high
moorlands of North Yorkshire on the other. The
course of the railway from Northallerton northwards,
to either Preston junction or Darlington, offers a fair
insight into the description of ground to which the
Hurworth confine their operations. The frowning
crags of the Hambleton Hills are included in the
south of their country ; but they are held to be as
unhuntable as they are unrideable, and so, in point of
fact, the Hurworth hounds are confined strictly to the
well-watered vale below. Rivers and brooks wind
about the lowland almost as freely where it belongs to
the Hurworth as where it is hunted by the Bedale or
Lord Zetland^s. The Tees flows past tbe Kennels and
across the north of the country, dividing Durham from
Yorkshire — a wide river with few bridges and fewer
fords. The Leven and its wooded banks — which the
stranger in his ignorance might credit with being
the home of numberless foxes — winds down half its
length ] the Wisk cuts across its centre, and down its
western border ; while the Cod and other minor

174 The Hunting Countries of England.

streams find their way to its southern limits. The
Tees is such a size that foxes will seldom face it : but
the Leven does not possess such terrors for them, and
consequently proves the more frequent evil of the two.
Its forty feet of water may not check a flying fox, but
forms a complete stopper to the most resolute pursuer
who may have to gallop round a mile or two to regain
the pack if he can find it. The same opportunity is
often enough presented by the Wisk ; and consequently
it is by no means an uncommon occurrence for hounds
to be lost to their field for a period indefinite and
anxious.

The strong clay of the Hurworth Country carries a
steady scent. The greater proportion of the ground
is under the plough ; but grass is freely scattered
about, and is especially prevalent in the south — or
Northallerton — district. This latter, indeed, were only
foxes always forthcoming, might lay claim to being
the choicest corner in Yorkshire. Corner is the
appropriate term, as it is hemmed in by the Hamble-
ton Hills on the one side, and railways, road, and
Eiver Wisk on the other. The last-named is a source
of discomfort common to both Hurworth and Bedale —
as it is unjumpable, unfordable, and sparsely bridged,
yet seems to present no obstacle to foxes. But from,
say, Hutton^s Plantations, in the other direction — to
the hills — means as pretty a scurry as is to be had in
the county. It is a fact that establishes beyond doubt
the scenting properties of much of the North of
England soil, that hounds can almost always carry a
line on the plough, and never fail to run on the grass.
Such a thing as a pack throwing up in the middle of a

The Hurworth, 175

grass field — everyday occurrence as it is in the Shires
— is almost unknown in the Hurworth Country, and
very rare anywhere in Northumberland, Durham,
or North Yorkshire. On the contrary, the sight
of a patch of green turf in front is always cheering
to the eyes of a huntsman, whose hounds have been
puzzling their way under difficulties. '^ Now we shall
get on" is a certainty; the pack freshens up, the
music rises, and life is at once lent to the proceedings.
The Hambleton Hills have none of the green slopes,
which adorn the edge of the moorlands rising upwards
from Lord Zetland's country and the Bedale ; but they
start up at once with steep rocky face, all beyond
being rough, unenclosed heather and moor. With a
full supply of foxes, the flat vale of the Hurworth
would be most sporting ground : for it is a good
country for hounds and above the average for horse-
men. But it is badly ofi" for coverts ; and from
various causes it is in some parts difficult to get foxes
preserved as they should be. There are very many
small freeholders ; and it has not always been found
possible to ensure a community of opinionfon a subject
that more than any other calls for the agreement of
good fellowship. As one instance in proof. All the
whin coverts of the north have suSered heavily under
the severe winters of recent years. But, where
coverts fail. Lord Zetland, just over the border, can
draw the fallows and make sure of a find in any half-
hour of the day. It is not so with the Hurworth.
They have some few good coverts on their Durham
ground ; and there are little places anxiously watched
and cared for in all parts of the country. But within

176 The Hunting Countries of England.

reach of the hills, foxes soon leave the slender coverts
of the vale for the safety of the moorlands ; while the
north-west and its fine riverside coverts do little to
provide the means of sport — and, as a consequence,
the prolonged area of the Hurworth country is no
more than equal to its two days a week.

The little town of Croft, on the North-Eastern Eail-
way, between Northallerton and Darlington, stands
out as the Melton Mowbray of the north. A choice
of four packs, and every temptation to ride to covert
five days out of the week, may well entitle it to the
name. The Hurworth Kennels are close to its gates ;
and the best of the South Durham, of Lord Zetland's,
and of the Bedale is close at hand. Witness the pro-
gramme— Monday, Lord Zetland, in the neighbour-
hood of his own place and kennels. Tuesday, a choice
between the Hurworth near at home, in their north
country, and Lord Zetland on his Piercebridge side.
Wednesday becomes the only difficulty; and every
second week this is met by the South Durham being
about the Bradbury and Windlestone district. On a
Thursday Lord Zetland meets, generally within five
miles, in the direction of Clifi", &c. Friday finds not
only the South Durham in their nearest and best
country, but the Bedale in their Scorton Vale — the
pick of their ground ; while on a Saturday the
Hurworth go down towards Northallerton and Lord
Zetland is on the grassy slopes of Streatlarn and
neighbourhood. What more do you want, but plenty
of horses — and Melton itself? Croft, again, is set
down by many people as having been the Handley
Cross of Mr. Surtees' creation : and for proof they

The HurwortK 177

point out that not only is the country round very
much of the class we have learned to connect with
that typical Hunt, but that Mr. Pigg's famous songs
were chiefly culled here. As against this, we read
little or nothingf in the annals of Jorrocks to lead one
to suppose that foxhunting was to be had with other
packs than his own — though, for that matter, it is
only fair to conclude from what we read, that Xerxes
and Arterxerxes had their work fully cut out for them
near home, without being taken afield in search of
variety. At any rate. Croft is nowadays a favourite
hunting centre, to which the north-countrymen look
for change of scene and variety of excellent sport. It
is about an hour and a half^s journey from York, two
hours from Newcastle, and between five and six hours
from London.

The Hurworth is not a difficult country to cross,
though calling for a hunter — and a stout one. The
hedges are not laid, but are either trimmed or left
ragged — the latter being the more prevalent plan in
the north, while in the south the fences are found
much lower and the range of vision is consequently
more untrammelled. The ditches are deep, often
wide, and occasionally double. The ground gets very
deep and holding ; and a horse must be short-legged
and short-backed to make his way fairly over it.
Timber is a rare obstacle ; but water very frequent
(though more often in the form of boggy ditches or
bottoms than fair brooks). Strength and pluck are
therefore very essential attributes. Good breeding is
a recognised advantage in every sphere. And, again,
few horsemen care to ride behind bad shoulders ; but.

178 The Hunting Countries of England.

should necessity compel tlie experiment, it would
surely be safer where top binders do not exist, and
strong rails are almost unknown.

The Hurworth hounds get the best of their blood at
different times from the Brocklesby, Mr. Musters,
Hon. Mark Rolle, and Lord Portman — sources all
tending to power of nose and the best working
qualities. The field that accompanies them is at all
times rather a small one ; but includes in its numbers
a strong sprinkling of farmers who have the interests
of the Hunt thoroughly at heart.

The hunting days of the Hurworth are Tuesday
and Saturday. The former, being for the north of
the country, brings out people from Darlington and
Stockton ; and so ensures the larger fields. The
north, too, as already mentioned, has the strongest
coverts. Of these, Fighting Cocks whin (a gorse of
some fourteen or fifteen acres) is quite one of the
main strongholds ; and the foxes from it often run
far into the Durham territory. On a par with it is
Elton whin — the property of Mr. John Sutton of
Elton, who is a staunch preserver for both Hunts (the
Hurworth and South Durham). For each of these
good coverts Fighting Cocks is the usual meet.
Close to Darlington are the Blackwell Plantations,
from which some great runs have dated; and the
fixture, with a view to drawing these, and other small
places in the neighbourhood, is probably Croft Bridge.
Coming South of the River Tees, into Yorkshire, we
find the meet of High Worsall Tollbar, having Worsall
whin and another stronghold — Beverley Wood. The
latter (the property of Mrs. Blackett, of Sockburn,) is

The Hurworth. 179

a capital fastness by the riverside. The Tees flows
just underneath it, and it is a difficult place to get
away from ; but foxes seldom cross the river into
Durham. Crathorne is another meet, leading to
Picton Plantations, which often hold a fox.

Saturday takes them into the south, and the best of
their country. Deighton and Welbury are two good
meets for the same district. From Deighton whin
they frequently run into the Bedale country, for
instance, to Hutton Bonville, &c., while from Welbury
— where the gorse has been down for some years, but
where Lord Harewood is now making a fine new whin
— they have had many good runs up to the hills.

Northallerton, with a fox assured, is held to be one
of the best meets in Yorkshire. Hutton's Plantations
often produce a straight fox that will set his head for
the hills — for Mr. Hutton is a keen preserver, and
does his utmost to have the all-needful animal at
home. The Crosby Plantations give another good
chance ; and so does Bullamore Winn (well cared for
by Mr. Oliver, a farmer). Cotclifie Wood — a great
hillside wood — is a very strong place ; while quite on
the southern edge of the country is a '^ willow garth /^
from which more than one gallop has emanated. The
only places on the hills themselves, to which hounds
ever resort, are Thimbleby and Arncliffe Wood on the
edge of the moors.

180 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE CATTISTOCK.*

The south-west quarter of the very sporting county
of Dorset forms the Cattistock Country — the Black-
moor Vale being immediately to the north of it, while
the East Dorset and Mr. Radcliffe's (The South Dorset)
take up the rest of the Shire. The sea bounds it on
the south j and Crewkerne, Bridport, Weymouth, and
Dorchester are towns defining its borders. A single
brief sentence will convey a very fair idea of the
Cattistock — as far as the nature of its ground is
concerned. It consists of an upland centre of closed
down, with a strip of rich vale at the foot on every
side — save on part of its eastern frontier. The down
is hilly and chalky, with a surface of grassy sheepwalk
and light barley land ; the vale is rich soil, devoted
almost entirely to dairy farming. The hills are divided
into enclosures of fifty to a hundred acres : the vale is
laid out in little meadows which call for jumping
incessantly. Old Jim Treadwell, who died soon after
his master, Mr. Farquharson — the latter, be it remem-
bered, having hunted the whole of Dorsetshire at his
own expense for upwards of sixty years — was wont to

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 20 ; and Hobson's
Foxhiinting Atlas.

The CattistocL 181

say tliat the Cattistock district was as well preserved,
that its foxes were as strong, and that it carried as
good a scent as any part of the county. The low
country seldom denies a scent ; the upper ground — at
least the arable of it — should have rain-puddles lying
on its surface to be really seen at its best. The hills
are as steep and trying as those of the Cotswold — and
if the fences avail in any degree to keep hounds back
to horses, they act in an opposite direction in calling
upon the latter for a strong effort when they are least
able to afford it. Still it is always well within the
bounds of possibility for a good horse to live with
hounds over the Cattistock Hills — and, if he can do
this and travel the vale creditably besides, he is equal
to holding his own in any country. Breeding he must
have, and strength. Irish education, or at all events
Irish instinct, is wanted — for with the Cattistock, as
in the Blackmoor Yale, hindlegs have by no means
completed their office when they have given the first
propulsion. They must ^^kick back^"* to the razor
banks on the hills, and they may often be called upon
to dwell a moment before making a second spring
from the broader banks of the vale. The former
fences have often a double ditch ; while the latter —
especially in the actual vale of Blackmoor (a small
corner of which is hunted by the Cattistock) — are
distinguished by having a ditch and a drop on the one
side, the other side being a higher level of unbroken
ground till the bank is reached. On hill and in vale
alike the top of the bank is surmounted with ash or
hazel growth, which on the hills is generally cut-and-
laid j and a horse must be thoroughly bold to face such

VOL. II. o

182 The Hunting Countries of England.

a combination in every aspect which it may present to
him. A good deal of timber^ again, is met with every-
where ; mostly in the form of draw-rails in lieu of
gateways ; such as in Sussex are termed " bar ways/*
while here they come under the title of 'Hhree
bars.^^

But the great feature of the Cattistock Hunt is that
its main strength is derived from the tenant farmers.
With the exception of the large estates belonging to a
very few resident landowners (who themselves lend all
possible assistance to the cause of foxhunting), the
whole country is not only let out in large farms, but
the coverts (mostly small gorses, plantations, and
woods) with the shooting are allowed to go with the
holdings. The preservation of foxes, consequently,
lies almost entirely with the tenant farmers — and right
loyally do they carry out their mission. They nearly
all follow the chase ; and they one and all look after
the foxes as carefully as they do their flocks. A
poultry-fund they have never allowed to exist ; earth-
stopping is taken entirely into their own hands ; and
to fail to find a fox on a man^s holding is to him in the
light of a personal calamity. Half the field (never a
large one, save occasionally in the neighbourhood of
Weymouth, where it may rise to a hundred and fifty
horsemen) is made up of farmers.

Of the leading resident landowners — there is Lord
Ilchester, whose property of Drivend Melbury lies in
an angle of vale on the north, and includes the Mel-
bury woodlands (where as many as thirteen litters of
foxes are said to have been bred in a season). The
Kennels of the Hunt are close to Melbury; Mr.

The CattistoeL 183

CodringtoD^ the late Master, living at Evershot hard
by. Lord Digby (the chairman and father of the
Hunt — and a truly popular sportsman) lives at Min-
terne Magna, and lias coverts and woodlands for miles
round — with foxes abundant enough for every week if
necessary. Lord Sandwich (who is also a well-wisher
to the Cattistock Hunt) has ten or twelve thousand
acres in a ring fence about Hook Manor House — his
principal coverts being Hook Park and Witherstone.

The Cattistock first started into existence as a
separate country about 1861, when Mr J. J. Far-
quharson gave up hunting the entire county. Lord
Poltimore hunted it for twelve years at his own
expense ; and on his retirement Mr. Codrington took
it with a subscription. After five years, he gave it up
for a single season, Capt. McNaghten taking his place.
Resuming it again the next year, Mr. Codrington has
held it till 1882, honoured and appreciated. Lord
Guildford now succeeds him, undertaking to hunt the
country twice a week (with a possibility of more).
His pack will consist of twenty-five couple from Mr.
Codrington, with a draft from the Kennel of the late
Duke of Grafton, and help from other equally good
sources.

To hunt with the Cattistock, Dorchester is a quarter
commanding most of the country, and offering equal
opportunities of joining Mr. Radclyffe. It is a military
station, credited with a battery of artillery and a
brigade-depot. The soldiers never fail to attend
regularly at covertside parade ; and, as Dorchester is
within about four hours of London (Waterloo), it is
altogether a popular quarter. Weymouth, too, has

o2

184 The Hunting Countries of England.

its military contingent^ and some portion of the fleet,
and being of itself a place of considerable size, does a
great deal to swell tbe field when hounds are in the
neighbourhood. If, however, a man would restrict
himself mainly to the Cattistock, he would in all
probability fix upon Maiden Newton as his hunting
centre.

It should be noted that Mr. Radclyfi'e has always
shown himself the truest of friends and best of
neighbours to the Cattistock Hunt. It is to him they
owe the permission they enjoy to draw the Wootton
Glanville corner of the Vale of Blackmoor. Though
now upwards of seventy years ^^of age, and unable to
take any share in the chase beyond driving to an
occasional meet, he still maintains his pack and
establishment for the amusement of others on a scale
as liberal and efficient as ever.*

It has always been found more convenient to
arrange the Cattistock meets according to passing
requirement and convenience than upon any fixed
principle of allotting certain districts to certain days.
In giving some few of the chief meets and draws, it
may be as well to note the class of ground on which
they severally fall. To commence with, there is what
is known as the Somerset vale on the north-west — stiff
deep and open lowland, strongly fenced with banks
and doubles, and seldom a gap to be seen. The
coverts are woods of considerable strength, and the

* Since the above was written this fine old sportsman has
been gathered to his forefathers. His youngest son has suc-
ceeded him in the Mastership.

The Cattistoek. 185

foxes are wild and stout. The Taunton vale country
touches the Cattistock in this direction, and offers a
fine open area for a travelling fox. The principal
meets are North Perrot, for Coker Wood and Hasel-
bury Park, and Winyards Gap for Somersetshire Holt,
&c. Between the vale and the hills — or rather where
the vale works in re-entering angles into the hill — is
the fixture of Rampisham House (the residence of an
excellent friend to the sport, Mr. Arthur Martin), the
main coverts being Rampisham Big Wood, Wraxall
Wood, and the smaller Wood of Inn Park.

Bordering on Blackmoor Yale territory, and on
ground similar to the best of that Hunt, is the meet of
Glanville^s Wootton, with Mr. Dale's good coverts of
Woodfalls, Wootton Wood, and Round Chimnies, &c. ;
and in the Cattistock territory proper is that of Drive-
end Melbury (Lord Ilchester's, for Briars Wood, The
Brick Kiln, and the Melbury coverts).

There is vale again on the west, by Bridport. But
the district between Bridport and Beaminster is
seldom visited, while beyond it to the west is
altogether unhunted ground.

But the favourite country of the Hunt — the apple
of its eye — is the Waddon Vale on the sea border to
the south. This is nearly all grass, in the form of dairy
meadows; its coverts are all small — nothing larger
than ten acres of gorse or hazel existing ; and, limited
as is its breadth, it is productive of frequent and
charming sport. Its backbone is found in the Hardy
Monument Coverts — some hundreds of acres of
scattered gorse, on the brow of the hill. These form
a most invaluable nursery, whence foxes roam, or are

186 The Hunting Countries of England.

driven by constant attention, into tlie vale below.
The best known meet on tlie low ground is Buckland
Ripers — and the whole of the fine vale extending to
Bridport may come into use from here. Buckland
Wood and Dairy House Coppice are two of the chief
coverts in the neighbourhood.

Coming to the Hills we find the Cern Abbas and
Mintern downs marked by a free scattering of surface
flints, which, however, become less frequent as we get
on to Lord Wynford^s property at Wynford Eagle.
There are several fine coverts on this estate, notably
Wynford Wood and Wynholds. Meeting at Hook
Park again (Lord Sandwich's), they draw the Park,
Witherstone, Powerstock Common, &c. East Comp-
ton (the property of Mr. Edward Williams) is a
favourite place of meeting; and the Withybed is a
certain find. The Coach and Horses, Winterbourne
(kept by John Daw, late stud groom to Mr. Codring-
ton), is a common rendezvous for most of the Dor-
chester district; and points to the Hardy Monument
Coverts and various minor gorses — The Monument
itself being also often named. Much of the property
hereabouts, it should have been mentioned, belongs to
Lord Alington. Kingston Russell is the property of
the Duke of Bedford ; and under the care of his
tenants provides many a certain find. Finally, near
Bridport is the meet of the Traveller's Rest, with
coverts round Askerswell and Eggardon Hill — and the
usual opening meet of the season is the Bradford
Plantations (Mr. Middleton's).

The Suffolk 187

THE SUFFOLK.*

The Suffolk Hounds hunt over a wide expanse of
plough, to the north of the East Essex and the Essex-
and-Suffolk countries. They touch the Cambridge-
shire, just beyond Newmarket Heath ; but on nearly
three sides they have no neighbours. The Cambridge-
shire fens place a wide gulf between them and the
Milton ; Mr. Hammond^s (the West Norfolk) pack is
far away to the north, with a broad district intervening
that knows no other sport than shooting; while the
Waveney has relinquished a brief existence. With a
three-days-a^week pack, the Suffolk cover an area
nearly fifty miles across, say, from Needham Market
nearly to the town of Cambridge.

It is pleasant, doubtless, to find raids from other
countries seldom coming over the border, and an
advantage it must be, too, that the favourite draw
mapped out for to-morrow is rarely, if ever, spoilt by
the successful inroad of a neighbour to-day. But even
to this advantage a compensating evil is attached. A
fox run out of the country stands little chance of
being driven back again ; and he is more likely to

* Vide Stanford's " "Hunting Map," Sheets 16 and 17, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

188 The Hunting Countries of England.

remain in security (or otherwise) than to tempt fate
by returning to his old haunts. In other words, he
gets outside the range of country hunted, and either
remains there in peace or, what is much more probable,
falls a victim to a keeper. Consequently, as the
season advances, the Suffolk country often finds many
good coverts unoccupied, and has to face a pronounced
diflSculty in the form of scarcity of foxes.

Suffolk is, for the most part, so admirably adapted
for game breeding, that it is difficult for those who go
thither for shooting purposes to recognise that the
country should also be credited with foxhunting func-
tions. The residents see it strongly. But it so
happens that, while farm rents have of late years been
so often represented by the algebraic x, shooting rents,
on the contrary, have always been fixed quantities.,
easily obtainable. Thus many landlords have let
houses and game to the stranger; the stranger comes
thither to find partridge and pheasant, and Mr.
Velveteen^s orders, positive enough in reference to
these, are too often discretionary (if seldom actually
negative) with regard to the fox. As a matter of fact,
no county, subordinate to the plough, is better fitted
for foxhunting in its fairest form than Suffolk. Its
coverts are plentiful, without being too extensive or too
thickly packed ; the country is open and sound, and
everywhere either level or gently undulating. The
fences, bank and ditch, are pleasantly rideable without
being insignificant, and are frequent enough for the
most greedy of jumpers. If foxes were but plentiful,
there would be room enough in Suffolk for three more
packs of foxhounds; and Yorkshire itself would

The Suffolk, 189

scarcely put it to shame. The late Mr. Osbaldeston
was wont to say that " a better plough-country did
not exist in England.''^ He hunted the Thurlow
district (south of Newmarket), at the same time as
he did the Pytchley country — keeping hacks posted
on the road, and riding his forty-five miles each way
for the two days a week he could spare from the
Pytchley.

There are of course very many residents still at
home in their places in SuflFolk ; and these are nearly
all unanimous in giving their support to foxhunting.
But, where good districts and bad dovetail closely
into one another, it is difficult indeed to whisper
caution into reynard's ear and bid him stay where his
only danger is notified him by the merry music of the
pack. The farmers are enthusiastically in favour of
foxhunting — though recent reverses have sadly
diminished their numbers on horseback at the covert
side.

The Kennels are at the residence of the Master, Mr.
Walter Grreene, in Bury St. Edmunds, or rather, on
the very edge of the old town — the entrance being
into a main street, the outlook at the back being over
a green country unbroken by brick and mortar. The
Kennels, built by him, are, though small, of the
neatest and most complete description. The nose,
inured to the vis odoro canum — and hoilum — is startled
by the entire absence of the ofi*ending vapours with
which nine kennels out of ten are ever reeking. Many
Masters of Hounds, it is true, have of late adopted
odourless boilers on their premises ; but many hunts-
men care little to what height the meat to be cooked

190 The Hunting Countries of England,

may have attained. Again, the kennel floors of the
Suffolk are all of glazed tiles closely cemented, with a
good result that must be obvious. A deep bath, through
which the hounds have to swim on their return from
hunting, is another addition not commonly met with,
though the advantages of it often form subject of
discussion, and very many masters dispense with it on
principle. Plenty of dry straw, and a warm lodging
house, should, however, I imagine, serve to obviate
any objections to the use of the bath. The present
pack owns a great deal of Fitzwilliam material — the
remainder being chiefly from Lord Coventry's Kennel,
with part of the late Suffolk pack as a foundation.
Mr. Greene has only had them for the last two years —
having been forced, in consequence of a severe
accident, to resign the mastership in 1875 — previous
to which he had hunted the hounds for four years.
With harriers, staghounds, or foxhounds, Mr. Greene
has, with this single intermission, carried a horn since
1864. Mr. Josselyn, who is a fine old sportsman, and
had previously held the mastership for many years,
took over the Suffolk country during the interval of
Mr. Greene's withdrawal.

The north of the country has a much lighter
description of soil than the south — being in many
parts sandy and flinty, while a great deal of the south
is a strong clay. It is needless to say that the latter
carries usually the better scent ; though, as applies to
similar soil elsewhere, the former may hold a scent at
the most unexpected times. The inclosures northward
are often more extensive than further south, where
you sometimes find yourself called upon for a jump

The Suffolk. 191

every hundred yards. The fences all stand upon
banks, the earth being thrown up to a height of two
or three feet, and the single ditch dug to a con-
siderable width and a great depth. The hedges —
sometimes thorn alone, sometimes thorn and hazel
intermingled — are seldom so closely kept but that
weak and open places are forthcoming ; for it is
obvious that to separate wheat from beans, or even to
keep English sheep within bounds requires no such
height and strength of fence as where cattle are to be
herded. The ditches alone, however, demand a good
jump ; and though it may be often possible to walk on
to the bank before springing across the ditch, it is
more frequently necessary to drop the hindlegs alone
in passing over, thus securing impetus enough to
cover everything. The fences of the Essex Ruthins,
close at hand, can often be taken at a fly ; but the
Sufi'olk banks call for a double jump, and a slow
canter will generally be found the best pace at which
to approach them, even when the hounds are running
fast.

A strong, stout horse, who has been taught to go
on-and-off, will carry a man over the country, not
only in safety but pretty nearly wherever hounds will
lead him. Tall horses are out of place ; and breeding,
though so useful when deep ground has to be encoun-
tered, must not be accompanied by length of leg.
Water is not often met with, though there are one
or two brooks which often lead to merriment and
small disaster. The chief, perhaps the only, timber
jumping, called for is by the stiles and gateways.
The latter, always low and feasible, are very commonly

192 The Hunting Countries of England.

in the form of " lifts/^ i.e., frames of gates without
hinges,, slipping into their place as draw rails. Grass
is only found here and there as an occasional meadow ;
and, indeed^ does not appear to enter into the calcu-
lations of the Suffolk farmers. The coverts, as
afore-mentioned, are of a most manageable size.
Perhaps only two in the country are over a hundred
acres, viz., Fakenham Wood on the Duke of Grafton's
property, and Muntz Park (belonging to Mr. Josselyn),
close to Bury St. Edmunds. They are of natural
growth, such a thing as an artificial gorse being-
unknown ; and the rides, though sometimes deep,
compare well with those of woodlands generally.

Bury St. Edmunds is, by position, as well as cir-
cumstance, the centre of the Hunt ; and is, it may
be mentioned, three hours' travel from London.
Newmarket is also well within its boundaries, and
supplies material for its largest fields — many of the
trainers and jockeys (occasionally too, some of the
Cambridge undergraduates) turning out to meets in
the Thurlow district. Thus the field on these
occasions often mounts up to nearly a hundred
horsemen.

As may be imagined, cubhunting, in a country
whose first passion and object is shooting, is often
a matter of difficulty, especially in the north ; and,
indeed, there are many coverts which hounds, though
eventually welcome, are barred from entering until
after the game has been shot.

The days of hunting for the Suffolk are Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday — the firstnamed being for
the north-east of the country, the other two days for

The Suffolk, 193

the south of Bury St. Edmunds, and the north-west
corner being seldom visited. The opening meet of
the season is Nether Hall, the seat of Mr. E. Greene,
M.P., father of the Master. On the property is
Pakenham Wood, and close to the house an osier bed,
in which a fox is generally to be found. A good
fox-preserving neighbour hard by is, among others,
Mr. Huddleston, who has some more nice coverts.
Within a mile or two is Stowlangtoft, the property
of Mr. A. Wilson — a fine place with some beautiful
coverts. This has been recently let to Lord Wilton,
whose active sympathy with foxhunting is so well
known that his coming cannot but be an omen of
good. Euston Hall is a large domain of the Duke of
Grrafton^s in the light sandy soil of the far north, with
the five-hundred-acre covert of Pakenham Wood upon
it, and Ampton (Mr. J. Paley's) and Livermere (Miss
Brookes) in the neighbourhood. Nearer the lower
and deeper country comes the meet of Norton Dog
for Norton Wood — an excellent covert where foxes
are always found, and whence they always travel.
At Brent Eleigh Hall are some small nice coverts of
Mr. Brown^s, which are neutral with the Essex and
Suffolk ; and Finboro^ Hall (Major Pettyward^s) has
similar coverts in a closely inclosed, and a good
scenting, country. Mr. G. H. Wilson, too, of Red-
grave Hall, generally shows a fox.

Thursday is given to the Thurlow district, the best
preserved and most sporting ground of the Hunt.
Thurlow Town is a favourite meet, whence is drawn
the well-known Trundley Wood, which three or four
years ago was bought by Mr. W. H. Smith (late First

194 The Hunting Countries of England.

Lord of the Admiralty) — a steady friend to the chase.
Brinkley Hall is the residence of Mr. W. King_, a most
invaluable assistant to the Hunt^ whose two little
coverts were for the last six-and-twenty times never
drawn blank. Weston Colville, held by Mr. Slater,
has three first-rate coverts^ sure finds. From
Withersfield they draw The Lawn, a good wood
belonging to Mr. Mayd, who also is very friendly to
foxhunting. Sir Robert Affleck, of Dalham Hall,
preserves foxes heartily.

Horseheath Mill is a meet at the extreme edge of
the country, with the draws of Borley and Balsam (a
quarter of a mile apart). The former covert is college
property, the shooting of which has been recently
taken by a keen foxhunter, Mr. G. Ainslie, of Cam-
bridge. Balsam belongs to Mr. Watson, who is also
a well-wisher to the Hunt. From Great Wratting,
again, are drawn some coverts belonging to the
Brothers Frost, and which join Mr. Slater^s coverts.
Branches Park, a beautiful place and a popular meet,
is the seat of Mr. Simpson, who, again, is most
friendly and zealous. Kirtling Tower is for Lucy
Wood, &c., which are in the good hands of Col.
North. Stetchworth Park with its large coverts —
e.g.y Ditton Park — is leased by Lord Ellesmere, and
has seldom failed to provide material. About a mile
from here Mr. G. Robinson, of Dullingham Park, has
very large coverts, now rented by Mr. Stirling Craw-
furd.

Saturday is almost always spent either near the
kennels or a little to the east of them, for instance —
Haughley Station for Gipping Wood, the property of

The Suffolk. 195

Col. Tyrell of Plashwood, a fine old sportsman. From
Felsham Green hounds go to Thorpe Wood, sixty or
seventy acres of Mr. Sparrow^s — a good preserver,
who lives in Essex. On a Saturday, too, they go to
Hominger Green. Lord BristoFs large property is of
immense service to the hunt ; for his lordship, though
not hunting himself, does all he can to further the
interests of foxhunting. At Rushbrook Hall, too, the
residence of Mr. Rusbrook, another good supporter,
is a capital covert called The Link. Close to the
Kennels is Hardwick Wood (Mr. Gibson Cullum),
where foxes and pheasants alike are always to be
found. Plumpton House (Mr. W. Bevan) has nice
coverts and foxes. At Melford Hall lives SirWilham
Parker, a really good friend to the chase ; and his
best covert is Lineage. Capt. Starkie Bence^s coverts
at Kentwell are also close at hand, and have seldom
failed to show foxes of recent years.

196 The Hunting Countries of England,

THE SHROPSHIRE*

In the present Shropshire country are included the
two divisions north and south of the town of Shrews-
bury, that in the maps referred to are coloured in
as The North Shropshire and The Shrewsbury
respectively. Lord Hill, the present Master, hunted
the whole between the years 1866-^69. He then
relinquished the Shrewsbury side to Mr. Robert
Burton, and the country was split into two. Lord Hill
still hunting the north side till 1877, when Sir
Vincent Corbet became Master. In 1881 Lord Hill
again assumed the direction of an united Hunt. His
Lordship was wont to carry the horn himself; but of
this his health does not now allow, and a huntsman
does the three-days-a-week work which the country
affords.

Shrewsbury, then, is now the centre-point of The
Shropshire Hunt — its domain extending as far as
Market Drayton, and almost to Whitchurch, in the
north — where Sir Watkin Wynnes, The Cheshire, and
the North Staffordshire run, with it, nearly to a
common apex. The Albrighton bounds it on the

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 13 and 14, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

The Shropshire. 197

east; the Wheatland ou the south-east. Its opera-
tions do not nowadays extend far enough to touch the
United Pack in the south ; while the rugged Welsh
hills are its only limit to the west and south-west.

A less tempting, and consequently less popular,
country than some of its neighbours. The Shropshire,
nevertheless, has much good hunting ground, and at
least reaps the advantage of knowing nothing of such
crowds as often affect the Cheshire and Sir Watkin^s.
It keeps up a pack of hounds for its own amusement,
and its field is entirely home grown. Shrewsbury
people can, except by making use of the railway, get
no hunting with other packs, beyond a day in the
week with Sir Watkin. Whitchurch, just outside the
border, is, of course, an excellent place, commanding
the Shropshire, Sir Watkin, the South Cheshire, and
best meets of the North Staffordshire. Market
Drayton gives nearly the same choice, but lies rather
wider of the best meets. Shrewsbury is at best some
four hours from London (Euston-square) ; the other
two quarters named taking about half an hour longer
to reach.

The Severn cutting its way through the country
naturally makes two divisions of it; which the
features of the ground also tend to maintain. For,
the north of the Severn is in the main a level plain ;
while to the south, when once out of the vale of
Shrewsbury (which forms the bed of the Severn),
you find yourself soon on higher and more broken
country.

Looking at the northern half of the vShropshire, the
question at once suggests itself — '^ Why should it be

VOL. II. p

198 The Hunting Countries of England.

a less fashionable country than some of the others
which immediately surround it V The answer is to
be found in the fact that it cannot offer nearly such
pleasant riding. Whereas almost all of the Cheshire,
and most of Sir Watkin^s, is laid out in goodly turf
and well-kempt fences, the bulk of the Shropshire
soil is turned up by the plough — while its hedges are
cut down, its ditches are overgrown with bramble and
grass, and drainage is in many parts of the most
insufficient description. Thus, Shropshire territory
may be found deep and trappy even where it
approaches closest to some of the cream of Cheshire.
For instance, where it reaches the neighbourhood of
Whitchurch (as for example, about Frees) it has only
wet, and even boggy, ground as its share ;■ whereas on
other sides of the little town some of the soundest
and fairest grass is to be seen. Whitchurch, by the
way, is rapidly establishing itself as a high class
hunting centre — having of late years launched out
freely in the erection of hunting boxes and stabling,
and meeting with a proportionate response.

Below this, however, comes perhaps the pick of
the country — the district stretching across its breadth
by Acton Reynold and Ercall to the North Stafford-
shire and Albrighton boundaries, beyond which, again,
a fox may travel on over some very nice country.
The inclosures of this tract are comparatively large ;
a great deal of grass has been laid down in late years ;
and it is decidedly good scenting ground. As above
noted, the hedges, which at one time were high,
strong, and ragged, have in most instances been cut
down during the last decade, till often only stumps

The Shropshire, 199

and short growth remain, and the ditches have been
allowed to hide themselves in masses of overgrowing
briars. Timber is seldom met with except where a
stile is put down as an adjunct to a footpath — the
latter offering an opportunity of fair sound going that
is not to be missed, the stile at the same time
proffering a jump that is quite as acceptable as a
blind fence and hairy ditch. Water is not frequent ;
but the Ercall Brook leads to a lot of diflBculty, for it
is seldom jumpable ; and getting through it, though
often necessary, is generally an awkward and dirty
process.

Moving south and nearing Shrewsbury, we find a
deep and heavily wooded district surrounding Preston-
Gubballs, Battlefield, and Sundorne — the latter being
the seat of Mr. Corbet, who is also the owner of
Battlefield. The two former are the largest woodlands
of the country ; and are very deep within and without.
But they are good strongholds for foxes, and may lead
to a run over some nice ground in the direction of
Baschurch. The same level to the eastward brings
us to the Wild Moors, a wide extent of wet and
swampy land, intersected by wide open ditches and
patches of bog — and, indeed, scarcely traversable by
a horse, though foxes often take a fancy for crossing
it.

Below the canal, and between it and the river,
is a capital piece of ground from Shrewsbury to
Wellington, but unfortunately short of coverts.
Could a few gorses be set down about Admaston
and Rodington (where at present only a withybed or
two exist) the choicest corner of the country might

p2

200 The Hunting Countries of England.

be drawn into play. As it is there is nothing to draw-
foxes down from The Wrekin on the one side^ or from
Sundorne or Haughmond on the other. The Wrekin
is a great wooded height — a landmark for many miles
— among whose rocky sides a fox is secure from
all attacks and can laugh his pursuers to scorn.
Occasionally a wanderer finds his way down to
Attingham on the river bank, and gives a pleasant
chivvy back to his quarters j but of late this has been
a rarity.

South of the Severn, again, the country at once
assumes a closer and rougher type. The inclosures
are smaller, the hedges grow strong and high, the
ditches are deep, and the banks often rotten. Imme-
diately south of Shrewsbury — say from Bomer to
Acton Burnell — is the pick of this below-river section,
and coming under the head of what the natives term
ffyery good Shropshire country^' — by which they infer,
probably, sporting, good - scenting ground, mostly
plough, and better for hounds than for horsemen.
This district includes from Cound on the riverside,
Pitchford, Condover, and Stapleton to Oaks Wood —
beyond which, again, begin hills and broken ground,
whither hounds are seldom taken.

The Kennels are at Lee Bridge, about ten miles
north of Shrewsbury; and the hounds, formerly the
property of the present master, were bought by the
country on the occasion of his former resignation.
Some of the meets require a long journey by road
(the rail being never used) — Acton Burnell and Loton
Park, for instance, being about twenty miles from
Kennel. Lord HilFs place is Hawkstone, some three

The Shropshire, 201

miles away. His coverts^ whicli are very strong and
extensive, deck the sides of a hill rising by itself to a
height of some 900 feet, and form a point to attract
two out of every three foxes set a' going in the
northern or Monday country.

A strong sturdy hunter must be ridden with the
Shropshire — and one who has learned to creep and
crawl as well as to obey his natural instinct to jump.
He will often have to travel far, even if he does not
often have to journey quick : and so, stoutness is of
more consequence with him than speed. The farmers
were wont to breed many good horses, but appear
to have abandoned the practice in proportion as
straightened circumstances of recent years have
limited their own hunting. However, the farmers
of Shropshire are keen sportsmen, and are gradually
working their way back to their former numbers at
the covertside.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are the hunting-
days — Monday being, as a rule, to the north and
north-east of the kennels ; Friday between the
kennels and the town of Shrewsbury; and Wednesday
below the river.

A few of the Monday meets are — Hodnet (Mr.
Percy^s), with a capital draw in Tunstall Wood and a
nice country stretching away to the east ; Ellerton
(Capt. Maesfield's) ; Hinstock (Mr. Williams') ; Ercall
Heath ; and Peplow (Mr. Stanyer's) ; all in the best
part of the country, and having some good little
coverts in their neighbourhood. Stoke Heath and
Buntingdale (Mr. Tailyour's) are favourite fixtures
near Market Drayton. Tremlows is a choice meet in

202 The Hunting Countries of England.

the extreme nortli — tlie covert itself lying in Sir
Watkin Wynnes territory^ but lent by him to the
Shropshire. Many a good run into Cheshire or Stafford-
shire has had its origin here — though^ as from many of
the other places above mentioned, the chances are in
favour of Hawkstone being reached in the course of
the day.

Friday includes the deep strong woodlands towards
Shrewsbury — Battlefield being usually named when
that stronghold and Preston Grubballs are to be drawn.
Holly Coppice, close to Shrewsbury, is the meet for
Sundorne and Haughmond Hill. These coverts are
chiefly of hazel ; and, as the season gets on, gene-
rally carry a good scent. Acton Reynold (Sir Yincent
Corbet's) is always considered a good meet, leading to
Grinshill (a rough wooded and sandy hill), with
pleasant open ground all round and a prospect of
running to Hardwick (Mr. Bibby^s) or Haughmond
Hill. Leaton Knolls is another strong woodland, and
about Shelf are several big woods. In the Baschurch
neighbourhood is again a nice bit of ground. Meeting
at Walford, they have some coverts of Mr. Eyton^s to
draw ; while at Merrington are several large coverts,
Merrington Green being the ordinary meet. The Fifth
Milestone, Baschurch Road, is often fixed for the same
district. Farther east, again, is Shawbury, for Sir
Thomas Meyrick^s good wood of Withyford. On the
Crudgington side the most common meet is Ercall
Mill, with the Wild Moors stretching for miles to the
south-east, a scarcely rideable waste. But away to the
north is all good country, with more grass than else-
where, and fences fair and tempting. The largest

The Shropshire. 20B

j&elds of tlie Hunt are found mustered here, as it is
about midway between Shrewsbury and Wellington —
though the maximum of a hundred is seldom ex-
ceeded.

Of the Wednesday meets, Atcham Bridge, a couple
of miles down the river from Shrewsbury, has always
been the meet following the Hunt Ball at that place.
The Attingham estate (Lord Berwick^s) may be drawn
from here, and there is a withybed by the river;
while at Longner Hall (Mrs. Burton^s) there are good
coverts where foxes have always been found. From
any of these a fox might go across the flat to The
Wrekin, or turn up to Haughmond Hill. At one time
they always took the former course, and ensured a
lively gallop. On the other bank of the river is Cound,
whence a fox should have every reason to strike off
to Pitchford or Bomer, taking the best line obtainable
on this side. Perhaps the best meet of the district is
Cruckton (Gen. Jenkinses), where there are always
plenty of foxes, and a sporting country lies all round.
At Cundover is a large park with several fine coverts ;
and from here hounds probably draw on to Bomer,
where there is a large rough wood surrounding a pool.
Pitchford (Lady Louisa Cotes^) is another fixture near ;
and to the south Acton Burnell (Sir Fred. Smyth^s) is
quite a stronghold for foxes, on the edge of the hills.
The farthest meets to the west are Loton Park (Sir
Baldwin Leighton's) and Hanwood. At the latter is
Hanwood Gorse and some other coverts ; from these
to Oaks Wood is an useful gallop — after which you get
at once on the hills.

204 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE EAEL OE RADNOR'S.*

LoNGPOED Castle, tlie seat of Lord Kadnor, being
close to Salisbury _, bis lordsbip bas for tbe last eleven
or twelve years kept a pack of foxbounds to bunt tbe
downs and woodlands of tbe neigbbourbood. Tbe
Soutb Wilts, on tbe occasion of its amalgamation witb
tbe West Wilts, banded over to bim an extensive
tract on tbe soutb- west of Salisbury as far as tbe
borders of tbe East Dorset ; tbe Tedwortb gave bim
a piece of country on tbe east of tbe catbedral city
(up to tbe vicinity of Stockbridge) ; and tbe New
Forest contributed ground as far as Downton on tbe
left bank of tbe Avon and Harb ridge on tbe rigbt.
Altogetber, witb tbe advantage of strong coverts
almost innumerable, bis lordsbip bas ample ground
for tbree days a week — for wbicb be keeps some five
and forty couple of bounds. Tbe pack, tbougb of
comparatively recent creation, possesses strengtb and
substance in a marked degree ; and is also said to
make tbe most of a country in wbicb, witbout power
of nose and steady perseverance, a foxbound can
acbieve but little. Its early blood was derived cbiefly

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 21, and Hobson's
Foxbunting Atlas.

The Earl of Radnor's. 205

from the Kennels of Lord Fitzliardinge, Lord Ports-
mouth, and the Bramham Moor.

The Hampshire Avon, flowing directly southward
from Salisbury, cuts through the country at its
narrowest point ; and runs down its edge to separate
it from the jungly wastes of the New Forest — a totally
different kind of ground, as compared with what is
met with over the greater part of Lord Radnor^s
country. The latter partakes largely of the character
possessed by the Tedworth, much of the Craven, and
many parts of the H. H. and other Hampshire
countries. The open hillsides, once grassy downs,
have now to a great extent been ploughed up — the
thin turf giving way to light flint covered arable, good
for neither agriculture nor foxhunting. Where the
down remains untouched, a flying scent is frequently
experienced ; but the plough requires a thorough
wetting before it will hold anything like a fair scent.
On a sterling scenting day, hounds can of course fling
at a great pace over these steep unfenced hills ; and a
fast well-bred horse alone will live with them. For
such ground he need not be an accomplished hunter,
in the strictest sense of the definition ; for he will
meet with little if anything demanding a collected
and educated efibrt. But, if occasion allows of hounds
running, he must be able to collar hill and vale without
flinching or tiring. On the edge of the New Forest,
on the other hand, banks-and-ditches call for all the
astuteness of an Irish hunter. Again, where strong
hazel-fences divide such inclosures as are scattered
between the various woodlands of the upper half of
the country, horse and man must both possess a due

206 The Hunting Countries of England.

talent for working their way about. And the rider
must possess both perseverance and discrimination if
he can work his way honestly through a series of wide
strong coverts, to emerge at the right time and point,
as the pack breaks into the open. The woodlands are
wide, extensive, and here and there run in a lengthy chain,
which a fox can scarcely be made to leave unless he is
so inclined. But the rides are in very few instances
excessively deep ; and the hazel growth, at any rate
after midwinter, lets hounds easily through. So the
chase often pushes merrily on, and the ear is
frequently the only guide for many a mile. This
especially applies to the mass of great coverts
stretching to the east and south-east of the Kennels.
For instance, from Clarendon (Sir F. Bathurst^s place)
toBentley Wood and Spirewell (or Sperywell) Wood is a
continuous chain whose links show never a gap of more
than a field or two. And, again, in the Standlinch
direction, the woodlands which include Trafalgar
(Lord Nelson^s), The Earldoms, Langford Wood,
Meanwood, Gatmore and Melchet Court (Lady Ash-
burton^s) form a series in which a stranger must cling
very closely and untiringly to hounds, if ever he is to
clear himself. A succession of woods also follow the
west bank of the Avon ; but these are, individually,
of much smaller size, averaging something between
twenty and forty acres. On the river bank, as above
mentioned, the country assimilates itself in some
slight degree to that of the New Forest. The soil,
however, though wet and undrained, is nowhere heavy
and sticky. Across the river it soon assumes the
wild, heathery and often swampy, aspect that retains

The Earl of Radnor's, 207

for tlie district its true forest type. But on Lord
Radnor's side^ it rises directly to down and wold,
where a loose liglit surface too often thwarts the
nose of a foxhound, and the sharp flints hinder, and
frequently gash, his feet. Thus all the Marten and
Whitchbury district — up to the town of Salisbury —
consists almost entirely of open hillsides, with scarcely
any fences to divide the fields ; while patches of gorse
grow here and there, and narrow valleys — often
owning a watermeadow or two — cut in between hill
and hill. Under this upper ground, from Breamore
downwards to Alderholt, &c., come the line of river-
side coverts. The White Parish district, again,
contains another similar range of high ground,
with the woodlands already alluded to bounding
it north and south : and a third area of the same
kind is found in the Buckholt and Houghton Hills,
which verge on the broad upland sweeps of the
Tedworth.

As a matter of fact, the Salisbury neighbourhood is
not distinctively or exclusively a foxhunting one. A
certain small number of people come out hunting ;
and the squires and farmers support the sport, with
their countenance if not always with their presence.
Here and there shooting is thought of to a certain
extent, but seldom to a degree that is incompatible
with the preservation of foxes; for game rearing is
carried to no great excess in Wiltshire, nor is London
sufficiently near to tempt the itinerant pothunter to
bid for shooting here. Consequently the fox has, save
in occasional instances, few enemies; and his many
friends are enabled to maintain him in sufficient

208 The Hunting Countries of England.

security. The field to assist in the chase, however^
seldom exceeds twenty or thirty members.

The southern portion of the country forms by far
the largest of the three sections we have spoken of —
stretching, as it does, from the town of Salisbury to
the edge of the great woodlands of Cranbourne Chace,
in the South and West Wilts territory. On the hills
are such meets as Toyde, for Lodge Bottom and the
Down ; Boulsbury Farm for Boulsbury Wood and
Martin Wood ; Jervoise^s Farm for Mr. Jervoise^s
gorse and Bishopston Gorse. Again, Martin Wood
or Vernditch may be named with a view to drawing
either of these fine coverts, or for the gorses on the
downs. Alderholt Mill, or Park, is the usual meet
for the southernmost of the range of riverside woods,
e.g., Mr. ChurchilPs, &c. ; Breamore for Breamore
Wood and Sir Edward Hulse^s other coverts; and
Homington and Charlton for Lord Eadnor^s own
coverts. Broad Chalk is also a hill fixture, on the far
west.

In the south-east, or White Parish, corner, again,
are the meets of Whitcherington for Lord Eadnor^s
coverts on the east of the river ; Meanwood, for that
stronghold and Gatmore, &c. ; White Parish Hill, for
Mr. Bent's Gorse and the Bushes, with the big woods
to fall back upon. The Bushes was the starting point
of one of the best runs of last season ; when they took
their fox through the great Bentley Wood, to ground
at Buckholt after a very hard fifty minutes.

The northern district owns some of the strongest
and most extensive woods of the country, backed by
lofty downs towards the Tedworth side. For the

The Earl of Radnor's. 209

woodlands, which run in almost unbroken succession
from Clarendon to Bentley Wood_, they meet at
Clarendon, Houndwood, Spirewell, &c. In the narrow
vale of Alderbury, Dean and the railway — whence the
ground gradually rises to the northward — is Lockerley
Hall (Mr. Dalgetty^s) ; and on the upper level is Roche
Court for the Buckholt Hills. A considerable amount
of grass remains about here ; but it can scarcely be
said to be good scenting ground.

210 The Hunting Countries of England.

CAPT. HON. E. JOHNSTONE'S.^

Scarborough scarcely sets up to be a liunting
quarter; and, favourite a resort thougli it is, its
attractions are generally associated more with sea-
bathing and systematic idleness than with strong
exercise and the sport of kings. Its visitors may
dress and walk, or even dance, but they do little else ;
and even the literature with which they beguile their
hours of nothingness is more likely to be that of
'' Ouida^^ and the weekly paragrapher than of Surtees or
the recorders of sport and pastime. In fact, not only do
most people go to Scarborough for anything but
foxhunting; and at a time of year when hounds are,
like themselves, wiling the days away in yawning and
slumber ; but most of them belong to a class that has
little thought of foxhunting under any conditions.
At the same time a certain number of sound sports-
men have of late availed themselves of the improved
railway facilities, to gain the advantages of Scar-
borough during the winter, while not separating
themselves too widely from home or business ties in
other parts of the county. At the back of the town.

Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 5 and 6, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

Capt. Hon, F. Johnstone's. 211

hill, aud moorland shortly present themselves, sug-
gestive of grouse shooting, and summer excursion,
but telling little of the chase of the fox, as in reality
carried on.

But, taking advantage of all ground within reach
that is at all practicable for his purpose, Capt. John-
stone keeps a good little pack of foxhounds in the
neighbourhood of Scarborough, and hunts the fox
over vale and heather wherever he can. He com-
mences just north of Lord Middleton (the river
Derwent being the boundary between them) with a
strip of low country, set down on the map as The Vale
of Pickering, but more often known as the Derwent
Vale. Above this the land rises quickly to moor and
heather, strong hills and deep glens ; where only one
who has thoroughly learned the ground can keep a
hold upon the pack. The hills are generally fair
riding, to man and horse accustomed to brush quickly
over the heather ; but the glens and dales, like the
coombs of North Devon, are only to be crossed by
well-known paths — probably mere cattle or sheep
tracks. A bright green patch in a valley may often
mean the one spot to be avoided. On the heather you
are safe ; but the tempting grass may cover a deep
unpleasant bog. Such pitfalls, however, are nothing
like as common as on Exmoor ; and, though '' Stony
Moor,^^ or Raindale, is freely scattered over with
boulders, there are no such tracts of stone and shingle
as are to be found on the rugged slopes round
Diinkery. The Dales again, though steep and wooded,
have little of the depth or severity of the Devonshire
coombs. With these modifications the moorland half

212 The Hunting Countries of England,

of Capt. Johastone^s country irresistibly forces a co.m-
parisou with that hunted by Mr. Nicholas Snow and
the Stars of the West. As there, too, foxes are
plentiful, and in the early autumn generally easily
found. But as the litters are dispersed, and foxes get
scattered, such a wide choice of shelter is open to them
that it is difficult for a huntsman to decide where to
draw, and he may often have to go over miles of
country in his search. Every sheltered bank furnishes
covert ; every little glen is a snuggery, and every
square yard of heather is sufficient for a kennel. But,
if time and patience are often stretched before a find
is obtained, it generally follows that hounds get away
close at their fox, and a run is already half- assured.
Excellent scenting ground, too, is the moor; and
horses are often extended to their utmost to keep
hounds in sight. A hard pressed fox will naturally
cling to a path if he can find one, and avoid the
dragging heather over which of course the longer
stride of his pursuers would put him at every dis-
advantage. Along a grass-walk hounds must neces-
sarily run in almost single file, the leading hounds
alone holding the scent, and being answerable that a
sharp turn right or left is not overshot. However,
they seldom fail to stick to their fox on the wild
uplands ; and often account for him quite unassisted.

The watershed of the country would seem to be but
a very short distance from, and parallel to, the sea
line. Thus the river Derwent and many of its
auxiliaries have their source among the hills at little
distance from the sea coast, and then set to work to
run directly inland till they eventually join the Ouse.

Capt, Hon. F. Johnstone's. 213

The early career of each of these is through a wooded
dale^ more or less rugged and deep, and affording the
most tempting harbour for foxes. But the most
notable of these is the Newton Dale, an enormous
glen pointing nearly north and south above the town
of Pickering, and having the Malton railway and the
httle river Pickering winding along its base. Dense
covert clothes both its sides ; and a fox breaking from
here is pretty sure to embark upon rough wild ground.

A railway now also runs from Pickering to Scar-
borough along the Derwent vale, by no means improv-
ing the already attenuated strip of low country beneath
the hills. Near the foot of these last are several large
coverts, a considerable proportion of which are the
property of the Dowager Lady Downe, whose estates
stretch north and south of Wykeham for many miles.
Bedale and Yedmandale, for instance, are woods of
great strength. About Seamer Lord Londesborough
has large coverts on his property ; and the river
Derwent coming from the northward has almost
continuous covert from Hackness till it issues on to
the plain. This vale, cultivated in mixed grass and
plough, and fenced in ordinary Yorkshire style, reaches
to the sea. Below Wykeham occurs a certain amount
of awkward carr ground, much of the same class as
that which, farther south. Lord Fitzwilliam and the
Grove divide between them — black open dykes,
awing any but the boldest. Along the Derwent Yale
are some few winns ; but, speaking generally, artificial
coverts are by no means a feature of Capt. Johnstone^s
country.

The vale opens out a good deal below Pickering,

VOL. II. Q

214 The Hunting Countries of England,

affording a most useful area of open ground from
Howe Bridge along tlie south-west of tlie country,
and up past Kirkby-Misperton^ to Haugh Wood.
Near Pickering the inclosures grow smaller, grass is
plentiful, the fences strong, the ditches wide and deep,
and timber is freely met with. Add to this that on
the hills are many stone walls, it will be easy to under-
stand that a really first-class horse is wanted with
Capt. Johnstone^s hounds. Nearly every kind of
fence has to be encountered ; and, while at one
moment he is making his way over a stiff Yorkshire
vale, he may find himself at the next climbing a steep
hillside with the prospect of a racing gallop over the
undulating moor on the top. Thus he must be a
hunter from every point of view — a bold, strong
jumper, and bred to gallop and to stay. Fortunately,
the farmers of this part of Yorkshire still turn their
attention to producing animals that do them credit and
bring them a profit j and many good horses are bred
in the neighbourhood.

The crude hill ground outside Capt. Johnstone^s
country to the north and west, together with the cliffs
on the north-east, is hunted in old-fashioned style by
trencher fed packs — to wit, the Sinnington, the
Eskdale and the Stainton Dale — each member of the
Hunt, generally a farmer, keeping a hound or two, in
whose doings he maintains a deep vested interest.
The last-named pack, by the way, scarcely usurps such
an extended and definite district as is laid down for it
in the maps alluded to. Saltersgate is the extreme
northern point at which Capt. Johnstone^s hounds are
seen.

Capt. Hon, F. Johnstone's, 215

The pack is kennelled at Snainton, about midway on
the main road between Scarborough and Pickering,
and some nine or ten miles from either place. The
question naturally suggests itself — Why should a
private pack be kept so far from the owner's resi-
dence ? A single glance at the wild heath and hill
that intervene between Hackness Hall and most of the
places of meeting is a sufficient answer. If not an
impossible task, it would be a rough and cruel one, to
bring hounds home across these miles of broken waste,
at the end of a day's work which must often have been
severe and trying in the extreme. The hounds have
been in the Johnstone family (Lord Derwent's) since
1862; previous to which Mr. John Hill, who had
succeeded his father in 1855, sold his hounds to the
late Duke of Grafton. They are thus no newly-raised
pack ; and of late years every pains has continued to
be bestowed upon their breeding, with the assistance
of the Bramham Moor, the Brocklesby and Lord
Middleton.

One or two other features of the country that may be
mentioned are — the tract of rabbit warren which is
met with immediately above Thornton Dale; the
increasing roughness of ground that presents itself as
you move thence towards the centre of the country —
the neighbourhood of Cross Cliffe and Bickley being
especially wild ; the great wooded bank formed by
Trouts Dale ; the enormous woodland of the Forge
Valley, extending from Raincliffe to the Scurve hills ;
and the '^ becks,'' which so often present a difficulty in
the district below Pickering. The latter, though in
themselves often only insignificant trout streams, have

Q 2

216 The Hunting Countries of England.

their beds cut so deep and their banks so worn and
rotten from the rushing of frequent torrents from the
hills, that in many instances (such as that of the Costa
Beck) it is almost impossible for a horse to get in and
out of them.

Capt. Johnstone hunts two days a week — Tuesday
being generally for the Pickering side of the country,
Saturday for the Scarborough. The latter day, except
when given to the extreme wilds of Jingleby Thorn,
&c., draws the larger field (sometimes close upon a
hundred) ; the former getting together a small
gathering from The Sinnington, Malton, &c., to
assist the local Hunt.

Among the Tuesday meets are Howe Bridge — or
Newstead Grange — for Marishes Winn and a new
covert at Howe Bridge. With open vale stretching
up past Pickering and to the west these two fixtures
are looked upon as almost the best in the Hunt ; and
from the Marishes last season there ensued one of
their most notable day^s sport, commencing with a
very fast hour and twenty minutes northward with a
kill, followed by another forty minutes with a similar
result. A second draw from Howe Bridge may be
Wintofts, where a new covert has been planted by
Mr. Mitch elson. Meeting at Thornton Dale, they
work over the rabbit warrens and up the dale past
Ellerburn, whence foxes are pretty sure to run over
the moors. Last winter hounds ran into each of the
four foxes they found, after a hunt over the moorland.
For the extensive fastness of Newton Dale one meet is
Farwath ; others are Levisham and Salterns Grate —
the country round getting rougher and rougher as we

Capt. Hon. F. Johnstone's. 217

proceed northward. Cawthorne is for Mr. Mitcliel-
son^s covert (composed chiefly of larch and heather),
with a gorse belonging to Mr. Watson^ a very good
old sportsman. Pickering being advertised, there is
a forty-acre '^ willow garth " at Keld's Head ; or they
may proceed at once to draw the Haugh Wood
(belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster), and Pickering
Parks, where is a long belt of covert. Allerston is
for Givendale or Wilton Winn (Lord Hotham^s).

A Saturday fixture near Scarborough is S earner,
usually for The Meets (small fir plantation in the
vicinity of Cay ton), after which hounds may very
likely be brought back to Edgehill and Bainclifife.
Ayton is for Hutton Buscel Plantations, whence they
may get to the woods of Yedmandale or Bedale. Sir
Digby Cayley has coverts at Brompton and Allerston ;
and Ebberston, it should be noted, was the chief
residence of Squire Osbaldeston. It was from here
he shot his famous match with Mr. Ross. Ruston
Bridge would probably be the meet for Brompton
Winn. When hounds go to Hackness they have
chains of rough bank covert laid out before them for
miles. Jingleby Thorns is for the central moors and
Lloyd^s coverts; and Harwood Dale Mill is also for
similar broken ground.

218 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SOUTH DURHAM.*

The present Soutli Durliam, as most of tlie world — all
the northern world — knowa^ was originally a main
part of the country hunted by the celebrated Ralph
Lamb ton in the early part of the present century.

There were no railroads in those days, and not a
quarter the collieries. The bones of Ralph Lambton
would rattle in their grave if a whisper could go into
his coffin, that the map of his old hunting grounds
was now cut and striped with red lines — as closely
and promiscuously as the back of a comrade-robbing
soldier, expiating his offence on a gunwheel. Tempora
mutanUir ; neither the simile nor the chart is any
longer fitting. We live in an age of progress : our
sentiments are more refined, if our morals are no
purer ; every man is as good as his neighbour, better
if he claims no parentage, far better if the slur of
education is not upon him — but somehow foxhunting
survives. Even an almost unexampled labyrinth of
railways, such as Upper Durham can show, does not
avail to crush it. Lord Fitzwilliam has shown what
can be done against the black genii of the earth in

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The South Durham. 219

West Yorkshire. He manages almost to disregard
them, and in North Durham their presence, never
actively inimical, is taken into a kind of semi-alliance.
It may be noticed, by those who care to throw a
glance over these sketches of Hunting Countries, that
m every single one some prominent drawback is
brought forward ; that everywhere there is some
obnoxious agent knocking* the gilt off the gingerbread,
the bloom off the flower. Here it is an habitual cold
scent, there it is the impracticability of riding with
hounds on a hot one. In another instance, coverts are
too big and frequent ; in the next they are too small
and sparse. In one country it is too hilly, in another
it is too flat and sticky. Here, nothing to jump ;
there, too much or too stiff; here there is all plough;
there all grass — and a crowd that drives two men out
of three right about, to a sense of content with their
native difficulties. Eleusis does not exist. But it is
fun and hearths content wherever hounds run. So we
have all said before ; and so shall we hold while we
can grip the pigskin and the pen.

But it is with South Durham that we have now to
do — a fair proportion of which is still open enough to
allow of the scream of the whip being heard above the
whistle of the railway engine, the clang of the colliery,
or the din of iron works. The margin of the South
Durham is divided from the North Durham by a line
from Bishop Auckland — by Spennimore to Thornley
and the sea. But Sedgefield is the marking-point of
the country. Gro south and go east — and you may
hunt in comfort if not in absolute luxury. It was
never more than this, even in the days of Ealph

220 The Hunting Countries of England.

Lambton of blessed memory^ for even tben Durham
was by no means tbe pick of tlie nortb. Mostly a
level, well-ploughed plain — you may follow a fox over
it for many a mile, gaining plenty of interest, but
meeting with but little excitement by the way. From
Sedgefield to the east there is much damp sedgy
ground — firm enough, however, to ride over, and more
than fair scenting ground withal. Deep sticky clay is
the facing of most of the country, yet hounds seldom
fail to carry a line over it ; while, as with the
Hurworth next door, they fly over the occasional
grass. Between field and field are wide ragged thorn
hedges growing out of banks of varied height, on one
side of which — sometimes on both — a ditch is to be
seen, or to be felt. Through the tangled hairy mass
a horse should move as cautiously and leisurely as
possible, setting down one foot after another to assure
himself of his ground, and jumping only as he finds
himself immediately over the ditch ; or he should
jump on to the growers to make a gap for himself.
For this kind of progress nothing is really so suitable
as an animal one degree above the " cob '' class —
shortlegged, strong, and steady, anything but fast
and flighty. A hunter of high degree is altogether
out of place here ; though Sir "William Eden hunted
the country with a stud that had no superior in
England — the individuals of which were on his retire-
ment dispersed through the Shires for sums ranging
to five hundred guineas. Durham, indeed, has always
had full justice done to it on the part of the master-
ship. Its most successful era, no doubt, was in
connection with the celebrity " ^ard Squier Lamb-

The South Durham. 221

ton '' above-mentioned — of whose pack James Pigg
sang :

That for stoutness, pace, beauty, ou tins side of Heaven,
Unrivalled the hounds o'er which Lambtou presides.

Adding also.

Then that Sedgefield, our country, all countries outvies, sir,

The highest top-sparkling bumper decides.
That we'A^e foxes can fly, sir, or sinking must die, sir,

When pressed by the hounds o'er which Lambton ]3resides.

On Mr. Lambton^s death, the late Lord Londonderry
hunted the southern part ; while the north was under-
taken by a committee of three, viz., Mr. W. Russell
(who looked after the kennel), Mr. J. Harvey (who
presided in the field), and Mr. J. Henderson. After a
time the Durham Country again reunited, under the
management of a committee, with Lord Londonderry
at the head. In 1872, it will be remembered, rabies
broke out in the kennel ; and the whole of the famous
old Lambton pack had to be destroyed. Masters of
Hounds, however, responded from all sides ; and, by
their generosity, another pack was immediately
collected. The following year Mr. Anthony Maynard
took the northern division ; and Mr. John Harvey the
south. Finally, Sir William Eden^s mastership (which,
though brief, had been marked by most generous
expenditure and by the building of new kennels at
Rusheyford) was last year handed over to Mr. R. Ord,
the present Master of the South Durham.

Small as the country is (a square of thirteen miles'
breadth really representing the pith of the ground
available) foxes are everywhere so well preserved that

222 The Hunting Countries of England.

five days a fortnight can be managed. Plantations
and whins almost entirely constitute the coverts ; for^
with the exception of the woods at Wynyard (where
foxes are found congregated in great numbers as
spring approaches) there is nothing that can be called
a woodland stronghold in the country. The Wynyard
woods are of great extent, with ample rides cutting in
every direction. At Castle Eden Dene in the extreme
north-east is a great wooded dingle running down to
the sea. But here we get into the coalpit district,
which' virtually annuls the whole of the northern
border for foxhunting purposes — though foxes lie
everywhere, and are even found on the very banks of
the collieries. Grood foxes they are too ; stout, ready
to travel, and loth to die. The fields that turn out to
see them hunted are often almost ridiculously small —
consisting only of a sprinkling of residents, a few
farmers, and perhaps a dozen representatives of the
coal and iron interests. Nevertheless, the sport is
well countenanced ; and certainly no one interferes
with reynard^s safety. The colliers show their personal
interest by turning out on foot in great numbers
whenever the chase comes within their reach.

As a rule, the inclosures are small, and the greater
proportion of them are under the plough. Mr. Pigg's
song above quoted speaks of "the widespreading
pastures of Sadberge'^; but much of the grass has
disappeared since then — though the Long Newton and
Bishopton corner, abutting on the Hurworth and Lord
Zetland^s, is still held to be the cream of the country.
The ballad of the run " fre Foxhill,^^ put also in the
mouth of the same vigorous songster, recalls almost

The South Durham. 223

every point of note in this favourite district : and
readers may thus be referred at once to page 414 of
Mr. Jorrock^s biography. Two points at least are to
be gleaned from perusal of the poem. One is, that a
vast amount of sterling enthusiasm existed in Durham
in those days ; the other, that a new comer cannot do
better than take to heart, as applicable to the whole
country of the present time, the couplet

But remember, my boys, with a Long Newton fox,
It won't do to flash when you're up to the hocks.

Darlington, or better still Croft, both outside the
country, are the most likely places whence a stranger
would see the South Durham hounds in the field — and
on their best ground. Croft and its advantages have
already been fully told of under the head of the
Hurworth Country; and Darlington is the railway
junction just north of it, at the meeting-point of the
South Durham, Hurworth, and Lord Zetland^s.

Monday, Wednesday and Friday in the one week,
Monday and Friday only in the next, are days of
hunting. Monday is for the east of the country —
Sedgefield to the sea ; and the leading meet for this
side, commanding indeed the whole of it, is Embleton,
with Brereton Whin as its first draw. Wolviston,
with Noddings Whin (which used to be a great place)
takes in most of the south of the same district.

Wednesday is for the north and north-west of
Sedgefield, much of the property in this direction
being owned by Sir William Eden — who has coverts
and plantations and foxes in plenty about Windlestone.
Just north of Sedgefield, too, is some good grass

224 The Hunting Countries of England,

about Trim don and Fisburn — from Camp Whin to
Cole Hill being a capital and frequent line. Near
Bradbury, again, is a good place called Coalsides;
and Middridge Whin is now held to be the stronghold
of the country.

But Friday, as already mentioned, is for the best of
the country — the southern corner. Here Bishopton
is an especially favourite meet, for Lee Close Gorse ;
Newbiggin is for famous Fox Hill ; and Barmton has
always a fox in its whin.

The Worcestershire, 225

. THE WORCESTERSHIRE.*

Not an easy country to hunt is the Worcestershire,
with its cold-scenting plough and its numberless
coverts. But a good pack of hounds work their way
about it three days a week ; and all that keen manage-
ment can do to attain sport is at work with that
object.

The Severn runs directly down its centre, from
Kidderminster to Worcester ; and these two points
may be taken as denoting the whereabouts of the
country. The northern half of the country, in fact,
retains the title of The Worcestershire — the lower half
having, for the last nine years, borne the denomina-
tion of Lord Coventry's — now The Croome. The
Ludlow touches it on the west, the Albrighton — or
rather Bewdley — on the north ; while the Warwick-
shire countries border it on the east.

The meadows along the Severn bank are, perhaps,
the only grass in the country : the rest (where wood-
lands leave room) is altogether plough — varying from
deep clay to light sand. West of the river, for
instance, the district of which Wichenford is about the

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 14 and 15, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

226 The Hunting Countries of England.

centre, belongs entirely to the former variety — being
cold clay ground which would seem to repel a scent.
Strong thorn fences, cut and laid, as well as a good
deal of stout timber, have to be faced in this region ;
and a powerful horse is needed.

There are fewer coverts hereabouts than in many
parts of the country — but those few are in some
instances very large, e.g., Ockeridge Wood (Lord
Dudley^s). Coming northwards to Abberley, however,
you will see considerable woodlands ; and above
Abberley you enter a coal district where little
hunting is done. Very rough hilly ground overlooks
the river Teme, continuing by Hartley up to Shelsley
Beauchamp, which should naturally be a thorough fox
fastness. On the other side, the east, of the river, from
Droitwich northward by Stourport, Hartlebury, &c.,
to Kidderminster, you will find a thin sandy soil,
portioned out only by small easy fences. From Barnt
Green downwards along the eastern edge of the country
are continual chains and masses of woods. The same
cold, but here not bad scenting, clay comes in again
about the south-east of the country, between Himble-
ton and Feckenham — the soil improving somewhat as
you near Worcester and reach the Bredicot and
Warndon neighbourhood, where the Spetchley Park
coverts (Mr. Berkeley's) and the Worcester Woods
(Mr. Parker's) always ensures foxes and fair play to
the master. On the opposite side of the town of
Worcester, again, some good ground is also to be found
— the Cotheridge and Doddenham district owning a
soil applicable in some parts to hop culture. But it
fails too often in the one requisite virtue that might

The Worcestershire. 227

lead to successful foxhunting ; and, in common with
too much of West Worcestershire, pays but indifferent
attention to reynard^s well-being.

Shooting is an element in Worcestershire life that
treads not only too closely on the heels of foxhunting,
but often on its toes, even on its most sensitive corns.
Where foxhunting could best find foothold, there it has
often least standing room. On the open ground on
either bank of the Severn it has fair play ; and there it
has to meet the disadvantage of a more than in-
different scent. Along the south-eastern border,
however, where the coverts are of easy limit and the
soil is more favourable, it has a better chance, as
already noted. But there is room enough, and there
are coverts enough, in the Worcestershire country for
two packs of hounds. There cannot be less, indeed,
than twenty thousand acres of woodland — and, if the
saying holds true that the worst of land will carry a
goose to the acre, surely twenty acres of good wood-
land should be enough to support a fox. But, as a
matter of fact, such is not always found to be the case
in Upper Worcestershire. Comparatively few phea-
sants take up a great deal of ground ; and in many
very large woods have frightened away the foxes
altogether. Yet Worcestershire scarcely aspires to
being a great shooting country. The keepers, unfor-
tunately, have for generations been bred too much in-
and-in ; and take to the trap almost from the cradle.
Early initiated to blood, they crave for it ever after,
and pass the instinct on to their descendants. The
strain that is born to understand and believe that foxes
and pheasants may be co-existent, has as yet only been

228 The Hunting Countries of England.

imported in certain comparatively small domains ; and
tlie original breed of fox-killing keeper still remains in
strength. Resident proprietors are few in number ;
and only a certain proportion of these are accustomed
to pay much attention to the selection and training of
the gentlemen who do them the honour of taking over
the arrangement of their shooting parties. Those who
hunt, or have ever hunted, at home, befriend the
master zealously. The farmers, too, are sworn adhe-
rents ; walk puppies, hunt as much as the times will
allow, and grumble loudly at the supineness of their
landlords. But they can do no more. It is only fair
to add, however, that shooting has recently grown to
be less inimical than formerly — a proof of which is
found in the fact that cubhunting can now be carried
on in many districts where it used to be absolutely
debarred.

The Kennels are at Fearnall Heath, three miles from
Worcester; were built by the country some fifteen
years ago ; and are not only very complete, but are
admirably situated on ground sloping in almost every
direction. Mr. Frederic Ames is now master for the
second time ; having taken office again three years ago
— previous to which he had held it from 1873 to 1876.
Mr. C. Morrell from the Ledbury held it in the
interim ; and former masters were Lord Queensberry
for one year, Mr. Yernon and Mr. Allsopp jointly for
four years, Mr. Yernon for two years, the late Col.
Clowe, and Hon. Dudley Ward. The Kennel Book
goes back to 1846. Immense pains has been taken by
Mr. Ames to put the pack on a thorough footing ; and,
in addition to the help always forthcoming from Lord

The Worcestershire. 229

Coventry's beautiful pack^ he has spared no expense in
procuring the assistance of such kennels as the Belvoir,
Milton, &c.

The Severn often presents an awkward drawback in
the run ; for foxes will swim it readily, choosing their
place by no means necessarily in accordance with the
distribution of the bridges. And, as there is only one
bridge existing between Worcester and Stourport, to
wit at Holt, it will readily be conceived that the river
may frequently be a source of considerable inconve-
nience. For instance, foxes will often cross from
Bishop's Wood to Shrawley — though an intelligent
keeper has devised and practised the idea of posting a
bevy of school children in skirmishing order on the
opposite bank when the former covert is drawn.
Bishop's Wood, taken sometimes on a Wednesday,
sometimes on a Friday, is one of the nicest coverts in
the Hunt, and is the especial care of Mr. Wheeler, who
holds its interests intact against all surrounding in-
fluences— among which the recent prevalence of trap-
ping constitutes a too prominent evil.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday being the days of
hunting — Monday is given to the south-east of the
country, from Worcester to about Grafton Wood.
The latter covert and Bow Wood are neutral with The
Croome. This district includes the coverts of Round
Hill, Goosehill, Broughton Wood (the two last belong-
ing to Mr. Bearcroft, who is a very staunch supporter)
and Hanbury (Hanbury Hall being- the residence of
Mr. Vernon, one of the mainstays of the hunt).
Hanbury Forest, it may be mentioned, at one time
stretched the whole way from Droitwich to Bristol.

VOL. II. R

230 The Hunting Countries of England,

Close to Worcester is SpetcHey Park, where Mr.
Berkeley has very good coverts ; and there are also
the Worcester Woods, including Nunnery Wood and
Perry Wood, the property of Mr. Parker, who,
though no longer a hunting man, preserves most
heartily.

Wednesday is the one day derivable from the wide
extent of ground lying west of the Severn, where
there are such meets as Crown East for Mr. BramwelVs
good coverts and Cotheridge (Mr. Berkeley's) ;
Ockeridge Wood and Monk Wood of Lord Dudley's,
and Shrawley of Mr. Yernon's. From Holt up to
Bewdley Forest, it should be noted is all a compara-
tively light soil — best when very wet. Towards the
Teme, again, it is rough and hilly, as above mentioned.
Sapey Bridge is a meet from which they draw the
Whitbourne Coverts for a fox. Ham Bridge is for
Sir Francis Winnington's coverts; and to the north
hounds sometimes get as far as Pensax, and its rough
dingles. Bewdley Forest is a kind of No Man's Land
— a great rough place, where a pack of hounds might
lose itself. It has, indeed, extent enough for a wood-
land pack of its own, but hounds are seldom seen
there.

Friday is for the north and east ; and attracts the
Birmingham contingent, which goes to make up the
field to something larger than its ordinary very limited
dimensions. Together with many great woods, this
side the country has some open strips, such as the
nice tract that surrounds, to a distance of three or
four miles. Burrow Hill and Bradley Green. A
frequent meet is Woodcote Green, neutral with the

The Worcestershire. 231

Albrighton. Randans is a great and good woodland,
and chains of woods run down the east border —
including the Lickey, the Warren, Rough Grounds,
Butler^s Hill (each being some two or three hundred
acres), Fox Lydiate, Pitcher Oak, &c. — Lord Windsor
here owning some eight miles of territory, a great
proportion of which is woodland.

R 2

232 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE LEDBURY.*

The Ledbury is a long narrow country containing tlie
Malvern Hills, and made up of small parts of ttie
counties of Worcester, Hereford and Grloucester — tlie
combination resulting in a Hunt territory that, com-
parison avoided, may safely be set down as quite as
good as any of its neighbours. For the Ledbury, if
in some parts hilly, and in many parts strongly
wooded, is not only capital ground for hounds, but
can show quite its share of good vale and a full
proportion of nice grass.

The steep hogsback of the Malvern Hills (nearly
1500 feet in height) rises on its eastern edge; and the
traveller from the Worcester direction, issuing from
the tunnel that pierces it, finds himself crossing one
of these pleasant grass valleys. Another tunnel, and
he is at Ledbury Station, within earshot of the
Kennels. The latter, the property of the Hunt, are
well placed for working the country ; and contain
some five-and-forty couple of working hounds, belong-
ing to the Master. Mr. Knowles succeeded Mr.
Morrell five years ago ; and as that gentleman took

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," sheet 14, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Ledbury, 233

his hounds wifch him to The Worcestershire, Mr.
Knowles had to get together a pack for himself. A
draft from the Belvoir three years since has been of
great service to him, while Lord Coventry has helped
him greatly in the matter of breeding ; and altogether,
the pack — which, by the way, he hunts himself — has
come forward wonderfully in so short a time. It may
be added that previous to Mr. MorrelFs five years^
mastership, Mr. Talbot had the country for three
seasons; Mr. Thackwell of Dymock for nineteeij
before that — succeeding Mr. Giles, who is still alive,
and who was a very successful master for many years.
Thus the country has had a regular establishment for
some fifty years; before which a trencher-fed pack
was for a long time in existence.

Though there are many very strong woodlands in
the country, these are so distributed that a fox, once
away from them, has every opportunity of setting his
head across a district of good open country. And
thus wood and vale — or, in its place, open hill —
alternate throughout. For instance, commencing in
the north, the Suckley Woods are backed by a
stretch of nice vale between the Cradley Brook and
the River Froome. The Suckley Hills are a northern
continuation of the Malvern ; and are nearly smothered
in covert — being able to show some seven hundred
acres of almost continuous wood, extending to Knight-
wich on the border of the country. Behind these, from
Knightwich west to Bromyard, and from Bromyard
south to Bishops Froome or further, is a deep clay vale,
plough and grass intermingled — the latter predominat-
ing as you work southward. The western boundary, by

234 The Hunting Countries of England,

the way^ is tlie road not the river (as in Stanford's map)
from Bishops Froome to Bromyard. Below Bishops
Froome the ground gets more undulating, though still
open and rideable enough. Beacon Hill is an excellent
covert in this tract of country. It is a narrow wood
of horseshoe shape, perhaps a hundred acres in all,
belonging to Mr. Higgins, who owns a great deal of
land in the neighbourhood; and who, though no
longer able to hunt in person, gives his best sympathies
and support to those who do. Some few brooks run
across this upper country — the Leddon and the
Cradley being the two most frequently met with. The
former can be jumped in some places and forded in
others ; and the Cradley brook is to be got over, or
through, almost anywhere. Often foxes will run into
the North Herefordshire country — for instance, to the
great earths at Hall Court, the seat of Major Browne,
Master of the North StaflFordshire — and on the way
will cross the River Froome, which is of most un-
jumpable dimensions. Again, foxes found below the
Malverns are as likely as not to make straight for the
hill, under the delusive idea that safety may be found
on its summit. The result, on the contrary, is almost
invariably their death ; for the hill top is absolutely
without covert, and there are but few spots where they
can get to ground. Anyone who has seen the Malverns
will readily understand that on such occasions fox and
hounds are likely to have ample time to settle the
question between themselves, before the field can in
any way intrude ; for the progress of a horseman up
the hillside must be about as rapid as that of a fly up
a window pane. Once he has reached the summit, he

The Ledbury. 235

has first to give his steed time to breathe, then to
learn, or guess, which direction hounds may have
taken — before he can avail himself of the smooth
grassy surface to set going again. There is always a
tremendous scent on this velvety upland, and never a
fence to check horse or hound; so, if a man can but
be there in time, he may see reynard wound up to a
very rapid tune.

Leaving* this northern country, which furnishes one
day a week (Wednesday), we get towards the Kennels
— within two miles of which are Hope End Woods, the
property of Mr. Hewitt, who, too, though not a
hunting man, is a staunch friend to foxes. Indeed,
the Ledbury is altogether a very well-preserved
country, which gives it an advantage impossible to
over-estimate, where deep and extensive woodlands
have to be drawn. The worst of countries is good
enough if hounds are always running : a bad country
without foxes is purgatory. But the Ledbury is more
than a fair country, with plenty of foxes. Those
found at Hope End may cross the strip of green vale,
above alluded to as between the two tunnels, and
breast the steep side of Malvern, or else may move on
into the woodland which surrounds Lord Somers'
place, Eastnor Castle. (Frith Wood comes down to
the Kennel wall, and surmounts the tunnel that
debouches at Ledbury Station).

The Eastnor Woods alone require hunting quite
once a fortnight; for, though by no means of un-
manageable size, they are wonderfully attractive to
foxes. Thus many a good traveller finds his way
thither from the open country westward, or even from

236 The Hunting Countries of England,

the great coverts on Marcle Hill — some six or seven
miles away on tlie South Herefordshire border. Little
else but grass is to be crossed between the two points ;
and a prettier gallop need not be wished for than
a Marcle Hill fox will furnish as he travels homewards
from Eastnor Park. Good hedge and ditch fences
leaven the plain, which here too is a strong clay.
The hedges are thick and well grown, but seldom
strongly " laid '^ as in the Shires ; and, though they
are rarely on banks, but as a rule come under the
denomination of ^^flyiug fences/' it is better that a
horse should take them steadily than at a rush.
Hazel is just as frequent as thorn ; and both grow
in such a manner as often to allow a hunter to mini-
mise his effort by dropping his legs in their midst.
Timber is freely used in mending the gaps; and stiles
are especially numerous. A stout clever horse, that
can jump well and is ready to jump under all circum-
stances, that can go through dirt and go up hill, is
the animal to ride with the Ledbury. What is termed
a " fashionable " long striding horse, is scarcely in his
place here.

The ridge of the Marcle Hills is again the true
boundary between the Ledbury and the South Here-
ford ; and twixt this and the Kennels is about the
area of the good scenting and good riding ground
just described. Immediately south of the Kennels,
however, towards Kedmarley, you will find yourself
on a very different soil, light and sandy — a district
that has earned for itself the title of '' The Ryelands,''
signifying land that is not good enough to grow wheat.
The fences here are very small ; and scent is seldom

The Ledbury. 237

good except after recent lieavy rain. Many litters are
every year bred in this neighboorliood — tlie vixens
finding it easy enougli to draw any rabbit bole as an
earth, in the light soil of its banks.

Just south of it commence the great chain of wood-
lands which extend right to the limit of the Ledbury
country, and far beyond into the Forest of Dean.
Beginning with the Dymock Woods, a ten-mile range
of woodland goes on along the slope of the hill with
Queen^s Wood, the Linton Woods, Aston Ingham and
the Newent Woods ; while at Huntley Major Probyn
has more great coverts, reaching to the Forest of
Dean — the rough depths of which are seldom visited
by any hounds.

Turning again from rough to smooth, we find our-
selves in the third section of the Ledbury Country —
from Malvern to Gloucester along the Severnside.
And this forms the Friday country — Monday being
for the district just described, from the Kennels to
the edge of the Forest. Crossing over the Malvern
Hills you get on to a low vale that in many parts is
almost entirely level grass. The coverts are much
smaller; but foxes are always to be found; scent lies
well ; and altogether the Friday country is held to be
about the cream of the Hunt. Commencing at Hanley
kSwan and Upton, where it meets The Croome Country,
it extends along the west bank of the Severn, by
Tewkesbury and Gloucester, down to Westbury. Not
only do several brooks intersect the vale — such for
instance as the Chaceley Brook — but " rheins '^ and
" commission ditches ^^ make still further calls upon a
water jumper. JEthein, though not, as far as I can

238 The Hunting Countries of England.

learn, a dictionary word, is a Gloucestersliire term for
an open drain; wliile a '^commission ditcli'^ is a
similar cutting under the system of the Land Drainage
Commission. All these varieties take a great deal of
jumping; and demand a bold horse — the ground at
the same time calling for a well-bred one. The
Longdon Vale is perhaps the best sample of this side,
the country being all flat, nearly all grass, and fenced
chiefly with these commission ditches. Of coverts
there are no better instances than those of Mr.
Dowdeswell at Pull Court, and the Sarnhill Coverts.
Similar ground extends to Eldersfield. Below this is
Corse Grrove — a small hill surrounded by a belt of
covert, belonging part to Lord Coventry and part to
Mr. Baker, of Hasfield, and of great value to the Hunt.
By Gloucester the vale continues, a fine hunting
country ; but as you turn westward to Newent, you
find yourself once more approaching rough ground.

Some of the chief meets on the three hunting days
are as follows : On a Monday the Somers Arms,
Eastnor, is usually fixed for Lord Somers' coverts;
the Pheasant Inn, Welland, for The Stank ; The
Kennels for Frith Wood, Wall Hills and Paunceford ;
Hope End for Hope End Coverts and Coddington;
Payford Bridge (which may sometimes also be fixed
for a Friday) for the coverts at Colin Park (Mr. F.
Ricardo) and numerous other safe draws. The Dymock
Woods, Aston Ingham, &c., are taken on a Monday,
and often on a byeday as well.

On a Wednesday, north of the Kennels, are Bosbury
lor Beacon Hill, Poor's Wood, and various small
coverts round ; Cradley New Church, for the big

The Ledbury, 239

woods of tlie Suckley Hills (the rides of whicli^ by
the way, once very deep, are said to have been con-
siderably improved of late) • Acton, for the Church
House coverts and Evesbatch ; and Eidgeway Cross
for Riley Hill (a covert that is very well cared for by
Mr. Trinder).

On a Friday is Long Green, near Tewkesbury, for
Sarnhill, from which many of the best of their runs
have originated ; the Duke of York for Borrow Wood^
another very favourite little stronghold in the middle
of the choicest country, and with no other covert
within some two or three miles. This, too, is a small
hill with coverts round three sides of it, so that foxes
can find shelter against the wind from any direction —
and appreciate it accordingly. The Canning Arms,
Hartspury, near Gloucester, is the meet for Mr.
Gordon Canning's small but good coverts, Limbury
for instance : and High Leaden Green for Mr. Gambier-
Parry's woods at Higham.

In conclusion, the largest fields that go out with
Mr. Knowles are when he meets on the Gloucester
side. But a fair muster is always seen with the
Ledbury on Mondays and Fridays. There are not a
great number of resident gentlemen in the country to
take part in the Hunt ; but the farmers are not only
numerously represented, but are all excellent friends
to the sport.

240 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SOUTH HEREEOEDSHIE.E.*

The division of the Herefordshire into North and
South, and the various changes which led up to the
two countries being placed on their present bases, and
under present Mastership, have been already traced in
a sketch of the North Herefordshire. The two together
certainly do not make up too much ground for a single
Hunt ; and the city of Hereford seems the natural and
practical base from which a pack of hounds should
easily command the whole — for scarcely a meet in
either sub -division is more than thirteen miles distant,
as a crow would fly from the cathedral towers. But it
has been found more convenient to keep two separate
packs going — each undertaking two days a week.
Accordingly Hereford marks the point of demarcation
instead of remaining as a centre, and Mr. J. Eankin,
M.P. for Leominster — succeeding Capt. Lewis and
Capt. Helme, who were Masters for two and five years
respectively — maintains a pack at his beautiful place
Bryngwyn, some six miles south of the capital of the
county. The first local name to be written has about
it an air and a ring that at once suggest the propinquity

Vide Stanford's "Hunting Map," Sheet 14, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The South Herefordshire. 241

of Wales. And, true enougli, the Black Monntain of
Brecknockshire almost overlooks the South Hereford-
shire frontier ; and the extreme western border of the
country closely verges on the mountainous. But
throughout the length and breadth of South Hereford-
shire hill and woodland are strongly represented. Steep
and lofty ridges ride the country in every direction —
their wooded sides in several instances forming a con-
tinuous covert for miles. At their base^ however,
there is often room enough for a fox to set his head
over level ground for miles ; and if he will only choose
his way propitiously he need have no difficulty in lead-
ing the pursuit on pleasant lines. This is notably the
case at the foot of Marcle Hills, a trip eastward from
which or from Peristone Hill may be over the grass
into the Ledbury country; or, more at home, from
Garway Hill, Saddlebow Hill, &c., over the Harewood
and Trebandy vale — perhaps the best of the South
Hereford domain. Or, again — North of Callow Hill,
Allensmoor, &c., is a nice vale of mixed grass and
plough stretching up the Wye side from Hereford to
the Stockley Hills in the far north-west. A fox
traversing the latter vale may very likely be prompted
to cross the above river into North Herefordshire
territory — though he may find quite half a dozen miles
of fair playground within the border, and Belmont
gives him every opportunity of seeking a substitute,
or a fresh start, before he leaves the home country.
^Twixt Aconbury, the Bryngwyn Woods, or Saddlebow
Hill, and the opposite hill-coverts of Thruxton
Valletts, &c., is a neat, closely fenced, valley, of
which — unfortunately — the London and North-

242 The Hunting Countries of England.

Western Railway takes advantage, and which contains
a better proportion of grass than is to be found else-
where.

The strongest champion of the South Herefordshire
will scarcely proclaim it to be a fine scenting country.
Most of it — especially on the hills — is a heavy clay
soil, carrying usually a weak and indifferent scent.
On the grass, where it occurs, hounds have always a
better chance ; but there is a greal deal more tillage
than turf throughout the country. The southern
plain, best known as the Trebandy Vale, is the most
favourite hunting ground. It requires a good deal of
wet to show it to advantage, and then hounds
frequently run well over a deep and strongly fenced
flat, where only a small covert or two is to be met for
some miles. The hedges are not of an unbending,
turnover, class ; but they are closely placed and
strongly grown, all over the lower country, and seldom
fail to have the protection of a ditch of respectable
dimensions. A horse taught over Herefordshire is
pretty sure to be able to take care of himself any-
where— even though he need not necessarily be
imbued with the dash and stride to make him a first-
flight hunter in the midlands. Yet that he could not
well be educated in a better school has been shown by
many a Herefordshire-bred horse, when transplanted to
'^ fresh fields and pastures new.''^ He has here every
necessity and every variety of jumping ; every oppor-
tunity of learning; and little reason, if properly
ridden, to maim or frighten himself. The same thorn-
and-hazel hedges ; timber, in odd corners, in gaps and
footways; occasional brooks, intricate dingles — these.

The South Herefordshire. 243

as in North Hereford, form the bulk of the difficulties
he must learn to surmount, and, as there, determine
for himself whether he shall trust to his power of
spring or to his aptitude for creeping and doubling.

A hound for South Herefordshire must, above all
virtues of fashion or appearance, possess a keen nose,
strong perseverance, and an untiring appetite for
work — to enable him to pick out a cold scent, to drive
through big woodlands, and to grapple with severe
hills. Mr. Rankin's pack, of some thirty-two couples,
owes its origin to sources distinguished for their
working qualities, such as the Oakley, Milton,
Pytchley, and Bramham Moor. It has of late
depended for its breeding on home blood, crossed
with the Ledbury, North Herefordshire, Monmouth-
shire, Llangibby, Old Berkeley, Sir W. W. Wynn's,
and others.

Pursuing the geography of the country, it may be
noted that between Hereford and the Marcle Hills is
all a rough, hilly, and wooded country. About
Mordiford, for instance, there is a good deal of
woodland, the property of Captain Hereford. Down
either side of the Wye hill coverts continue in rapid
succession. The Woolhope district is much of this
type j and from Holm-Lacey, by Aconbury, and the
"Warren, to the Kennels is almost a chain of hilly
woodland. From Stoke Edith, the residence of Lady
Emily Foley, a string of great coverts follows the line
of the Marcle Hills to Peristone, the latter being the
starting-point of many a good run. The Marcle Hill
coverts are also the property of Her Ladyship ; and
foxes are alwavs plentiful. The broad rides of the

244 The Hunting Countries of England.

Stoke Edith Woods ran on a white clay, which never
gets soft even in the wettest weather ; and they form
the best of coverts for cubhunting. On the other side
of the country, the coverts of Whitfield (Major Clivers),
and the Mynd (Mr. Lutwyche^s), answer similar pur-
poses j and are also always looked upon as great strong-
holds ; and most of the country may lay claim to being
well preserved.

The South Herefordshire seldom muster anything
approaching a large field ; but sometimes as many as
eighty, or even a hundred horsemen, may be seen out
in the Harewood and Trebandy Vale.

Tuesday and Friday are Mr. Rankings hunting days
— the usual custom being to take the western half of
the country on the former day, the eastern on the
Friday. The opening meet is at the Master^s place,
Bryngwyn, where a strong wood covers the hillside
behind the house, and several great coverts of Mr.
Lutwyche^s extend beyond. To push a fox from these
hilly fastnesses is always a matter of difficulty, though
the last season or two has seen them leave more freely.
At Abbey Dore are very big and strong coverts of
Capt. Lewis's, whence a fox can either cleave to the
rough hills of the neighbourhood or dip into the strip
of vale containing the railroad. Whitfield is the meet
for Thruxton Yalletts and the extensive and deep-
rided coverts round. Lower Eaton points to Ruckhall,
and the smaller coverts by the river Wye. These as
well as Belmont, are the property of Mr. Wegg
Prosser. The latter place, only just outside Hereford
is constantly productive of good runs, for it is staunchly
preserved ; it lies in the midst of the open ground, and

The South Herefordshire. 245

there is nothing to prevent a fox travelling thence
right away to the Stockley Hills. Bacton is a common
meet for the rough country in the direction of the Black
Mountain, and Batchow Hill is generally fixed for the
Stockley heights.

On a Friday^ Aconbury is often named, with a view
to the mass of hill coverts of which it is about the
centre and most prominent part : and Little D ewchurch
is the meet for Athelstane Wood. Holm Lacey, where
the extensive coverts are well cared for, belongs to Sir
Henry Stanhope, Bart. Over the river is Mordiford
for the Sufton coverts (Capt. Hereford's) ; and Stoke
Edith, of course, for the beautiful woods on the hills
above described. Woolhope is the rendezvous for that
district; while in the open, and what is generally held
to be the best, country to the south, Harewood Lodge
is fixed for the small Harewood coverts. There is
little, if anything, to be drawn between here and the
Trebandy and Bernithen Woods, neither of which are
of any great size. Trebandy House, the seat of Mr.
Bullock, who is a good friend to foxes, is the ordinary
fixture for the two latter. St. Weonard-'s is another
meet on the edge^of this vale ; and may lead to either
the upper or lower ground.

VOL. II.

246 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SOUTH STAPPOEDSHIEE.*

A LOAN from the Meynell and anotlier from tlie Ather-
stone make up tlie little country which, the present
Marquis o£ Anglesey originally formed, and Major
Browne has carried on, as The South Staffordshire.
Lichfield is its central-point ; and its area is from
Birmingham northwards to the river Trent, from
Tamworth and the river Tame westward to Walsall
and its coalpits. The Albrighton and the North
Warwickshire bound it (or where railways and iron-
works obliterate hunting, approach it) on the west
and south. The northern half of the country is lent
by the Meynell; the other half, south of Lichfield,
by the Atherstone. The former includes the wild
slopes of Cannock Chase, and the deep flat of Black
Slough (between Lichfield and the Trent, and rightly
so named) ; the latter takes in Sutton Coldfield, its
great common-park (best known in connection with
the new Four Oaks Club and Kacecourse adjoining),
and several fine sporting estates, belonging to resident
gentlemen who throw their best interests into the
support of foxhunting. South Staffordshire is, indeed,

Vide Stanford's "Hunting Map," Sheets 8 and 9, and
Hobson's Foxhunting Atlas.

The South Staffordshire. 247

singularly blessed in this respect. It has an unusual
number of resident and well-wishing landowners ; and
since a local pack has been set on foot^ foxes have
increased from year to year^ till now the country may
be regarded as exceptionally well-preserved and well-
stocked.

Cannock Chase virtually occupies quite a quarter of
Major Browne's huntable ground. Commencing at
Shugborough Park (the seat of Lord Lichfield), at the
junction of the Sow and the Trent, it stretches inwards
from, the north-west past Rugeley and Beaudesert
(Lord Anglesey's place) for an extent of six or eight
miles. Much of it has in recent time been inclosed
and in some degree cultivated, and year by year its
expanse becomes more curtailed. But still there
exists a long broad tract of wild open ground, whose
sweeping slopes own to no richer produce than heather
and bramble. The great mass of covert has long
disappeared, and only a copse is to be seen here and
there. Thus, hounds are always under the eye of the
huntsman ; and men who love hunting for hunting's
sake can find plenty to interest them in a run on the
Chase. There is nothing to ride over — unless you
except ruts and rabbit holes — and there is not always
a scent. So it is needless to say it is not altogether
favourite ground with the multitude. The colliers
have a way of firing the heather as the freak seizes
them. The newly burnt surface of course sends
hounds' noses up at once ; but where the burning has
taken place long enough ago to allow of the new
grass and heather again springing through, there is
often a brilliant scent. The soil of the Chase being

s2

248 The Hunting Countries of England,

light and gravelly calls for a great deal of wet to
make it carry a scent consistently. But foxes approve
thoroughly of a wild tract, where they are not only
left alone and encouraged, but where they can readily
turn any rabbit hole into a breeding earth. This very
iacility to them is a proportionate difficulty to those
who undertake their pursuit ; for complete and
effectual earthstopping is almost out of the question
— though Mr. Martin, the head forester of Beau-
desert, works most energetically over the whole
district to get the subject mastered. In spite of all
his efforts, as many as six foxes have been run to
ground in a day on the Chase — in almost all instances
in earths previously undiscovered. Many a good
gallop, however, is to be seen there ; and a horse
accustomed to it learns wonderfully how to keep his
feet clear of the traps underfoot. A pet playground
of Boreas is Cannock Chase ; and, with a scent or
without, he can drive across it with a vigour that has
to be felt to be appreciated.

Though the Chase has little coverfc, beyond heather,
on its hilly surface, there are plenty of large woods
just below on every side — notably those of Beaudesert,
Wolseley (Sir Charles Wolseley^s), Shugborough,
Teddesley (Lord Hatherton^s), and Hatherton (also
the property of Lord Hatherton, but occupied by
Sir C. Clifford). And these coverts are probably
much better for cubhunting than the Chase itself, on
which a cub will travel for miles as gaily as an old
fox.

The rest of the South Staffordshire Country, with
the single exception of the Weeford Hills (of which

The South Staffordshire, 249

hereafter), is pretty level ; and, though almost all
plough, is good riding. Almost the only heavy
ground is the Black Slough district — the remainder
of that part of the country borrowed from The
Meynell, and just north of Lichfield. This is flat and
often very deep ; and takes some getting over, though
rideable enough everywhere. It is quite open, and
carries a better scent than the rest of the country.
There are some nice coverts scattered about, though
there are no large woods. About Alrewas, for
instance, there is Alrewas Hay and Brook Hay, &c.
(the property of Lord Lichfield) ; and at Blmhurst
(recently bought by Mr. Fox, the noted shorthorn
breeder) is a very useful covert called Tom Hay.
Good sport is to be had in this neighbourhood ; and
foxes are wild and strong, as they are everywhere in
the South Stafi'ordshire Country.

South of Lichfield is the territory lent by the
Atherstone — sporting ground, with ample but very
manageable coverts and plenty of foxes. The soil is
light ; the fences are very pretty riding ; and on a
good scenting day you may swing along for miles,
taking everything as it comes. The fences are easy
brush hedges, of thorn that is trimmed as it grows.
Very often there is no ditch ; and seldom is there a
very formidable one. Timber is very little used ;
and brooks are rarely encountered. From Barr to
Aston, across the flat, ofi'ers a very fair sample of a
ride with The South StaSbrdshire. As already stated,
theirs is not a consistently good scenting country ;
but when they have a scent at all, it is generally a
fierce one, on which hounds can run like wildfire.

250 The Hunting Countries of England,

They scarcely know what it is to find themselves in a
grass field — a few acres of freshgrown seeds forming
the nearest approach to the luxury. So it will readily
be understood that nine days out of ten, hounds must
put their noses down, and keep them there from find
to finish. Such a thing as lifting them for a flying
cast is a liberty altogether out of the question ; and
they must at all times be left to work their own
way through difficulties. They seldom — save on
exceptional scenting days — find it possible to press
their fox ; who, on his part — true to his wild nature
and breeding — is ever travelling onwards, and doing
all he can to increase the distance between him and
them. In some countries, especially where big woods
prevail, a fox will often avail himself of a bad scenting
day to lie up in covert, and wait there till hounds have
nearly reached him. He thus contrives to forfeit all
advantage he may have gained, and very likely pays
forfeit with a life he might easily have saved. But a
Staff'ordshire fox seldom throws away his chance thus.
He generally knows a lot of country ; and will go
steadily on through it, till he is either brought to hand
or has run his enemies fairly out of scent.

On the Birmingham side, the place of any importance
that is farthest from the Kennels and nearest that
town is Great Barr Hall, the seat of Sir Arthur Scott,
who has most useful and well-preserved little coverts
in his park. The same light soil and pleasant easy
fences mark all this neighbourhood. A trifle nearer
home is Sutton Park, a great place belonging to the
town of Sutton Coldfield — apparently a kind of
common-land free to the townspeople. Whatever the

The South Staffordshire, 251

common rights may be, they do not at all events
include the slaughter of foxes — who, on the contrary,
have an excellent time of it there. The land within
the radius of the park is roughly and partially inclosed
— like many parts of the New Forest — and contains
many patches of rough covert. Lady Wood is
perhaps the best piece ; and it always holds a litter.
Aston Hall — the property of the Hon. Parker Jervis,
whose son acts as secretary to the Hunt — is the next
place of note; and here again are more small thin
plantation- coverts, holding many foxes. Middleton
Hall has always been held to provide a sure find when
in the hands of Mr. Hanbury- Barclay ; and Mr.
Manley^s coverts at Manley Hall have the advantage
of a good sportsman as their owner. At Weeford you
get to the Weeford Hills, strong undulations covered
with very light and indifi'erent plough : and from Hints
Hill (just taken by a good preserver from the Ather-
stone) a fox may either run upwards on to this light
ground of the Weeford Hills, or take across the flat
to the large woodland of Hopwas, now occupied by
Mr. Fisher of Packington Hall. The last-named
wood is a good nursery for foxes, and a good school
for cubhunting. Freeford (Col. Dyott's) is the usual
meet after the Hunt Ball; and Freeford Pool always
furnishes a good wild fox. The east of the country
has, indeed, plenty of coverts to draw. Fotherley
Eough, belonging to Col. Bagnall of Shenstone,
provides foxes on all occasions, and was last season
the source of a great run of four hours ending in a
kill. Just about here the ground improves for hunt-
ing, if for a while deeper and stififer for riding.

252 The Hunting Countries of England,

During a run over it, some loose horses are generally
to be seen. A distant corner of the country not yet
mentioned is Ingestre^ the seat of Lord Shrewsbury^
the coverts of which were until late years drawn by
the North Staffordshire. A gallop from here may
lead over some nice grass either into the Meynell or
the North Staffordshire.

Major Browne bought his pack originally from Lord
Anglesey^ on the retirement of the latter nine years
ago after a mastership of five seasons. Since then he
has replenished them from various sources ; and is this
summer fortunate enough to be bringing into work
some very promising young hounds by Lord Coventry's
well-known veteran Rambler. The pack (now a little
over thirty couple) is kennelled at Major Browne's
hunting box at Fosseway, some three miles from
Lichfield — the latter place, be it mentioned, being
about three hours' journey from London by L. and
N. W. Railway (Euston Station) . A moderately large
field generally turns out, except on the Chase : while
meets in the Birmingham district are always largely
attended.

The days of hunting are Tuesday and Friday, with
a byeday about once a fortnight. The southern, or
Birmingham half of the country is as a rule taken on
a Tuesday. Bassett's Pole is the usual opening meet,
with a view to the Middleton coverts — Trickley
Coppice, New Park, &c., the shooting of which has
for the last two seasons been rented by Mr. Foster of
Canwell Hall, and every care taken of the foxes.
Blackbrook Bridge or Weeford Tollbar is the meet
for Hints Hall and neighbourhood : and other frequent

The South Staffordshire, 253

and favourite meets are Aston Hall, Freeford Hall,
and Hopwas Bridge.

On a Friday, Pottle Pool is fixed for tlie Teddesley
coverts — Lord Hatherton himself being as keen a
sportsman as lie is a guardian of foxes. Perhaps the
best coverts on this side are those at Hatherton, also
belonging to his lordship, but in the tenancy of Sir C.
Clifford. These are woods of some size, adjoining the
Albrighton country; and the meet for them is
generally Manstey Tollbar. Shugborough Lodge is
advertised for one end of the Chase, and Beaudesert
for the other. Lord Anglesey, it is almost needless to
say, supports the Hunt as strongly now as in the days
when he himself first called it into existence. Wolse-
ley Bridge is also for the Chace; and Alrewas is a
common meet for the Black Slough.

254 The Hunting Countries of England,

THE NOETH STAPEOEDSHIEE.*

On the West of the Derbyshire Hills — having The
Cheshire on the north of it and The Albrighton — on
the south — is, roughly speaking, the position of The
North Staffordshire. The London and North-Western
Railway, between the two extreme points of Crewe
and Stafford, cuts through the whole length of its
huntable ground, and no less than four other countries
touch its borders, to wit. Sir Watkin Wynnes and
The Shropshire on the west and The Meynell and
South Staffordshire on the south-east. It looks a
large country on the map ; but the industries of coal,
iron and pottery cut into its very heart, to clothe in
factories and chimnies, and to cloud in smoke and
dust, a full third of its extent. From Stoke and
Newcastle-under-Lyme, north and north-west, a
teeming mass of population is employed at whichever
of these branches of labour individuals and families
may have been born to — over a ten or fifteen mile
area that by the map would appear to be hunted.
The Derbyshire hills and moors, again, hem the
country in, where an opening would seem to be left

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 8, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The North Staffordshire. 255

on tlie west^ between tlie manufacturing district and The
Meynell. The steep grassy slopes and lofty moor-
lands (the former fenced, as throughout Derbyshire,
with high stonewalls) are almost at once impracticable
for foxhounds — or at all events for their followers.
The same bleak hills roll away thus over half the
county of Derby, till at length they begin to melt
down where Lord Fitzwilliam and The RufFord once
more take up the thread of foxhunting. In this
wild unhunted space Buxton is the only name of note
— a refuge whither many a crippled and gouty sports-
man flies to fit himself for the saddle or the gun.

It is only the strength and size of their woods that
allow of the North Staffordshire being a four-day-a-
week country. A great mass of coverts occupy its
centre and south-west. Foxes are thoroughly pre-
served, everywhere ; and are as wild and strong as
they are plentiful. The country, too, — unlike the
South Staffordshire — carries an excellent scent every-
where (excepting, perhaps, some very few coverts).
It is thus a very favourable one for hounds ; and in
many parts a very charming one for riders — both
sections of pursuers making full capital out of the
green covering with which most of the open ground
is clad.

The country, then, may be thus described, as we
traverse it from west to east — ignoring altogether the
brick-and-water-and-smoke area above Stoke, and
bearing in mind that hounds only cross the Stoke-and-
Uttoxeter railway for a couple of meets at the foot of
the Derbyshire hills. The western edge — from Crewe
down to Market Drayton and as far inwards, say, as

256 The Hunting Countries of England.

Woore — is entirely what we are accustomed to look
upon as Cheshire type, viz., dairy farms, small in-
closures, level ground, deep soil, and fair hedge-and-
ditch fences (sometimes with the hedge set on a low
bank). Without there being any distinction, there is
this little difference in the fences as you ride into
North Staffordshire — High farming seems to grow
out of fashion, hedges are less neatly kept, and
ditches are more seldom cleaned out. But, if the
hedges are ragged and the ditches are blind, they
present no essential change ; aud the same horse that
carries you with The Cheshire or Sir Watkin should do
equally well with The North Staffordshire — though
both he and his rider may be called upon to exercise
discretion and discernment in an even fuller degree
with the last named. Most of this district, indeed,
belongs to the counties of Chester and Salop ; and the
same fine scenting grass, the same constant jumping
in and out, the same deep soil, the same bursting
gallops, and the same large fields of competing horse-
men, may be expected to prevail with the North
Staffordshire as with the other two packs. A
quick active horse that will take his fences
steadily, and that does not easily tire — sum-
marises briefly what has already been noted at
length as a desirable mount for such country. Water
is not so frequently offering itself here as over the
border, though it is certainly necessary that a horse
should be ready to face it. Timber he will not often be
called upon to surmount, for the double reason that it
IS not by any means lavishly used, and that when met
with it is easily and, it may almost be said usually

The North Staffordshire. 257

avoided, in favour of a fence of less obdurate nature.
For it must be remembered tliat a strong post and rails
seldom represents here the only possible outlet from a
field — as it often does in some other countries, where
fences, themselves impracticable, have their gaps
mended up with sturdy timber, and this alone gives a
chance of escape from an otherwise secure imprison-
ment. A Cheshire fence, on the contrary, is seldom
unjumpable at all, and generally fairly practicable
everywhere. Even if it secures you a fall, it is one of
a nature very different, both in present sensation and
subsequent afterthought, to the somersault over high
rails. The one probably induces only a wholesome
contempt and a satisfactory increase in the self confi-
dence that makes a man ride straight for pleasure.
The other is likely to be detrimental at the time and
harmful in the future — engendering a lively distrust in
horseflesh, and a dislike of rash experiment, that is all
against a man^s further reputation or enjoyment.
Everybody does not put it to himself in this fashion ;
but a good many act upon a similar course of reason-
ing— the result being, with most men of experience,
that the majority only take timber for choice when
quite assured that they have a timber -jumper under
them — the rest go round to avoid it.

But to continue. This outer vale is pretty well-off"
for coverts, though a few gorses distributed here and
there would prove of great service in filling up occa-
sional voids. There are, for instance, good coverts at
Doddiugton (Mr. Broughton^s), which are noted for
foxes. Also in the neighbourhood of Woore there are
several, to wit, the hazel woods of Mill Hay and Can-

258 The Hunting Countries of England,

riden, also Admirals Gorse (no longer gorse^ but oak
scrub), Arrows Wood, and Checkley Wood — the last
being a strong, holding covert, with Wrine Hill only a
few fields away. Towards Adderley — Mr. Corbett's
own place, the right of drawing which was surrendered
by the North Staffordshire on the occasion of his
dividing The Cheshire country with Capt. Park Yates
— we come to Bruerton Gorse (again no actual gorse),
which provided a fox weekly throughout all the latter
half of last season. Mr. Corbett has made for the
N. S. a very nice gorse covert at Highfield. Sir
George Chetwood also has plenty of foxes at Oakley
Hall, and they are equally numerous at Betton Hall
(Mr. Norcop^s).

Leaving this Cheshire and Shropshire vale, you find
the ground at once begin to rise as you move eastward ;
and so it continues to rise until the hills of Derbyshire
are reached. The same style of grass culture either
already extends, or is gradually creeping into vogue,
across the country, till it blends with a similar class of
farming in southern Derbyshire. On certain hills below
the Kennels at Trentham there is still some little
plough of a light description; but as a rule dairy-
farming is found to be preferable to corn growing,
and year by year more arable has given way to grass
— till now nearly all the North Staffordshire hunting
ground is laid down with turf. Thus round the big
woods which we now reach, grass is generally found.
These great coverts lie upon, or between, ridges of hills
running north and south; and occupy, in broken
periods, an extent of country some ten miles square —
commencing at Madeley and Trentham and reaching

The North Staffordshire. 259

southward,, virtually to Market Drayton and Eccles-
hall. Some idea of their extent may be given by
noting that two of them, Burnt Wood and Bishop^s
Wood, in themselves are said to attain to about eight
hundred and eleven hundred acres respectively. Mrs.
Meynell has a large estate at and near Willow bridge,
in which the woods of Astley Heath and part of Burnt
Wood are included. The manor of Madeley (the
residence of Mr. Stanyer) is very rough and hilly, and
has many large coverts. Maer Hall (Mr. Davenport's)
adjoins with similar woods. Swinnerton Old Park is
an enormous tract of ground nearly all spread over
with covert (shrub, heather, and bilberry bushes), and
is part of the Swinnerton Hall property — the Hall
itself, where Mr. Fitzherbert resides, being at some
little distance. These woods are — thanks to their
owners — very well off for foxes of the best and
strongest kind ; and, it is needless to say, form exten-
sive and valuable ground, not only as a schoolroom for
foxhounds, but as a nursery for foxes. The Duke of
Sutherland's home coverts at Trentham range along
steep hillsides to join the chain ; and swarm with
foxes. All the immediate neighbourhood of the
Kennel is, in a word, broken, hilly and woodland.

Below Swinnerton again — i.e., between Eccleshall
and Sandon, in the south — is a nice country, much
flatter, and having as coverts only some few osier beds
and gorses. Plough and grass intermix here ; and
both are rather deep as the neighbourhood of Stafford
is approached.

Crossing over the Trent, we find another line of hills
running nearly north and south between Longton and

260 The Hunting Countries of England,

Sandon, with several coverts of considerable size.
From Draycott Wood, it may be instanced, hounds last
season ran a fifteen-mile point, killing near the town of
Lichfield. The Hiddlestone district is very much the
same class — perhaps in some respects rather better :
and most of the soil is laid down in grass. At the foot
of the Derbyshire Hills they get as far as Croxden
Abbey, and may run up to Alton Towers ; while
Dilhorn (Sir M. Buller's) is the most northerly meet
on this border tract of stone walls and steep grass
slopes.

The Marquis of Stafi'ord took over the Mastership
of the Hunt seven years ago from Capt. Nugent and
the late Earl of Shrewsbury, who for five seasons had
been joint Masters. Before them Mr. Davenport had
held office for many years, following upon Mr. Wicksted.
Taking the whole pack as a foundation. Lord Stafford
has built the present one mainly by the help of The
Blankney, The Bramham Moor, and The Brocklesby
— the present result being some sixty couple of working
hounds conspicuous for quality and with a full allow-
ance of strength. The Kennels at Trentham are
splendid and well arranged buildings, quite in keeping
with the magnificence of the ducal residence to which
they adjoin.

Great numbers of people attend the covertside on
popular days — notably, for instance, on a Wednesday
in the Wooze district, when the Cheshire and Man-
chester men appear in force. Not so much on account
of the number of horsemen, but to escape the crowd
of colliers who are keenly alive to the delights of
overrunning and damaging the coverts of the Hunt

The North Staffordshire. 261

and tlie crops and fences of the farmers^ it was last
year decided to discontinue advertising the meets ;
and the fixtures are now only circulated by card. In
the south of the country and in the woodlands the
fields are naturally very much smaller ; but the
favourite and more convenient meets show how strong
a body is the North Stafibrdshire Hunt. Where
there are so many industries and factories there must
be wealth ; and where wealth can find so attractive an
outlet as joining a good pack of hounds in a good
country^ small wonder that dives takes to hunting the
fox. Thus, what with townsmen and county-men.
Lord Stafi'ord has a very strong following indeed.

Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday being
the days of hunting — Monday is usually for the strong
coverts not far from home, Wednesday for the Cheshire
side, Friday and Saturday for the rest of the country,
south and south-east of the Kennels. Among the
Monday meets are The Kennels or Trentham Hall, for
the Trentham coverts ; Stapleford Bridge or Swmner-
ton Hall for Swinnerton Old Park ; Loggerhead for
the big woodlands of Burnt Wood and Bishops Wood ;
while on the edge of the country, adjoining The
Shropshire and Albrighton, is a meet at Cheswardine,
for Chipnall Wood and a gorse or two, with the great
woods again for the afternoon.

Wednesday has recently been arranged instead of
Friday for the west of the country, so that the
members of both Hunts — The Cheshire and North
Staffordshire — can avail themselves of a day with
each pack. Some three meets take in the whole of
this side, viz., Doddington and Woore, for the coverts

VOL. 11. T

262 The Hunting Countries of England.

near either; and Norton-in-HaleSj a railway station
that is handy when Betton Oakley, Highfield Gorse,
&c._, are to be drawn. For the last-named covert
Adderley is also occasionally fixed. There is also a
meet at Weston, close to Crewe, for the far north-
west of the country, which brings them back by Mill
Dale (a straggling brookside dingle). Betley Hall
must be added, as a prominent Wednesday fixture. It
is the residence of Mr. Wicksted, who has some
excellent coverts — a gorse, belts of plantation, and a
wood called Balterley Heath.

On a Friday or a Saturday they hunt the stone line
of hills, above alluded to ; or go across to Draycott
and the Derbyshire side. Thus they have Stoke -by-
Stone, for some small woods thereabouts ; and Sandon
for more little coverts, whence they are likely to run
to Chartley Park in the Meynell territory or else back
to Orange Hayes near Stone. Moddershall Oaks is
famous for foxes, and the meet is Moddershall itself.
Seighford, close to Stafford, has about a score of small
coverts and a pleasant country about it. Norton
Bridge is for Chebsey Rough and Shallow ford Gorse.
Johnson Hall^ close to Bccleshall, uieans Wyncote
Wood on the border next The Alb right on. Beyond
the Stoke and Uttoxeter railway are Dilhorn, for the
extensive coverts there ; Draycott Village for Draycott
Cross and Cheadell Common ; and Croxden Abbey as
the farthest point in the hills. Finally, the northern-
most place of meeting between the Kennels and the
collieries is Keele, where there are some good woods
and the Madeley coverts.

The Duke of Beaufort's, 263

THE DUKE OE BEAUEOET^S. *

Quite one of the leading countries of England is The
Badminton^ which for several generations has been
maintained by the Dukes of Beaufort in true princely
fashion. An immense area is as thoroughly hunted
as it is, in return^ staunchly preserved. From Bath
to Cirencester — thirty miles as the crow flies — is a
fair diameter, by no means in excess of the distance
across country between several other extreme points.
No wonder that in this extent there is room for five
days a week from early autumn to latest spring ;
that there is suitable and ample ground for cub-
hunting, while in other parts a May fox may be killed
with impunity; that nearly every variety of country
is to be met with ; or that the Duke's followers are to
a man fond and proud of their hunt. The relations
between the Duke and his field are marked by a
cordial regard and mutual reliance, giving him a hold
upon his following such as no mere sense of gratitude
for his liberality could of itself eff'ect, great as is their
debt to him in this respect. His Grace bears on

* Vide Hobson's Foxliimting Atlas, or the Pocket Map of
Badminton Hunt, by Houlston and Sons, Paternoster-buildings,
and of High-street, Chippenham.

t2

264 Tke Hunting Countries of England,

himself the whole cost of a hunt establishment^ which
has no superior in the three kingdoms — the members
of the Hunt being called upon for no expense beyond
maintaining their own poultry and earthstopping fund.
The insignia of membership of the Badminton Hunt
are a blue coat (or habit) and buflp facing ; the right
to wear which is only acquired by the Duke^s invi-
tation. It is breaking no new ground to write what
is a fact of common admission^ viz.^ that the best
turned-out field of the present day is that of the Duke
of Beaufort. The country is rich in young blood ;
has its full share of wealthy and more than its share of
good class and good fellowship. About a hundred
and fifty county people wear the blue, of whom some
twenty are ladies. Over the stone walls of Gloucester-
shire the fair sex is by no means always the weaker
one; for an unusual number of ladies ride hard and
hunt frequently. The largest fields, as a rule, are on
the Tetbury side, when not only does all the Hunt
assemble, but the Y.W.H. and the Berkeley come in
force from over the border ; and a large contingent
arrives by train from Cheltenham and the Cotswold.

The Vale of White Horse cuts right into the
Badminton Country about this point, running in a
sharp angle up to the town of Malmesbury. Indeed,
this corner of the V.W.H. was at one period ofiered
to the grandfather of the present Duke. Had he
accepted it, the outline of his country would have
become much more complete and even, though the
additional territory was anything but needed. On the
other side, however, the increasing suburbs of Bristo],
and the growing chain of coalpits in its neighbourhood

The Duke of Beaufort's, 265

(running up to and beyond Westerleigh), have
recently encroaclied so much on the country in this
direction^ as to have prompted in no small degree
the extension of territory in the extreme South.
Roughly speaking, the old boundary line between the
Badminton and South -and-West-Wilts ran from Bath
by Melksham to Devizes — ISTeston being the farthest
meet. Previous to last season (^81 — ^82), however,
the Duke took back the ground lent to the latter
Hunt. Erlestoke was also relinquished by the South
and West Wilts, and his Grace now hunts as far
South as Westbury, Little Cheverel, and Market
Lavington on the edge of the downs. The whole of
the newly added territory is a beautiful grass vale, of
the most perfect type. Its fences are all negotiable,
and it is altogether • a charming country in which to
hunt j for m addition to its merits as riding ground,
it carries a capital scent throughout. If it has any
fault at all, it is to be found in the deep going it
always presents by Christmas time. At present, too,
it must own to a shortcoming in the matter of coverts ;
a point, however, that is being rapidly remedied by
its residents, who one and all are striving hard to
make their district do justice to itself. Small withy
beds have been set growing at various spots on the
plain j and how much such effort was wanted will be
easily gleaned from the fact that from Erlestoke to
Spye'Park is a ten mile point of level grass, with
scarce a covert by the way to hold a fox or direct his
line. Among the chief workers towards the desired
end are Mr. Walter Long of Rood Ashton, Mr. S.
Watson-Taylor of Erlestoke, Mr. Stancomb of Potterne,

266 The Hunting Countries of England.

Mr. J. Stancomb of Shaw, and Hon. E. Bouverie of
Market Lavington. At Rood Asliton there is already
a very large woodland ; and again at Erlestoke is a
similar good covert on the hill side overhanging the
valley. The fences of the vale in question are of the
bank-and-ditch description, the banks low and the
ditches not so wide and deep as they are found in
many countries — as for example in the Suffolk, which
was last under notice. Good sport has already been
seen here : for instance — the thirty-nine minutes'
gallop from Keevil Withybed to kill in the town of
Melksham.

A similar class of vale country runs up by the side
of the Avon between Chippenham and Compton
Bassett j and this too gets very deep as winter goes
on — the neighbourhood of Great Wood and Dauntsey
especially. Great Wood, which stands just on the
edge of the Y.W.H. territory — and generally sends
a fox forth over the strong Swindon grass — will be
remembered as the source of the famous run of
February 22nd 1871 — as widely known in the west
under the name of The Great Wood Run as The
Waterloo Run is renowned in Northamptonshire.
Meeting on this gallant occasion at Swallett^s Gate,
they ran for three hours and a half unceasingly,
across the whole breadth of the V.W.H. Countrj^
into the Old Berkshire, to ground in the village of
Highworth — fourteen miles as the crow flies, seven-
Mnd-twenty as the hounds travelled — and a superb
line all the way. Between this Avon Yale and what
is as yet termed the New Country, comes in, it should
be mentioned, a rough strip of ground twixt Chippen-

The Duke of Beaufort's, 267

ham and Devizes^ sandy soil and broken woodlands —
Bowood (Lord Lansdowne^s) and Spye Park (Major
Spicer^s) being tlie central points.

To the east of Compton Bassett again — or beyond
Cherhill — the Duke^s hounds get on to the Wiltshire
Downs_, great stretches of open galloping grounds —
over whose grassy service they have many a fast spin.
Beckhampton Gorse for instance, is the source of
many such a burst ; and so was^ until lately, St.
Ann^s Hill. The gorse, at the latter spot no longer
exists ; but to make amends for its loss Lord Ilchester
is building a nice new gorse covert midway between
Beckhampton and St. Ann^s.

Moving westward and north-westward across the
country from the Wiltshire Downs, we find the Duke of
Beaufort''s territory to consist, so to speak, of a series
of plateaux, on different levels, each having its dis-
tinct characteristics. Leaving the Downs we have
the above-mentioned vale en the east bank of the
Avon : on the other side of the river we get at once
on to a very different district — of which Hullavington
is the centre, and which reaches from the Avon to
about Malmesbury and Easton Grey. A great deal of
this is grass, and, though the soil is of a lighter de-
scription it bears the name of being some of the best
scenting ground of the Hunt. The fences are walls
and fences intermingled. Beyond this again is the
Tetbury country — a smooth tableland of light plough
and stonewalls (exclusively) stretching from Cirencester
to Didmarton and its vicinity. The Cirencester
Woodlands, close to the town and verging on the
Cotswold Hills, are enormous coverts. They are

268 The Hunting Countries of England,

never visited by the Duke^s hounds during cub-
huntings but occasionally in April ; and, rough as is
the country beyond_, some good runs have been
achieved — notably one, three years ago, which ended
in a kill at Cowley, four miles from the town of
Cheltenham. At the other extremity of the country,
viz., round Colerne and Slaughterford, are some other
rough hill coverts, which, with the whole of the district
between Bath and Cold Ashton, come into great use
for cub-hunting and in the spring.

Lastly, below the points of Alderley, Horton, Tor-
marton, Dirham Park, &c., on the west we dip
suddenly down below the high level on which Bad-*
minton stands, and find ourselves in the low deep
plain of the Lower Woods and Chipping Sodbury
— the latter district bearing the designation of the
Sodbury Yale. The Lower Woods are of great ex-
tent, and are with the exception of a single small
corner on the north side — the property of the Duke.
The rides, naturally very heavy and difficult, have
been greatly improved of late years; and it is now
much easier for a huntsman to get about with his
hounds, and for a field to keep within hail. Foxes
swarm in these great coverts in numbers sufficient
for quite one day a week. They will also very fre-
quently face the open ; and then, if they keep to the
vale, will travel far over a good country. The Sod-
bury Yale is all fenced with bank-and-ditch — the
ditches being very blind through all the early part of
the season. The hedges too are generally strong
and most of the land is in grass. Just above the
Lower Woods run the Kilcot Hills ; much of the

The Duke of Beaufort's. 269

yearly cub-lmntiug being done between here and
Box well.

The splendid pack of hounds kennelled at Bad-
minton dates back to about the year 1728; and the
present Duke of Beaufort took over the heirloom
with his title in 185o. In recent years the chief
sources from which new strains have been brought
into the pack have been the Grove and Brocklesby
Kennels, while all along the Dukes of Beaufort and the
Earls of Portsmouth have exchanged good offices in
this direction. All his Grace^s tenants, both iu
Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, are in the habit
of walking puppies ; and many of the farmers in North
Wilts have also taken puppies in recent years. Al-
together some fifty or sixty couple are sent out
annually. Lord Worcester has now hunted the
hounds (five days a week) for fourteen years with
undisputed success. As a proof of what a large and
thoroughly preserved country can stand — and what
energy can achieve — it may be noted that he] killed
no less than ninety-two brace of foxes last season.

Chippenham is no doubt the most convenient
quarter, from whence to command the Duke^s country,
being fairly near the centre of it, and also having
direct railway communication with London (about
two hours and a half via Swindon and Paddington).
Malmesbury has also the latter advantage; but is
more on the outskirts of the country, though well
placed for the meets of the Y.W.H. as well. Tet-
bury again, it is only about four miles from Malmes-
bury Station, and is convenient enough for all the
Northern fixtures.

270 The Hunting Countries of England,

It will be gathered from some of tlie above jottings
that the Duke of Beaufort's country demands a hunter
of more than ordinary talent, and often of great
endurance. He will seldom be called upon to fly a big
place in his stride ; but will be constantly jumping —
either over stonewalls_, or on-and-off banks having a
hedge on the top and a ditch on one side or the other.
A heavy man will certainly do best to ride slowly at all
his fences here. If a wall, this follows as a matter of
course : if it be a bank-and-ditch, his horse will take
much less out of himself if allowed to put his feet
among the thorns, — though few of these fences are so
broad that he could not readily cover them at a spring.
A wall is a delightful kind of jump with a horse that is
accustomed to it, though a very snare to a green and
violent beginner. It presents also a rather terrifying
aspect to the stranger educated only to the thin strand
of a blackthorn binder ; but it will not give him half
as many falls, and the sense of awe soon wears off on
acquaintance. There are not many brooks in the
country, though two or three exist in the new vale,
and there is the Brinkworth brook on the V.W.H.
border, and another stream running between Hilmarton
and Foxham, called the Cowage Brook. The horse,
then, for this country should be short on the leg, deep
in the girth — and generally given as little as possible
to sprawling about. He must be able to gallop
through dirt, up hill or down, to jump out of deep
gi-ound and to go on as long as he is wanted. In fact,
if he has to take his turn in every part of the Duke's
country, he must be a hunter of exceptional class and
strength. The farmers of the country are all naturally

The Duke of Beaufort's. 271

fond of foxliunbing and staunch to the Hunt. Bad
times have, as elsewhere, somewhat thinned their
numbers at the covert side ; but they still turn out in
fair strength, especially on the Devizes and AViltshire
side.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday
being the days of hunting, the usual disposition as
regards locality is as follows : — Monday is for the
Tetbury, or stonewall district — where it may be said
hounds can either run hard or cannot run at all. Its
foxes do not always keep their necks as straight as in
some other parts, though exceptions to the contrary
are constantly found. Newnton Lodge (the residence
of Mr. G. S. Estcourt, member for North Wilts) is a
frequent meet ; and from his coverts of Newnton
Gorse and Shipton Wood a run often ensues on to
similar table land of the V.W.H. or into their deep
Bradon country. Charlton Park (Lord Sufiblk's place)
over the border is a very common point. Another
meet is Trouble House, whence they draw Trull, &c.
When Avening is named as the fixture, the morning is
likely to be spent on rough hilly ground, though the
afternoon will probably lead to Union Gorse and a
pleasant stonewall country.

Tuesday is generally given to the Sodbury Vale,
that day and Friday being always devoted to the low
country on the extreme west. It is generally accepted,
however, that Friday is for The Lower Woods ; and
that Tuesday will find hounds nearer Bath, at such
places as Dodington, Toll Down, &c. The Lower
Woods, which extend for about three miles in length,
and one in breadth, are extremely strong in under

272 The Hunting Countries of England,

covert during the greater part of the winter — the grass
growing so long and rank that hounds can scarcely
work through it till it has felt some frost. At times
a good holding scent is met with, especially — as is
natural — when the leaf is thoroughly dead. From
The Lower Woods they are likely to go up the hill to
Badminton towards the afternoon — drawing Horton
Bushes, a new acquisition of the Duke's, and Chalkley
— which, however, does not belong to his Grrace — on
the way to The Park. Nearly all the upper end of the
park is fern and low thornbush covert ; and there are
several nice woods and plantations, Swan Grove being
the chief of them.

Wednesday is the day chosen for the Wiltshire Vale.
Swallett^s Gate is the meet for Great Wood (which is
the property of Lady Holland, and is about a hundred
acres in extent). The Mermaid is for Christian Malford
and a new gorse near, both belonging to Mr. Meux.
From Highway Common, which is just under the hill,
they may go either into the vale or on to the hill
above, for instance, to Stanmore and Berwick Gorse,
or to Cleeve Wood in the Yale ; and foxes are also
frequently to be found lying in the open. Blacklands
is the meet for Compton Bassett (Major Heneage's),
whence they may get on to Bremhill. Sometimes they
meet at Rowde for Roundaway, where Mr. E. Colston
has strong and well preserved coverts, and a good
fox is always to be found in the Park. About one
Wednesday in the month hounds are taken into the
"new vale,^^ and as coverts increase, they will no
doubt find themselves there still oftener. For Rood
Ashton they usually meet at Yarnbrook Gate; and

The Duke of Beaufort's. 273

other fixtures are Semington Cross Roads and Erle-
stoke.

Saturday is generally employed in tlie Hullavington
neighbourhood, where the stone walls of the north
gradually give way to hedges and ditches. Hulla-
vington itself is a very frequent meet^ having many
small coverts within reach. Sometimes hounds move
on to Draycot Park (Lord Cowley^s), sometimes to
Stanton Park (Lord Radnor^s), where there is a good
wood of 70 or 80 acres : and they have other draws
to select from in Angrove, West Park, Bincombe,
Bradfield, and Higham Wood. Foss Lodge, too, is
often the place of meeting, pointing to Sir John
Neeld^s coverts about Grittleton. Easton Grey may
lead to about the same draws as Hullavington, or the
Weston Birt (Mr. Holford's).

It should have been mentioned that another little
strip of country comes in occasionally on a Tuesday.
This is in the vicinity of Pickwick — the ordinary
meet being The Cross Keys, whence Corsham (Lord
Methuen^s) or the nice coverts of Mr. G. P. Fuller at
Neston may be drawn — a good deal of pleasant grass
marking the country round.

274i The Ranting Countries of England,

THE COTSWOLD.*

Cheltenham is at once tlie base and main source of the
Cots wold Hunt. Without the existence of Chelten-
ham there might have been difficulty in ever consti-
tuting this as a separate country — still more in main-
taining it. The pretty and popular town nestles in a
hollow, with the Cots wold Hills forming a half moon
round it. The Kennels are at their feet, just on the
outskirts of the town ; and it is almost exclusively
on these heights that hounds go forth to hunt the
fox.

A word of history is necessary here, to date the
formation of the country. The late Earl Fitzhardinge
hunted not only the present Berkeley Country; bat
every alternate month during the season moved his
hounds from Berkeley Castle to the Cheltenham
Kennels in order to hunt the present Cotswold and
North Cotswold (then termed the Broadway) districts.
Soon after his death his successor, Admiral Berkeley,
limited his ground to the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury
road — thus reserving for himself the Tewkesbury-and-
Gloucester Vale, and leaving the hills behind Chelten-

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 15, and Hobson's
Foxhunting- Atlas.

The Cotswold. 275

ham for Mr. Cregoe Colemore. The latter accordingly^
in the year 1858, formed a pack — buying hounds from
Lord Giffordj who was then retiring from the Vale of
White Horse, and also some from Mr. Farquharson of
the Cattistock. With these he worked the Cheltenham
and Broadway countries together — till Lord Coventry
took over the Broadway, to create the North Cotswold.
On Mr. Colemore' s death in 1871, Sir Reginald
Graham was Master of the Cotswold for two years ;
when Mr. A. Sumner, the present Master, took
the country.

The pack now in Kennel descends direct from Mr.
Coleman's purchases ; but Mr. Sumner has spared
neither pains nor expense to obtain the best blood of
Brocklesby, Badminton, Belvoir, Berkeley, and Lord
Coventry, to blend with the strains in existence at
home. The consequence is that the pack have all the
speed and stamina necessary to fly the hills, and the
drive and stoutness needed to push a woodland fox
through the wide strong coverts to his death in the
open. The undulations of the Cotswold hills are very
steep and severe ; and hound and horse alike, to live
over them, must possess the most pronounced pro-
pelling power and own a spotless lineage. The only
fence — with the exception of an occasional insigni-
ficant hedge — is the loose stonewall of Gloucestershire
— formidable enough, though, in its varying height
and under the trying conditions of pace and stiff
ascents. On a good scent, hounds Can race over the
walls quite as quick as horses — taking the jump
almost abreast, and with none of the stringing,
jostling, and subsequent panting after the leaders

276 TJie Hunting Countries of England.

that belong to the gaps and smeuses of strong thick
hedges. Hounds can, naturally, carry themselves up
the steep hillsides far faster than horses can carry an
indefinite weight of humanity : and the only chance
horses have is to make best use of their shoulders,
where the ground favours them and their heads are
pointing down hill. It must not be supposed that
hounds can run every day over these wide slopes of
light plough. Too often the soil exhibits a coldness
and indifference to Reynard^s line of flight, that make
progress almost impossible. But when a scent and a
straight fox are both forthcoming, he must be a quick
man on a smart horse who would ride close on the
line of hounds. To keep them more or less in sight
is seldom difficult; for, once you are away from the
coverts, the ground will generally be found open and
easy to the view. Your horse, by the way, need not
— should not — be a big one. Strength behind the
saddle, and blue blood in every vein, are essential. A
lengthy horse will soon tire up the hills ; and though
he may jump a &tone wall when fresh as well as
another, the difficulty of raising himself for this
particular kind of leap becomes more distressing at
each effort. A wet autumn is needed to insure scent
and sport; and it is surprising what an amount of
rain the light soil of the hills will soak up. It then
lets horses in to a great depth — while hounds can
run their best. On the other hand, under exactly
opposite conditions, there is often a tremendous scent
in a dry March, with the dust flying in clouds.

The Cotswold foxes are not only plentiful, but
strong and ready to travel. Of course such great

The Cotswold. 277

woods as those of Witliington and Chedwortli in the
centre of the country, and such rough and extended
fastnesses as the Cranham woodlands in the south,
take a great deal of hunting ; and the difficulties of
sticking to one fox, and getting away at him with an
united pack, tax a huntsman^s powers to the utmost.
With foxes on foot in every direction, it is only a free
use of the horn that allows hounds — still more the
field — to keep to the line of chase. But a Cotswold
fox, once bustled into the open, will go right afield,
and is not to be handled easily. It is only fair to note
that during the past season (^81-^82) the Cotswold
have had a succession of long and fine runs — due, no
doubt, in some degree to the uninterrupted open
weather, which allowed the strong coverts to be
constantly worked.

Cheltenham is not a place that relies for its attrac-
tions entirely on what it can ofi'er to the hunting-man.
Its social advantages are very widely known j and the
education of the young idea is a staple and profitable
trade of the town. In truth, the man of huntino-
instincts is more likely to find himself in Cheltenham
for the sake of an Indian liver, or to put his boys to
school, than because he seeks a hunting-quarter of the
highest possible class. Yet, having arrived at Chel-
tenham, he will find sport ready to hand, and a wide
choice of hounds and country at a little distance. On
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays he may have
the home pack : on a Tuesday Lord Fitzhardinge may
often come almost up to his door, or the Vale of White
Horse are to be reached : on a Thursday he may go
with the North Cotswold: and on a Friday he may

VOL. II. u

278 The Hunting Countries of England.

reach the Heythrop or Lord Coventry. The Duke of
Beaufort, again, is generally on the Cheltenham side
of his territory on a Monday or Wednesday. Thus,
if we add that the Worcestershire and the Ledbury
are easily to be visited by train, it may be said that a
Cheltenham man has choice of no less than nine packs.

It is stated above that the Cotswold country is
almost entirely hill. The exception, however, lies
in the little strip of lowland running northward of
the Kennels, and known as the Cleeve, or Uckington,
Yale. The coverts here are small ; and a fox found in
them will almost invariably set his head straight for
the hills — at most a quick twenty minutes away. But
should he by chance point for Tewkesbury Park, and
run the length of the vale, the rider will be called
upon to cross a country that will test the experience
both of himself and his mount. A certain amount of
grass is spread here and there ; but, whether amid
meadows or arable, the fences are as stiff as they are
varied. He may be called upon to fly one, and have
to pull up and creep the next. Stretching across the
vale is the Treddington Brook, a fair level piece of
water that leads to many a ducking.

At meets near the town of Cheltenham the Cotswold
field is, as may be imagined, a large one. On the
special occasion of the Queen Wood meet, which Mr.
Sumner gives, as a matter of yearly custom, on the
day following Christmas Day, not only is there an
immense concourse of riders, but the townspeople
turn out in thousands to make holiday. Queen Wood
is on the steep slope a couple of miles from the town ;
and when it is drawn the mob line the height above, to

The Cotsiuold. 270

get full view of the proceedings and to shout and holloa
madly. Their amusement never fails them — nor_,
indeed^ do their lungs ever seem to tire — when Queen
Wood has a fox for them.

As above noted, the Cotswold hunt three days a
week ; and the days are distributed as follows.
Monday has an occasional meet in the little vale,,
such as Uckington Village for Uckington Gorse and
the nice thorn covert of Uckington Brake — or Cleeve
Village for Stoke Brake. The latter always holds a
fox, and his point — or that of any vale fox here-
abouts— is likely to be for such hill coverts as those of
Woolstone, Dixon (a great stronghold), or Oxendon.
Monday takes in, too, all the rest of the north of the
country, adjoining the North Cotswold or Lord
Coventry's. Dixon Wood, jusc mentioned, is amid
good hunting but rough riding ground, and may give
a run to Dumbledon in the North Cotswold or across
to Bredon Hill in Lord Coventry's domain. Stanley
Mount is a very similar meet. About Charlton
Abbotts and Rowel Gate, two adjacent fixtures on
the edge of the country, a good deal of woodland
is again found, such as Bespidge Wood, Willis's
Coppice (both the property of Mr. Fulwar Craven),
and Baker's Wood. From either of the two former a
run is likely to ensue into the North Cotswold, to the
great Guiting Wood. From Queen Wood, again, a
fox breaking over the hill will probably give a run
across the downs, and lead up to Corn Dean Planta-
tions, West Wood, or Postlip Quarries. Dowdeswell
Wood is also within three miles of Cheltenham ; and,
as Queen Wood is the Christmas meet, so is Dowdes-

u 2

280 The Hunting Countries oj England.

well Wood usually cliosen as a sequel to a Cheltenham
Ball — besides being invariably the scene of the opening
meet of the season. The covert is heartily and suc-
cessfully preserved by Mr. Coxwell Rogers.

On a Wednesday the Cotswold hunt the middle of
their country, and advertise some of their best meets.
The Withington and Chedworth woodlands are quite a
feature, and a centre, of the Wednesday district; and
scarcely a week passes but that hounds are in them at
some time of the day. They are the property of Lord
Eldon, who is the best possible friend to foxhunting.
Again, a meet on the eastern edge of the country
may very probably lead to a gallop over the best of
the Heythrop stonewalls. Andover's Ford is a meet,
and notable as the scene of the Cheltenham Steeple-
chases in the days of Jim Mason — when they ran
four miles over walls, and finished at Puesdown, the
last fence being a stonewall four feet high. From
here the first coverts to draw are those of Mr. Fletcher
near Shipton, small but good places on the hillside —
Oheveley Grove, Compton Grorse, &c. After these,
hounds generally get into the big woodlands above-
mentioned. Round Puesdown are such coverts as
Hazleton Grove (where a sure find is guaranteed
under the care of the Brothers Minchin) and Prison
Copse, close to North Leech, the site of the old prison
lor Cheltenham's transgressors. Both these are small
coverts with plenty of room in their neighbourhood,
and the open hills of the Heythrop just over the
borders to the east. Puesdown was a favourite meet
of the old Earl Fitzhardinge ; who to the last always
drew his coverts himself, though hounds went on

The Cotswold. 281

afterwards under the mauagement of Harry Ayres,
his clever and veteran huntsman. So fond are his
hounds said to have been of the Earl^ that when, as
often happened, he was driving late to the meet, the
old huntsman could always point to the pack and give
out " Master's on the road ! '' long before his carriage
was visible in the distance, or the sound of its wheels
could be heard. When once he had driven up and
alighted he would let his favourites jump over and
bedaub him with mud to their hearts' content.

Naunton Inn is another meet in this neighbourhood,
with the thorn covert at Gazeley and the New Gorse
to draw. From Salperton Park, too, after drawing
the plantations, they are likely to take the same lot of
coverts as from the two last-mentioned meets, and of
course equally likely to take a trip into the Heythrop.
Withington is generally advertised for its wood, and
for Chedworth and the Star Wood; and a meet at
Fossebridge is pretty certain to be followed by a find
in the Osier Bed. From the Chedworth Woods, by
the way, an excursion into the wall and tableland
portion of the V.W.H. is a very probable con-
tingency.

Saturday, too, is all on the hill, and embraces all
the lower part of the country — to wit, from Chelten-
ham to Cirencester. The overhanging woodlands of
Cranham cover a great rough area in this district;
but, apart from these, the coverts are not of an
inordinate size. Chatcomb is perhaps the nearest to
Cheltenham of the Saturday meets — being situated
close to Seven Springs, the source of the Thames.
From here are drawn the larch plantations of Mr.

282 Til? Hunting Countries of England.

Elwes of Colesbourue (au old and good friend to fox-
hunting). At Cowley Mr. Richardson -Gardener has
always had foxes in his wood, since he came into pos-
session. At one time he kept a pack of staghounds;
and the deer — both red and white — that he then
hunted are now to be seen (or their progeny) browsing
in the park. Rencomb Lodge is a popular fixture,
bringing out the Cirencester division in force.
From it they draw the nice wood of Old Park,
CHfferdine, and Eycot, all good coverts on the
Rencomb estate. Combend Wood has also plenty of
foxes, being most successfully looked after by the
Rev. J. Pitt and a farmer, Mr. J. Pope. Woodmancote
is for Moore Wood, the property of another good fox
preserver, Mr. J. P. Haines. From North Cerney
they generally go to Badgendon AYood and Hinton^s
Gorse (Mr. Capel Croome^s), and perhaps to Dagling-
worth Grove — quite on the outskirts of the country
and within a mile of the extensive Cirencester Woods,
into which, of course, they frequently run. On the
roughest district of the Hunt are also the following
Saturday meets — Birdlip for Whitcomb and the
Cranham Woods (the latter belonging to Lady
Croomie, and carefully tended in the interests of fox-
hunting by her nephew Mr. N. Hicks-Beach) ; Brims-
field for the Park Wood and the Syde Woods ;
Miserden (in a region almost precipitous) with
Miserden Park Wood, Winston Wood, a good covert
on the hill side, and the Woods of Cranham and
Whitcomb to follow. Prinknash Gate is in the same
neighbourhood, and has also the coverts of Prinknash
Park and Pope Wood.

The Dumfriesshire. 283

THE DUMFRIESSHIRE.*

The sheltered nook of Annandale is the iocale of the
Dumfriesshire Hunt. Lofty, sweeping, hills — the home
of the grouse and still more the breeding ground of
the black game — hem in this arena to the north, to the
east, and to the west; while the waters of the Sol way
Firth divide it from the county of Cumberland.
Directly Gretna Green is passed, you are on Dumfries-
shire hunting ground; and the Caledonian railway,
that had no existence in the days of runaway matches
and romance, will carry you through its length as it
follows the Annan upwards to the river's mountain
sources. A basin of level, well-tilled ground forms
the heart of the country (say, from above Lochmaben
and Lockerbie down to the sea), ribbed in by the high
grass ridge of the Corrie hills on the east, and by the
more cultivated slopes of Tinwald on the west. The
town of Dumfries is quite an outside point in the
latter direction ; and, indeed. The Annandale would, as
far as geographical position is concerned, have been a
more strictly appropriate name for the Hunt than The
Dumfriesshire. The county is certainly classified

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 1.

284 The Hunting Countries of England.

among the Lowlands; but many of its hillsides wiU
compare with either Aberdeenshire or Inverness, for
steepness and severity ; and riding is out of the
question immediately outside the precincts of the little
country in question. Sheep farms yield here a more
profitable return than grouse moors ; heather is freely
burned ; and^ consequently _, where the lower slopes are
open to the foxhunter, he will find himself almost con-
tinually on thick green grass. The tilled vale carries
quite a fair scent at most times ; but the green sheep-
walks of the hills hold an exuberant scent to which
hounds can always fly. Naturally the riding in the one
case is subject to very diff'erent conditions to what it is
under in the other. In the low country^ constant little
obstacles have to be surmounted, requiring experience
and discrimination on the part of both horse and man.
Great jumping power or great boldness are seldom
called for; but if the fences are ragged to the eye,
they are not left with their gaps unmended, nor are
they by any means built to any one universal pattern.
The hedges are low and the thorn is of a dwarfed and
stubbly growth ; but every opening is patched up with
light timber, and often a low bank assists an otherwise
insignificant fence. Ditches are rarely considered
necessary : and nature has provided very few streams
which have not a firm pebbly bottom under shallow
water. The Dalton Brook, near the Kennels, is almost
the only instance of a wide and often unavoidable
water-jump. Wire, too, comes in extensively for fence
making — not often, however, as an adjunct, and very
seldom as a hidden snare. A great number of the
fields are divided, one from the other, only by quadra-

The Dumfriesshire. 285

pled strands of wire riiuoiug iVom post to post — a
hindrance to forward progress, but no instrument of
danger. In short_, a rider to hounds must go with his
eyes open ; and a horse must be ready to pop about
wherever called upon. A small, active, well-bred, and
manageable horse is much to be preferred to one that
is over-sized or in any degree rash. The vale is at
times very soft and deep, if not exactly holding — the
soil being of a description that readily soaks rain in
and readily gets dry again. Of permanent pasture
there is little, if any, in the low country ; but a great
deal of ground is laid down in rye grass for some three
or four years, and is then ploughed up again. The
hills, on the contrary, are — especially on the east, or
Corrie side — almost entirely sheep-walk, on which
coarse and wet, but sound grass flourishes, with only a
sprinkling of heather here and there. As already
mentioned, hounds can always race their fox over these
wild slopes. Their followers must be on the look-out
for the narrow, open trenches, which — cut down the
faces of the hills — constitute the only drainage; and
which^ often completely overgrown with grass, afford
continual opportunity for a roll on the mossy turf. Big,
round, stones scattered among the grass, are apt to
vary the monotony of falling upon a velvet surface ;
but, as a rule, you may ride in very fair safety after
hounds over the uplands — though the pack is likely
enough to travel faster than you can. Stone walls —
which are occasional on the lower ground — become the
only fences on the hills. They are seldom too formid-
able to jump ; and, in any case, the loose round stones
give way easily — whether to the touch of a horse^s

28b The Hunting Countries of England.

knees or to the attack of discreet and dismounted
sportsmen.

The Dumfriesshire Hunt, having no neighbours
nearer than The Ayrshire to the west and the Duke
of Buccleuch to the east — a wide-spread of hill and
moorland dividing it from either — is, in fact, only
limited for country by the natural features which sur-
round it. Thus, it is found impossible to meet farther
north than Wamphray Station, with Dundoran "Wood
as the extreme draw ; and thither hounds go about
once a season. The Kaehills district is all rough and
unhuntable ; but, farther down, the hills of Tinwald
and Eammerscales provide good going (partly sheep-
walk, partly arable). The Annan vale contains the
pick of the country — Castlemilk, Dormont, Kinmount.
Comlongon, &c., to the sea. The Corrie Hills (which,
by the way, belong to Mr. Eobert Jardine) fill up the
opposite side, till they merge on to grouse moor.
A flat, low country comes in again below the Tinwald
hills, and near the sea ; but is a good deal spoiled
and interfered with by the presence of Lochar Moss,
a tract of bog and waste over which it is difficult to
walk, impossible to ride, yet which a fox will often lead
hounds to cross. To the south-east — towards Long-
town — however, where a rideable country still con-
tinues, foxes are not to be found ; and the farthest
meets in this direction are, therefore, Springkell,
Broats, and Stapleton Tower.

Scarcity of foxes, however, is nowhere else a com-
plaint in the Dumfriesshire Country. Though so
immediately adjoining regions purely shooting, a blank
dr>v has boen unknown for at least two years. The

The Dumfriesshire, 287

landowners are mostly resident, generally sporting,
and all inclined to uphold such an institution as a
country pack of foxhounds. The coverts, too, happen
to be large and numerous ; and so foxes have every
chance of multiplying. Again, the very size and
number of the coverts prevent their being easily
killed ; for, though the woods are chiefly fir (often with
an under carpet of heather) , and carry a good scent,
a beaten fox very frequently finds a substitute. On the
hills there are little else but belts and plantations of
spruce fir ; though the patches of heather will often
hold a fox.

Among the chief ranges of coverts are the follow-
ing, commencing with the neighbourhood of Locker-
l)ie, which is the most central and accessible point
within the radius of the Hunt. At Turmuir is a chain
(.f small woods, perhaps forty or fifty acres apiece,
belonging to the Duke of Buccleuch. Mr. Robert
fFardme has excellent and well-preserved coverts at
Castlemilk ; and these of Mr. Brooks at Hoddam
Castle are equally good — Woodcock Aire being the
principal one. Brownmoor, which also belongs to
the Duke of Buccleuch, is a wood comprising several
hundred acres of Scotch fir with heather underfoot.
Turning to the south, we find Kinmount (the property
of the Marquis of Queensberry, but at present the
residence of the Master, Mr. L. Salkeld), where there
are seven hundred acres of covert intermingling with
the park and precincts. To instance its value to tht^
Hunt, it ma.y be mentioned that hounds drew th(^
coverts no less than twenty-one times last season,
without ever failing to find a fox. At Comlongon

288 The Hunting Countries of England.

are good and extensive coverts of Lord Mansfield's ;
and at Rammerscales others — steep hill-side coverts
and deep glens — belonging to Major Bell-McDonald.
Rockhall is carefully preserved by Mr. Young, who
has the place from Sir A. Grierson, of Lagg. Close
to Dumfries are Tinwald Downs ; and in the centre of
the country are the nice hunting coverts at Dormount
(Mrs. Carruthers') and at Kirkwood (Mr. A. Steel's).
The Kennels are at Leafield, some half-dozen miles
from Lockerbie, and are well placed and healthy.
The pack has been much benefited of late years by
drafts from Belvoir, to add to good northern blood
already in Kennel. The history of the hounds and
the Hunt is briefly this. In 1842 Colonel Salkeld, of
Holm Hill, in Cumberland, set up a pack of fox-
hounds ; of which, however, about six years after-
wards he made a present to his Kennel-huntsman
Joseph Graham. The latter brought them over the
border, and established himself and them at the Blue
Bell Hotel, Lockerbie — hunting them thence for a
season, with what help he could get on the spot. The
following year he had a regular subscription of some
two or three hundred pounds ; after which the late
Lord Drumlanrig (afterwards Marquis of Queensberry)
took them in hand and made up deficiencies. Mr.
Carruthers of Dormount next became Master for
several seasons ; and the present Lord Queensberry
then held them for two years. He was succeeded in
1870 by Mr. Johnstone of Halleaths; who at the
expiration of a ten-years' Mastership was presented
with his picture by the members of the Hunt. Mr.
Louis Salkeld is now enterins: on his third season in

The Dumfriesshire. 289

command. With about forty-five couple of hounds
in Kennel he generally finds himself in a position to
take the field three days a week rather than the
promised five days a fortnight; so Tuesdays, Thurs-
days, and Saturdays seldom fail to see the pack at
work. No particular order as to the meets is observed,
the convenience of the country being the only guide.
Some of the leading fixtures are as follows : — On the
Lockerbie side, Castlemilk, Balgray, and Corrie Lodge
for the hill district, Lockerbie House (Mr. Johnstone-
Douglas^), Jardine Hall (Sir Alexander Jardine's),
and Halleath (Mr. Johnstone^s). In the south and
south-west areKinmount, Hoddam Castle, Com longon,
Whitecroft (the residence of Mr. A. Lyon, Hon. Sec.
to the Hunt) — the last being for Braehills, Car-
rutherstown Moss, &c. — and Knockhill for Brown -
moor. Towards Dumfries are Tin wald Downs, Rock-
hall, Ryemuir (Capt. Yorstoun's) and Marchmount, or
occasionally Dumfries itself.

290 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE ALBRIGHTON.*

An extent of country that^ if it were all preserved
alike and all to be hunted alike, would require at least
a second pack, is the portion of the Albrighton. It
stretches from Stafford to Kidderminster; and finds
foxhunting also for Wolverhampton and Birmingham
by the way. Having the North Staffordshire above
it and the Worcestershire at its feet, it has something
of the character of either where it adjoins, gradually
passing from the style of one to that of the other.
Thus it has the deep heavy plough and dense wood-
lands of the Worcestershire in the south ; the good
scenting ground, small inclosures, and a sprmkling of
the dairy meadows of the North Staffordshire in the
north ; while a kind of neutral zone of light soil, with
much shghtly-fenced arable, occupies the whole of its
centre. Much of the south or south-west of the
country is wild, rough, and untempting ; again, a
large district, reaching almost from Wolverhampton
to Kidderminster, is sacrificed on the altar of game
preserving ; while a great tract, past the back of
Wolverhampton up to the town of Birmingham, is

* Vide Stauford's " Himtiug Map," Sheets 8,, 9, 1-4, aud 15.
and Hobsou's Foxliuntine: Atlas.

The Aibrighton. 291

held in black bondage to coal and iron. Yet for all
these losses and drawbacks, enough remains to the
Aibrighton to make it a very sporting country, with
room for four days a week. The heart and strength
of the country may be said to lie in a limited radius,
which contains the Kennels and is made up of such
estates as those of Lord Bradford, Mr. Giffard, Lord
Dartmouth, Mr. Foster, &c., whereon foxes are the
first and all-important care. Other large and very
friendly landowners there are, freely scattered over
the country, for instance, Mr. Monckton of Stretton
Hall, Mr. Cotes at Woodcote, Colonel Kenyon-Slaney
at Hatton, Mr. Vernon at Hilton, Lord Lichfield at
Ranton and Shelmore ; while Sir Thomas Boughey
himself has much property at Aqualate, and the Duke
of Sutherland owns Lilleshall and a very large area
round. The frequency of county places and o-entle-
men^s residences is quite a feature of The Aibrighton.
In some of the best preserved and most closely-hunted
parts of the country, you are often scarcely out of one
park before you are in another — a matter which may
be of considerable benefit to hounds, who delight in
finding themselves on the wide well-kept turf, but
which scarcely meets the aspirations of the riding
division who have to make the best of their way round
by gates. The Aibrighton is by no means a grass
country — nor has it even any particular part which
might go by the name of its '^ grass side.^^ At the
same time it is certainly not solely plough ; for grass
meadows are scattered more or less freely everywhere,
and the various parks in themselves constitute a con-
siderable aggregate of sound turf. Nor can it be

292 The Hunting Countries of England,

spoken oiin boto as a notably good scenting- country ;
for the light soil of the body of it carries a strong
scent only in October and early November^ and, later
on, after an excessive fail of wet. The best part for
scent — and for sport — is the upper end, adjoining the
North Staffordshire and the Shropshire and cut off by
the Old Watling Street Road which crosses the country
from Wolverhampton to Wellington. North of this
the soil at once gets stronger, the fences stouter, the
country more open and scent more reliable. In the
Penkridge direction coverts are rather scarce, and the
gorses planted in recent years have had no chance
against the severe winters; but everywhere else there
are coverts enough for all requirements ; while all
through the Albrighton territory the foxes are stout
and wild. The farmers are most sturdy friends ; will
walk puppies to any extent (sixty couple might be got
out if desired) ; and they themselves even assist to
maintain the poultry-fund as well as rendering its
distribution easy. Bad times have for the last season
or two kept many of them on foot who had always
before ridden a hunter, but who may yet again bring
a young one to the covert- side.

A short-legged, clever horse is the most appropriate
mount with the Albrighton hounds. Some breeding
is of course desirable ; but it is above all necessary that
he should look where he is going and have learned
that a deep ditch may often underlie thick waving
grass. '^ Go slow at your fences, and let his head
alone,^^ is a local axiom, the adoption of which may
save a stranger many a fall. The class of fence
met with in the north is exactly similar to that

The Albrighton. 293

described under the head of The North Staffordshire
and The Cheshire. In the centre of the country vou
will meet with little else but light thorn fences
generally on low banks and seldom with any ditch
worth mentioning. Yet these hedges, partly from
their very insignificance, very often upset a careless
horse; for a strong grower or a stout stake may
intercept progress when least expected, and a complete
turn over is the result.

The hounds are kennelled in a charming situation
and at a very convenient point, Whiston Cross (some
two miles from the little town of Albrighton), whence
a sweeping view of the north-west of the country is
obtainable — the wooded height of The Wrekin, across
the Severn in Shropshire territory, being a prominent
landmark in the distance. The pack was formed by
Sir Thomas Boughey some sixteen years ago ; but
about ten years since the kennel was attacked by
hydrophobia, and the dogs were destroyed. Drafts
from Lord Coventry, the Dake of Grafton, Mr.
Musters, and from other sources, formed the fresh
foundation, upon which has been worked in the best
acknowledged strains from the Belvoir, Milton, &c.,
&c. ; and at the present moment there are some fifty-
five couple of most workmanlike hounds in Kennel.

The Albrighton, as it now stands, may be said to be
made up of the old Enville country (from Ean Dans to
Wrottesley, hunted by the Earls of Stamford in the
last century and beginning of this), together with the
Albrighton district and a piece of the old Woore
country in the extreme north. This last was added
on the retirement of the late Sir Thomas Boughey in

VOL. II. X

291 The Hunting Countries of England.

1840, after he had hunted the two former portions,
besides a great part of the present North Stafford-
shire, at his own expense for four seasons. The centre
of what is now the Albrighton was but little hunted in
the early part of the century ; and it is said that Mr.
John Mytton, of " Nimrod celebrity/^ having Kennels
at Ivetsey Bank, near Penkridge, used to ride from
Halston beyond Shrewsbury and meet his hounds,
and back more than thirty miles again after hunting.
The present Sir Thomas Boughey succeeded Mr.
Orlando Stubbs in the Mastership in 1866.

The Wolverhampton neighbourhood produces the
largest fields of the week ; and, generally speaking,
the attendance, though comfortably below that of
Cheshire, is anything but small. A goodly number
of county men are fond of hunting; all the farmers
hunt who can ; and the wealth of the towns finds one
of its outlets at the covertside. Wolverhampton holds
a commanding position with regard to the Albrighton
country ; and Stafford is on the border between it
and the North Staffordshire \ but either Albrighton
or Shifnal would be quieter, and equally convenient,
hunting quarters for the country in question — and
each of these places is between three and four hours
from London (Paddington).

On the whole, the country presents a more than
ordinarily flat surface. PatshuU stands on a slight
eminence, and gentle rises stretch away to the south
of it; but there is nothing to merit the name of a
severe hill from one end to the other.

Some few further details may be jotted down in
glancing at the different districts in detail. The area

The Albrighton. 295

of light soil in the centre of the country extends from
just above Shifnal practically (as far as hounds are
concerned) to the neighbourhood of Enville; and in
this portion little but plough is met with except along
the edges of the brooks. On the Severnside, a little
distance north of Bridgenorth, is the Apley estate,
where Mr. W. 0. Foster has a splendid stronghold
for foxes in Apley Terrace — a rocky woodland covert
occupying some miles of the river bank, and probably
containing half a dozen litters of foxes at this moment.
In the vicinity of this is the Worf, which joins the
Severn at Bridgenorth ; and which, though seldom
jumpable, is often fordable, and has tributary brooks
which are more negotiable for a hunter. In the
district we are now alluding to are, as already men-
tioned, the estates of the Earl of Dartmouth at
PatshuU, Lord Wrottesley at Wrottesley (with two
nice woods, Cranmoor and Simmons Wood) ; of the
Earl of Bradford at Weston (with several small woods
about the deer park and a very good covert two miles
away, and in sight of the Kennels, Lizard Hill to wit);
of Mr. GiflFard at Chillington (Chillmgton Wood being
some eight hundred acres, with many smaller coverts
near); of Colonel Kenyon-Slaney at Hatton ; and of Mr.
Monckton at Somerford. And the above landowners
are all keenly anxious to further the sport of fox-
hunting.

In the country above the Watling Street Road, and
extending almost to Eccleshall, the best covert is,
perhaps, the White Sich, which also belongs to Lord
Bradford. This is a wood of some thirty or forty
acres surrounding a pool. But the largest woodlands

x 2

296 The Hunting Countries of England,

are those of the Duke of Sutherland at Sheriff Hales
and Lilleshall — the former representing several hundred
acres, and the latter being notable for its fine rides.
These woods border on the wild moors of The Shrop-
shire, a grass-and-ditch flat like the fens of Lincoln-
shire or South Kent. A few bridges over the main
<lrains might render this district rideable; but at
present it is as much as possible avoided by either
Hunt. Mr. Cotes has some nice coverts at Woodcote;
while at Aqualate Sir Thomas Boughey has recently
added some promising gorses, to offer shelter for foxes
beyond what is already to be found in the great deer-
park. High Onn Wood belongs to Mr. Morris, late
Master of the Shropshire ; and, turning to the Penk-
ridge side, we come to another good covert in the
Whittemores (Lord Hatherton^s) . Not far from this
is Coppenhall Gorse, the property of Lord Willoughby
<ie Broke, and held to be the most chosen spot in the
Albrighton country — being an excellent covert on
favourite ground. It has long been considered that
a gallop from Coppenhall Gorse to the Whittemores or
Barton — or vice versa — will furnish as good a criterion
of the merits of a man to hounds as the Hunt can
select. A very nice piece of country, but deficient in
coverts, lies between The Whittemores and Seighford
— the fences very blind, the hedges strong, and the
ditches deep and seldom cleaned out. The lanes, too,
throughout the district are numerous, deep and narrow
— anything but easy to cross except with a steady
cautious horse. Timber is rare here as throughout the
Albrighton country — at least in a strong shape. The
Earl of Lichfield owns the Ranton Woods and Shel-

The Albrighton. 297

more Park (good holding coverts of about a hundred
acres apiece, where foxes are wild and plentiful). It
is a matter of tradition that a former Lord Lichfield,
when Master of the Atherstone, always kept post-
chaises on the road, conveying fresh caught Ranton
foxes to be turned down before his hounds next day —
and that the cream of his sport was thus obtained.
Mr. Burne of Loynton has Blakemoor Pool — in a wild
region with wild foxes ; and a travelling fox will
often take hounds back thence to his home in North
Staffordshire.

Working eastward towards Cannock Chase we come
to Pendeford, now occupied by Mr. Boycott Wight,
and Hilton (Mr. Yernon^s), at both of which places
foxes are well preserved. The fences in the neigh-
bourhood are tolerably strong, though the soil is light.
A run across and on to the chase sometimes occurs;
but a fox heading Walsall-way is soon among the
coalpits.

Between Wolverhampton and Stourbridge are many
coalmines and iron works ; but passing through this
district by train, hounds can soon get fairly to work
again. At Hagley (Lord Lyttleton's) are several fine
coverts, e.g., Hagley Wood, Short Wood, and the
Clent Hills ; and some few miles lower down into
Worcestershire, we reach the great woodlands of Ran
Dans, Chaddesley (Earl of Shrewsbury), and Pepper
Wood (Mr. Noel's) — all well preserved. Sir W.
Throckmorton, too, has property hereabouts. This
neighbourhood is essentially of Worcestershire stamp
—wood and stiff plough intermingled, strong foxes,
and generally a fair scent. But, approaching Birming-

298 The Hunting Countries of England.

ham, we get on to a nice strip of ground about Hales-
owen, with some pleasant and useful coverts, such as
Ellwood and Upmoor — the latter the property of Mr.
F. Lea-Smith, who is quite a pillar of help on the
Worcestershire side. From either place a run is
possible over a pretty little district that stands quite
apart, with small grass inclosures and neat fences —
dairy meadows, where sheep are little seen and people
seldom about. Thus, a fox may travel here without
interruption as far as the country extends — from
Frankley right up to the town of Birmingham being
about his bounds.

In the opposite direction — viz., the south-west of the
country — is a rough wild corner — from Dudmaston
<lownwards by the bank of the Severn almost to
Kidderminster — which used to produce a great deal
of sterling sport from its broken woods and dingles,
From Castle Hill almost to Wolverhampton a succes-
sion of fine coverts follow one upon the other ; but do
little for foxhunting nowadays. Wassail Top, near
Kidderminster, is still a meet, but not a very frequent
one.

In conclusion, the following are some of the principal
meets — the hunting days being Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday. No set rule is observed;
but the meets are arranged to suit the convenience of
the country, and so as not to clash with shooting
interests in various districts. Thus, on the Wolver-
hampton side, the chief fixtures are Wrottesley,
Chillington, PatshuU, and Hilton ; while nearer
Shifnal are Weston, Haughton Hall (for Mr. Brooke's
nice coverts). The Lizard, Hattou Hall, and Sheriff

The Albrighton. 299

Hales. Near Bridgenorth are Apley, Davenport House
(where Mr. Davenport has a good gorse), and Dud-
maston for the wild ground by the riverside. In the
neighbourhood of Newport are Aqualate, Woodcotej
Longford (for coverts of Mr. Leeke's), and Loynton ;
while in the vicinity of Stafford are High Onn, Church
Eaton (for Barton and Mr. Morrises coverts) and
Penkridge for the Whittemores. &c.

300 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE NOETH COTSWOLD.*

The Cotswold Hills forming a continuous plateau,
from Bath to the borders of Warwickshire, the
eastern end, together with a certain amount of under-
lying vale, is the North Cotswold Country. The
upper ground is of regular Cotswold type — light
plough and limestone walls ; while the lower is strong
soil, stoutly fenced, and carrying quite as much grass
as arable. The hill proper occupies about a moiety of
the country — commencing half a dozen miles from
Cheltenham, and reaching along the borders of the
Heythrop, till it breaks into a vale about Campden,
and lets the Great Western across on its way north.
Beyond this is a square patch of the county of
Warwick, held neutrally by The North Cotswold and
The Warwickshire, and containing the separate and
easier eminences of Stoke and Ilmington, with their
various little coverts. Round and underneath these
runs a beautiful grass valley, which is equal to
anything of the same limit in the Shires. Foxes,
however, seldom care to venture across it; unless
whcH found by the Warwickshire in the lower ground.

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 15, and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The North Cotswold. 301

They will then frequently make for the hilis ; but it is
quite an exceptional case when a fox leaves the top
country in order to sink the vale. This pretty strip
(round Admington to about Honeybourne) is, be it
understood, in The Warwickshire not in The North
Cotswold territory — and the fences are as big, and the
going as good, as even in the Shuckburgh and Grand-
borough district.

From Honeybourne, back by Evesham to Winch-
combe, runs the Evesham Vale, between the prominent
height of Bredon Hill (within the Croome country)
and the steep side of the Cotswold. This vale takes
up the whole of the north-western length of the
country ; and is broken in upon only by the isolated
and comparatively small hill of Dumbleton. It is all
a strong good soil ; and, if it does not often carry a
burning scent, it will generally hold the line of a fox
even when he has gone a quarter of an hour. Fair
hedge-and-ditch fences that require some jumping
divide the fields, which in themselves are about
equally distributed between grazing and tillage. The
slope of the Cotswold range being on this side very
much steeper than where it gradually drops into vale
at its Warwickshire end, and being, besides, all grass,
hounds almost invariably run up it very much faster
than horses can follow ; and thus, when you reach the
top, the pack has often entirely disappeared, and it
becomes a matter of difficulty to decide in which
direction you must now ride. The vale foxes, more-
over, are only too apt to breast the ascent, or else to
reach and cling to the chain of coverts which succeed
each other at short intervals under the brow. Most

302 The Hunting Countries of England.

of the coverts of The North Cotswold, indeed^ are
hillside woods, plantations, and natural gorses — the
vale coverts of Dumbleton, Gallejpot, Leasow Brakes,
Paxford Blakemore, and Cleeve Banks, being, with
West Gorse and Sezincote Warren on the top of the
hills, about the only exceptions. When the coverts
underbill are being drawn, it is of course a moot
question as to whether you should ride above or
below ; but, besides the established fact that more
foxes will break over a hill than below it, it is as well
to bear in mind that you can generally get down hill
pretty quickly, though it by no means follows that
you can make your way fast up it. The largest woods
are those of Guiting and Hailes, near the edge of the
neighbouring Cotswold country ; Litcombe, on the
hillside between Hailes and Broadway (the site of the
Kennels) ; and Weston Park, near Campden and the
farther extremity of the Cotswold Hills. The last-
named is an especial stronghold and standby to the
Hunt ; and seldom does a week pass without finding
hounds at work there.

The wall country on the summit of the hills is
exactly similar in character to the wolds of the Cots-
wold, the Heythrop, the Badminton, and the Yale of
White Horse, already described. It wants wet, and
plenty of it, to hold a scent — the one instance to the
contrary being the occasion of an east wind in dusty
March. When hounds can carry a head, they drive
along in such a fashion as is seen nowhere else, unless
it be occasionally on the unfenced Hampshire or
Brighton downs. They then fling over the walls in
a body, leaving one field after another behind them.

The North Cotswold. 303

with none of the drag and straggling that must attend
upon squeezing their way through smeuses and gaps.
In fact^ they can then burst their fox up very sharply,
unless he can get to shelter, for no chance is given
him of catching his second wind ; while as for their
followers, they must be mounted on something ex-
ceptionally smart if they are in any way to hold their
own. At such times riding over the walls is excellent
and most exciting fun ; and men are carried away to
push along over them with a determination they do
not always evince elsewhere.

The eastern slant of the hill, as it dips towards
Blockley, is much more gentle, and more rideable.
The inclosures are mostly grass ; and the hedges
are fairly easy, with ditches generally small, almost
insignificant. Permanent grass, it should have been
mentioned, belongs only to the lower ground. Oa the
hill, a great deal of soil is handed over to seed for a
certain term of years; then, after carrying sheep for
its allotted time, is o.-tce more converted to oat and
barley land.

A very enjoyable little country, of which to be both
Master and huntsman, must the North Cotswold be.
Mr. Algernon Rushout, who fills the enviable joint
office, is now commencing his tenth season — with an
ample stock of foxes for the requirements of three
days a week. So small an area would scarcely carry
as many days, but that the coverts are very plentiful,
and landowners and farmers alike favour foxhunting.
Indeed, if it be not hypercritical to say so, coverts
come almost too contiguously. With the exceptions
above alluded to (which after all comprehend nothing

304 The Hunting Countries of England.

gigantic), they are not large or cumbersome ; but they
often follow each other so closely along the hillsides
that a fox is naturally inclined to slip from one to the
other, rather than go out of his way for a broad open
course. But, with a full supply of good coverts, and
a small and well-disposed field, Master-and-huntsman
has every chance given him ; and is freed from half
the anxieties which would beset him in a difficult and
crowded country.

Mr. Rushout succeeded Lord Coventry, on the
occasion of the latter moving homewards to create
the Croome country. Lord Coventry of course took
his pack with him ; and Mr. Rushout had to form a
new one. This he did with material obtained from
Lord Fitzhardinge^s kennel, with the addition of a
draft spared him by his predecessor. Upon this
foundation he has built up an exceptionally neat
pack, at the present moment numbering about twenty-
nine couple. Lord Coventry, it should be mentioned,
took the country in 1866 (when a committee started it
with a separate existence) ; and follow^ed Mr. Colmore,
who in turn had taken over the Cotswold after Earl
Fitzhardinge.

It will easily be understood that a more than
ordinarily good type of horse is required for the
North Cotswold country and its environs. Most
horses can be taught to jump stone walls ; but no
horse can climb a steep hill quickly and gallop on
afterwards, or can cross a deep and stiffly-fenced vale,
unless he is built for it. A strong-backed well-bred
hunter, on short legs, is the sort most in request — and,
it must be added, most usually attained by the men

The North Cotswold. 305

who hunt with the pack in question. Over the greater
part of the country the field in attendance seldom
musters more than fifty or sixty ; and it is only on the
Cheltenham side that anything like numbers put in an
appearance. No town of any note comes within the
borders ; and both the country and the Hunt are
unusually small.

The three days of hunting are generally arranged
as follows — Tuesday is for the half of the country
nearer to Cheltenham, Saturday for the neutral district
and the r^st of that side, leaving Thursday to be named
where most convenient. Among the Tuesday meets
are Guiting Wood, which may lead to a run in any
direction, whether over Heythrop, Cotswold or North
Cotswold ground : Ford Village also for Gruiting Wood
or Hailes : Taddington, a very old and favourite fixture
on the hill, generally with a view to drawing Litcomb .
(Mr. Cook and his father before him have always been
true fox preservers, and friends of successive Masters.
The Earl Fitzhardinge was always in the habit of going
there overnight for meets on that side; and Lord
Coventry, too, met with staunch and constant assist-
ance.) Not far from Taddington is the meet of The
Slate Quarries in the best of the hill-and-wall country.
It has a nice gorse covert, well looked after by Mr. Hyatt
of Snowshill. Kineton Thorns is another good fixture
between Gruiting and Sezincot ; and Sezincot Warren
(the property of the young Sir C. Rushout), close to
Bourton Wood and the Heythrop boundary, is quite
one of the strongholds of the Hunt. This last may b e
a Tuesday or a Saturday meet. For the Broadway
neighbourhood either the Kennels, or the residence of

306 The Hunting Countries of England.

Mr. Chadwick, hon. sec. to the Hunt, is named ; and
from here they are likely to draw Galleypot, the
principal covert in the vale (a nice gorse), whence
a fox will often lead them a turn over the lower level
before heading for the hills. The hill of Dumbleton,
rising by itself out of the vale, has a good wood
belonging to Mr. Kettlewell, where there are always
many foxes. Between here and Hailes Wood is Shut-
comb and Great Grove (Lord Sudeley^s) ; and close to
Somerville Aston is Leasow-Brakes.

Saturday as above-mentioned takes in the Warwick-
shire corner, hunted in alternate months by the North
Cotswold and The Warwickshire. Admington itself
(which lies in the heart of the splendid strip of vale
already alluded to) is a Warwickshire meet ; but some
of Mr. Holland- Corbett's coverts, Lower Stoke Wood,
&c., are drawn by both packs. Meon Hill close by
(Mr. T. Cradock^s) gives the best chance of a dip into
this vale, and has some most useful little coverts about
it. For the rest of the neutral territory, to wit. Stoke
Wood, Mickleton Wood, and various smaller places,
the ordinary fixture is Hidcote Quarries, or occasionally
Mickleton. Blockley is for Paxford Blakemoor; and
from the noted W^eston Park (which is the property of
Lord Gainsborough) they may work either on hill or
vale. In the latter case they are likely to find them-
selves at Norton Gorse. Springhill Lodges is for the
hill and a number of small coverts, of which West
Gorse is probably the first draw.

PART VI

LORD MIDDLETON'S.*

From York to the sea (as outlined by Filey and
Flamborougli Head^ on tlie coast immediately below
Scarborough) is the extent of Lord Middleton^s
country. Forty- three miles from end to end, and
little or no use to be made of the railways, will convey
in other words the distance of ground that his pack
has to cover, even under the advantage of being
kenneled in a most central position. Indeed, were it
not that over a great part of the wolds the coverts lie
wide apart, and the hillsides are so open that little or
no shelter is afforded to outlying foxes, four days
hunting in the week would barely take in an area that
the late lord for a time found suflBcient for six. As it
is. Lord Middleton is able to commence hunting
before the end of August, and to continue into the
spring until he has, perhaps, even killed a May fox.

Quite half the country (to the east) is high undulat-
ing wold — very much of the type we see, for instance,
with the Tedworth. The rest is about evenly divided

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 5 and 6. and Hohsou's
Foxhunting Atlas.

VOL. II. T

308 The Hunting Countries of England.

between low-lying vale (reaching to the town of York)
and strongly-wooded hills, which take up the west
and north-west of the hunt territory. Birdsall — Lord
Middleton's seat, and the site of his kennels — forms
nearly a centre point between these divisions —
nestling, as it does, in a nook beneath the western
edge of the wolds, and about equidistant from the
farthest meets in either direction.

The Eiver Derwent being the line of division
between Lord Middleton's country and that of Capt.
Johnstone on the north, the wolds slope quietly down
in that direction; undulating again along their length,
before meeting the Holderness or dipping abruptly to
the west to the lower ground about Birdsall. Here
and there deep grassy dales run inwards for a distance,,
especially in the south-west corner, but the wide
sweeping surface of the wolds is to the east scarcely
broken except at its rougher edges. In the early
autumn, and till the stubbles are ploughed, there can
be little better galloping ground than these open hills»
They then hold a strong, often a racing, scent ; and it
is a good fox that can carry his brush in front of the
speedy lady-pack for half an hour, and a fast horse that
can live with them. There is next to nothing to jump;
for low thorn hedges and sheep hurdles are the only
fences — or, if by chance a stronger hedge is en-
countered, it would generally seem placed to guard a
casual ravine, watercourse, or lane, where jumping is
out of the question. But when once the plough has
been at work, all this pleasant aspect disappears,
exhilaration and pace depart, and the wolds assume a
tamer aspect. Scent no longer lies on the upturned

Lord Middleton's. 309

soil ; a huntsman's task can only be achieved by toil
and perseverance; and hounds, instead of running
with their heads up, have often to stoop for every
yard. The loosened ground, too, soaks in the rain;
and soon becomes quite as heavy riding as the plouo-h
of the firmer vale.

The coverts of the wolds are chiefly larch woods and
plantations, with a few whins here and there — the
latter, as everywhere in Yorkshire, still suffering from
the murderous frosts of some recent winters, and in
some cases having even died out altogether. The larch
woods, being almost devoid of undergrowth, neither
hinder hounds nor tempt foxes to linger, as coverts
of similar extent are so apt to do. On the northern
and southern edges of the wolds these broad patches
of woodland are met with at considerable interval ;
whereas on the steep western slope they become
almost continuous. Thus^ looking down upon the
Derwent, are Sir Charles Legard's fine woods at
Ganton ; while above Knapton are more large woods
to form another great stronghold. About Scampston
Hall, again, Mr. St. Quintin has good coverts ; as
also has Mr. Cholmley at Newton, notably High Wood.
These four places represent,, perhaps, the principal
meets along the north; while Weaverthorp (for
LovelFs Whin, &c.) and Wold Newton (for Causdale
Whin, &c.) are two of the most frequent in the heart
of the wolds. Along the western slope, again, a great
chain of these larch woods, with grass paving the hill-
side beneath them, run from Settrington (the resi-
dence of the dowager Lady Middleton) to Birdsall ;
while Sledmere (the seat of Sir Tatton Sykes^ and a

Y 2

310 The Hunting Countries of England.

frequent and favourite meet) continues with numerous
still larger coverts. On the south and overlooking the
Holderness Vale is Boynton Hall (Sir Charles Strick-
land's) ^ a place of great importance in the Hunt, and
to reach which hounds are kenneled overnight at
Eudston. Here, too, the many coverts are larch
plantations. Borough Nook and Kilham are other
meets on this side, with a view usually to Langtoft
Whin, with Cottam Warren and ultimately the big
woods of Sledmere to follow.

It is found that small well-bred horses do their work
on the wolds with greater ease and success than the
larger type that may find favour on the low ground.
(In Holderness, it is true, most of the farmers ride
little else but small thoroughbreds in any part of their
country ; but though breeding is held as essential
everywhere in Yorkshire, strength and a certain
standard of size are as a rule considered equally
desirable, where the ditches are wide and the ground
deep.) Lord Middleton breeds nearly all the horses
required in his establishment; and the men are mounted
entirely upon animals whose pedigrees would do no
discredit to Newmarket. The smaller stock are
brought into use for the wolds ; the larger are told off
for the low country — the result being that for all
purposes the men are mounted as well as, probably
better than, with any hunt in the three kingdoms.
The lighter horses do their work well on the hills ;
while the stronger easily carry their allotted burdens
over the stiffest of the country. Some of them would
be considered up to fully thirteen stone anywhere ;
and this, be it remembered^ is far more than the

Lord Middleton's, 311

ordinary liunt -servant is supposed, or allowed, to
weigh. You and I, reader, may run to leg or flesh to
any reasonable extent, without finding ourselves
barred from the hunting-field. But it is not so with
a hunt-servant. His occupation — save in a few
exceptional and invaluable instances — departs with
his title to be considered a light-weight. Certainly he
would be far out of the category if Lord Middleton's
thoroughbreds were inadequate to carrying him.

The stables and breeding-stud at Birdsall are in their
way just as interesting and perfect as the kennels :
and all three are alike remarkable for the fashion and
quality of their contents. In the long stable a dozen
stalls in a row show occupants with all the breeding of
racehorses, and yet with the muscular development of
hunters called upon to do long days. At the stud
farm high blood is a characteristic noticeable, in the
brood mares and stallions, down to the four-year-olds
just about to enter upon their work. And both here
and in the kennel recent years show the addition of
more and more bone. The kennels were built by the
late lord some five-and-twenty years ago ; and, besides
being roomy and complete, occupy a warm and sunny
position not far from the House. The pack was
formed at a very distant date ; and the kennel books
go back as far as 1764, when Sir Thomas Gascoigne
was Master. After him came a Duke of Hamilton
(1773), to be succeeded by Mr. Fox-Lane. Mr.
Willoughby (afterwards Lord Middleton) had the
hounds in 1789; and Sir Mark Sykes for nearly
thirty years at the commencement of the present
century. The late Sir Tatton Sykes held the master-

312 The Hunting Countries of England,

sliip for some twenty years previous to 1853, when
the late Lord Middleton took it over — the present
Master succeeding to office in 1877. For new blood
of late years the pack is chiefly beholden to the
Brocklesby, the Bramham Moor, and the Bel voir. As
with the horses, it is found that the smaller hounds
act best upon the uplands; and accordingly it is
generally arranged that the distant hills should be
reserved as their position.

Friday in each week, taking in the whole of the
eastern wold country, includes also the strip of vale
along the extreme north, on the bank of the Derwent.
Between Ganton and the sea there is much boggy
grass, or carr land, unsuited for riding, and seldom
touched by a fox. But about Yeddingham is all good
sound going; though, with the exception of a few
small plantations below Scampston, there are, unfor-
tunately, no coverts till Miss Newton^s Whin is
reached — whence a run over the flat is possible.

The other days of the week on which Lord Middle-
ton's hounds take the field are Monday, Wednesday
and Saturday. The first named is for the home-
country ; Wednesday is for the York vale ; and
Saturday is devoted to the north-west. The home
circuit includes, in addition to the light undulating
country that lies between Birdsall and the town of
Malton (best known in connection with the training
grounds of John Scott and FAnson), the whole of the
rough western edge of the wolds, down to Pock-
lington. For the latter district Birdsall itself is a
common fixture, as also is Settrington. Meeting at
Millington Wood, they have a great extent of young

Lord Midclleton's. 313

plantation to draw. Garreby Hill Top is for Garreby
Wood j while Sledmere witb its mass of coverts will
almost provide a day of itself. When Fimber Village
is named, the last-named woods are again likely to be
the scene of most of the work ; with Payne's Slack_, a
long larch strip, as an additional draw. Langton
Wold (the site of the old racecourse, and still a
training-ground — whereon Blair Athol and Blink
Bonny did their gallops) is a meet for a few small
whin coverts as a preface to the woods on the wold-
side.

Wednesday takes in the low country — the vale of
York and of the Derwent — in the main a much stiflfer
soil and better scenting ground than anything on the
east. The fences too are stronger, and the ditches
deep and wide — while plough still prevails. Below
Bransby and Castle Howard (both of which stand on
higher ground) the vale begins in its pleasantest form ;
and Farlington is, perhaps, the best meet of the Hunt.
All round it there is a considerable amount of grass ;
and that it offers more than a fair sample of the York
hunting grounds was shown by the fact that the Ninth
Lancers, when quartered at that city, pitched upon it
as the scene of their steeplechases. From the small
covert at Farlington a fox is most likely to strike
upwards to the hills and woods about Bransby ; but
lie may, on the other hand, elect to run across to
Sheriff Hutton, a very similar meet and covert. And
the same choice, mutatis mutandis, is open to a fox
from the latter place. A sandy interval in the vale is
found in Stockton Forest and Strensall Common, a
wide extent of rough moor, to draw which the

314 The Hunting Countries of England.

ordinary meet is tlie Fourth Milestone on tlie Forest.
Kexby Wood (Lord Wenlock^s) is one of the nearest
fixtures to York ; and Aldby Park (Mr. Darley^s) and
Sand Hutton (Sir J. Walker^s) are on the same side
of the river, with some big woods belonging to
those gentlemen between Strensall and Buttercrambe.
Sutton Wood and Allerthorpe Common, across the
Derwent towards Pocklington, give a corner of the
country in the far south that is held to be extremely
good. After these two woods Catton Common is to
be drawn (whence at one time foxes would frequently
make long points on to the wolds) ; and on the way
towards Kennels is an excellent new whin covert
recently planted at Catton by Mr. Darley. From
Buttercrambe Bridge they would draw some small
coverts, e.g., Coal Wharf, and thence on to Lippington
Wood and the Thackers; while Westow is for Howsham
Wood — the latter a fine old wood, with deep rides
through its stiff clay.

But the best scenting and most sporting division of
the country from a huntsman^s point of view is the
western district — the wooded hills that run between
Malton and Gilling. A great chain of wood covers
nearly the whole northern summit — oak being the
principal timber, except about GilHng, where larch
and Scotch fir again become prominent. These wood-
lands, as indeed the whole of the country, are very
amply stocked with foxes. When the leaf is once
down, and still more when a fall of snow has cleansed
the ground beneath the trees, a good scent is generally
met with, both in covert and out. The soil is a strong^
one; and the valleys are clay. From Bransby or

Lord Middlet oil's, 315

thereabouts a fox may possibly dip into tlie vale and
make his way towards Easingwold; but he is much
more likely to keep to the hills and woods, which
continue from Gilling, by Hovingham (Sir W.
Worsley), Conesthorpe, &c., to Castle Howard (Lord
Carlisle). Newburgh Park (the residence of Sir
George Wombwell), which with its coverts, is in Lord
Middleton^s country, has been lent to the Sinnington,
and forms a most valuable addition to their territory.

316 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE SINNINGTOX.*

A GOOD country, and an old one, with a trenclier-fed
pack — is an anomaly, or at all events a curiosity, to be
found scarcely anywhere else in this year of 1883.
Yet such is The Sinnington. Its antiquity as a country
is shown by the fact that the Duke of Buckingham
hunted in it as long ago as 1668. The lines of a local
-and primitive poet of that time are still sung in the
Hunt — the first verse of his song running as follows :

'Twas early one morniug as I rode in tlie dawuiug
I lieard of some famous fine liuuting
Betwixt some gentlemen and the Duke of Buckingham,
So early as they rode a hunting.

About 1690 the Duncombe family bought the
Helmsley Castle and estate from the Duke's executors.
The present Lord Feversham, following the example
of his ancestors, is now the chief supporter of the
Hunt ; of which the late Lord Helmsley — whose early
death was a grief from Yorkshire to Leicestershire,
and wherever men knew him — would no doubt have
sooner or later become Master.

The Sinnington Hunt is still constituted as a club ;
and by yearly custom makes its vitality patent in the

* Vide Stanford's "Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxlumtino- Atlas.

The Sinnington, 317

form of a dinner and a ball. Conviviality was ever a
feature in its existence ; and at one time contributed
in a large degree towards the object for which the
Hunt Club was called into being. Thus, in years gone
by, the death of a fox was always held an occasion to
be celebrated by the adjournment of all hands to the
nearest hostelry, with a view to dinner and song.
Fines were rigidly exacted, and devoted to the
expenses of the Hunt. Thus any member not up at
the kill was mulcted in the sum of five shillings ; and
every member not dining had to forfeit half a crown.
The annual subscription to the club was sixteen
shillings ; and the funds were further augmented by
the receipt of five shillings from the hands of the
churchwarden of the parish wherein each fox was
killed. In like way the keepers of the period received
a shilling from the same official for the body of each
foumart. The foumart or fummard is now quite
extinct in Yorkshire, as the fox no doubt would also
have been by now, but for the loyal co-operation of the
good yeomen who worked so hard, and feasted so
freely, to gain the parish bounty. The *' Sinnington
New Hunting Song'^ of fifty years ago illustrates
this, their very laudable habit and custom :

At Wrelton's hospitable hoard

Tlie Hunters at tlieir leisure
Drink to the foxliounds that afford

This noble English pleasure,
Then homeward go, each his own way,

With spirits gay and hearty ;
And wlicn they're such another day

May we he of the party.

What to do with horses and hounds on such occasions

31S The Hunting Countries of England.

might be a problem to us nowadays, but offered little
difficulty to them then. Their horses — said to have
been generally a small rough and hardy sort — were all
undipped, and would look upon a corner of a barn
and a bucket of oats as quite sufficient luxury ; while
as to the hounds they no doubt acted much as the
Sinnington pack of the present time, viz., when the
day^s work is over.

Homeward go, eacli liis own "way.
The huntsman of that period, or even later, was paid
about fifty pounds a year, out of which he was expected
to mount himself. And his whip also took the field on
similar terms at a lower ratio. The same conditions,
only on a considerably higher scale of pay, continue
to form a part of the system of the Hunt up to the
present day — Parker receiving an honorarium little,
if anything, in excess of a huntsman^s pay in the
cut-^em-down countries, and out of it he has to keep
and provide himself and a couple of horses. This,
with such extraneous help as the gods from time to
time may shower upon him. Jack Parker has succeeded
in doing for three-and-thirty years — both his appear-
ance and his reputation proving that the task has been
well within his capacity. If, as local belief has it, he
was really the original, famous Handley Cross hunts-
man, he has certainly grown out of the hollow features
and half-starved limbs with which Mr. Leech depicted
James Pigg. Yet nationality, dialect, humour, and
natural instinct for his calling, all combine to enforce
his claim to a character that could only have been
drawn from some living type. In the field he is said
to be still as hard and keen as he, or his mighty

The Sinnington. 319

prototype, ever was : while, to sliow tliat he contrives
to mount himself in a style quite equal to his work, it
has only to be mentioned that for one of his two
present hunters he has repeatedly refused an offdr of a
hundred and twenty pounds.

Some four-and-twenty couple of hounds constitute
the present Sinnington pack ; and the whole of these,
with the passing exception of a few brood-matrons
and whelps, are walked at out-quarters. Small kennels
have been built at Kirby Moorside ; whither the young
hounds are brought in March for preliminary disci-
pline, and where during the season the whole pack is
collected each day before hunting. It might be thought
that the latter would be a work of difficulty ; but it is
always effected with the greatest ease by Parker, and
his son, who go round the quarters each Monday and
Friday. The hounds know the object of the visit
perfectly; and are only too delighted to avail them-
selves of the expected outing. Should a hound be
absent with his foster-master when the kennel official
calls, he is nearly certain — if of any experience — to
recognise either that the visit has been made or that
the time has passed when it should have been ; so
trots off to the kennel of his own accord. The scent
that tells him of some of his comrades having passed
would probably be his clue in the former case. In the
latter he is only obeying the force of habit, and his
instinctive delight in the sport. Who shall say that
the faculties of a foxhound do not almost amount to
reasoning power, when it is added that, should the
weather appear so unfit for hunting that no steps are
taken to collect the pack, yet almost all the old hounds

320 The Hunting Countries of England,

will muster at tlie kennels before nightfall on a Monday
and Friday. It may be that some portion of the
strong attraction lies in the fondness for himself with
which Parker is credited with imbuing his hounds ;
but whether as a striking instance of custom's second
nature or of a foxhound's appreciation of sport, this
behaviour cannot but be of interest. While out for
their day's hunting they are said to be singularly well
under control, and such a thing as a hound's sulking,
or going off to his home, is unheard of. They will
work con amore keen and untiringly ; then when fully
satisfied that the huntsman has ceased operations for
the day and will draw no more, they drop off one by
one as they reach the point nearest their respective
quarters, till at length he and his whip reach kennels
alone. A trencher-fed pack cannot of course be
expected to maintain the same uniformity of condition
that is looked for in kennel-fed hounds. Even the
hour and the quantity of the last feed before hunting*
must differ in almost each individual instance ; while
the daily portion — in most cases lavish enough — must
equally be expected to vary. So it would be out of
the question to aim at absolute regularity of pace and
work in a pack thus constituted. On the other hand
it is maintained that trencher-fed hounds possess much
more courage and determination than those pent up
in kennel and only walked out under discipline. A
certain independence of character is not unlikely to
be the accompaniment of this extra courage — but, let
this be as it may, there is no doubt that, the longer
and harder the day, the closer and more regularly does
the Sinnington pack work together. The material of

The Sinnington. 321

whicli it is composed is good enougli. The liberality
of Mr. Lane-Fox and other neighbouring Masters fills
up the vacancies that the home bred entry is inade-
quate to make good. The latter means of supply is
on a limited scale ; but what it produces is from old
and good sources. Not the worst of the home produce,
by the way, it may be mentioned, consists at this
moment of two generations of Quorn Alfred stock —
dating their origin to the time when that hound was
shown with such success in the north. The present
Master of the Sinnington is (as for the last four years)
that fine old sportsman and well known authority on
hounds and horses, Mr. Thomas Parrington ; who has
settled down to live about a mile from the head-
quarters of the pack at Kirby Moorside.

It may be generally supposed by the outer — at all
events the southern and distant — world, that the
Sinnington is a rougli moorland country, such as
forms the hunting ground of various other, and minor,
trencher-fed packs in the North of England. But
this is by no means correct. The bulk of the Sin-
nington country lies on the cultivated slope and
alluvial flat, heloic what are known as the North York
Moors. Only on the northern edge of this slope does
it merge into moorland ; and, though hounds fre-
quently find themselves running up on to heather
from the high ground, there are only some two or
three meets whence they start at once upon it. The
wild upper moors which represent the great grouse
shootings of Lord Feversham — and the bulk which,
it will be noticed, are left uncoloured in Stanford's
Map — are hunted by two small hill packs, viz., the

322 The Hunting Countries of England.

Farndale and the Bilsdale. At about the farthest line
to which the Sinnington cany their operations, the
hills give a sudden drop before rising again still
higher northward to form the watershed of these
moorland heights. The character and situation of the
Sinnington Country may therefore be thus ex-
plained. A number of streams run directly, and
^t almost regular intervals, southward from this
watershed — all pointing towards Lord Middleton's
country, till, before reaching it, they all form
one bed and one valley in the river Derwent.
The chief of these streams — or "becks'^ — are the
Eye, the Kiccal, the Hodge, the Dove, and the Seven ;
and each of these, commencing as a mere burn on the
moors, cuts a deep dale down the slope — till, as it nears
the lower ground, its dale opens widely and gently out,
-and all its highland roughness disappears in the quiet
undulations. So not only does most of the Sinnington
country present a most civilised and cultivated
appearance ; but the greater part is far smoother
riding than any of the hills of High Leicestershire.
The becks are not easy to cross ; and the higher they
are followed the rougher do their banks become. Their
wooded sides form almost the only covert of the
higher ground, and they harbour a race of foxes as
stout and wild as any south of the Tweed. The vale
has a certain number of whins more or less dependable ;
and some of the more recent ones hold out conside-
rable promise. All the lower ground is divided into
small enclosures, with thorn and timber fences of just
sufficient size to prompt and promote the enjoyment
of both horse and rider, to teach a young one and

The Sinnington, 823

maintain the powers of the old. A great deal of it
too, is laid down in grass ; the plough is seldom, if
ever, very deep ; and as a scenting country the Sin-
nington may fairly lay claim to being " better than
most.''^

The Sinnington Yale— or the vale of the Eye-
extends from the bank of the little river Costa near
Pickering (where it joins Capt. Johnstone's territory)
to about Oswaldkirk and Helmsley on the west.
Beyond these the scene changes to the Hambleton
Hills, which overlook the town of Thirsk and the
Vale of York. The maps referred to are not very
precise as to the boundaries of the Sinnington country
hereabouts. But it will be sufficient to note that the
Hunt claim Kilburn and Hood Hill as within their
margin in this direction; and that Sir George
Womb well's fine coverts at Newburgh Park are, with
the consent of Lord Middleton, allowed to be drawn by
them. Above Helmsley are numerous great overhang-
ing coverts up the course of the Eye, past Duncombe
Park and Eievaulx Abbey ; and similar strong woods
run up the sides of Eiccal Dale, Sleightolm-Dale (the
bed of the river Hodge), and the Dale of the
Seven, &c.

Tuesday and Saturday being the days of hunting,
the former is for the low ground, the latter for the
upper country. On a Tuesday they draw little else
but whins and small plantations, except the Xewburgh
Park coverts, from which they have had several capital
runs in recent seasons. Towards Pickering they meet
at Normanby to draw Normanby Whin. Below this is
Habton Whin— for which they would probably meet

VOL. II. nr

324 The Hunting Countries of England,

at Newsham Bridge. Muscoats Whin may be drawn
from Harom, near whicli Lord Feversham planted this
fine gorse some few years ago. It was from here that,
about the year 1877, the famous run took place, which
ended in hounds killing their fox at Yedingham Bridge
on the Derwent — fifteen miles away as the crow flies.
The scent was never strong nor the pace ever fast ;
but hounds worked their way unassisted throughout,
and the late Lord Helmsley got to the end with one
horse — Lord Castlereagh and Capt. C. Byng, who
were also up, having managed to pick up second
horses on the way. Near Nunnington they have the
small wood of Caukless Bank ; and above Sinnington
they often find a fox in the rushy fields. On Saturday,
when on the higher ground, they have, as already
mentioned, much stronger coverts and more broken
ground. Meeting at The Kennels they would
draw Romsdale and Lingmoor; and from Tylar's
Bridge they would go to the big larch woods of
Skiplam. Eiccal Bridge is the fixture for Riccal Dale ;
Helmsley for all the high ground above the town —
while Gillamoor is one of the northern meets whence
they draw the open heather, such as on Harland
Moors, &c.

It is scarcely necessary to add that small fields are
the invariable rule — five-and-twenty people being,
perhaps, the outside number to meet hounds on the
high ground, and fifty on the lower. For in the
Sinnington country not only is there no large town ;
but the number of men of leisure and means resident
in the district is small and widely scattered.

The Wheatland, 325

THE WHEATLAND.*

The western bank of the Severn, from Wellington
down to Bevvdley, provides the two-day-a-week
country of the Wheatland Pack. On the other side
the river is the Albrighton territory — and two more
widely dififering countries it would be difficult to
conceive. Without driving the comparison through
minor points, it is sufficient to put forward that
whereas the Albrighton is practically and almost
entirely flat, the Wheatland is formed altogether of
great rolling hills and deep glens. In other words,
the Severn here gets all its rush of water from the
"Wheatland side, and is fed only by quiet streams from
the other. Or, for a third definition, the Wheatland
is on the Welsh bank, the Albrighton is on lower
and tamer ground. The hills and dales of the former
are ofishoots of a mountainous sphere which becomes
more and more confirmed as you travel further west ;
while here on the east the river forms a main drain to
carry ofi" the water along its base. Two other points
of comparison that may be brought forward are, first,
that the Wheatland is the better scenting country of

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet , and Hobson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

z 2

326 The Hunting Countries of England.

the two ; secondly, that it is infinitely more difficult to
cross with hounds. It owns to none of the light
weak-scenting soil that is found across the centre of
the Albrighton ; but whether on hill or dale, in covert
or out, on grass or on plough, at least a fair scent may
be expected whenever weather will allow of such a
privilege. Vv^'ith the Albrighton, again, you may ride
to hounds almost everywhere. It is very different in
the Wheatland country. You may generally ride
after them, it is true — but at what distance must too
often depend upon the pace they are travelling, and
on whether their fox is leading them straight. For
though a way may be forced through the deep dingles ;
though brooks that cannot be jumped can generally
be forded somewhere ; and though the thickesfc-growu
bank is seldom without a breach that may be stormed
by determined leaders such as ride in the van of the
Wheatland Hunt — yet all this involves time, and,
when accomplished, probably leaves the successful
ones with a killing ascent still to climb, and the
driving pack already over the brow. To make the
best of their way in pursuit of hounds, men cannot
afford to lose a yard downhill ; for in the valleys and
up the hill-sides hounds seldom fail to gain upon them.
On open ground they can carry out this principle to some
purpose ; but when the occasion involves a large
overhanging covert — of the kind that abounds in the
country — it becomes advisable, as in Devonshire, to
wait awhile on the high ground till the pack points
out a definite direction. In fact, as in all hilly
countries, the maxim that it is '^ easy enough to get
down, but difficult enough to get up,^^ must ever be

The Wheatland. 327

borne in mind; and effectually to aid this, a know-
ledge of the country is absolutely necessary. These
deep and difficult dingles are, indeed, the great
feature of a country that without them would be
amenable enough to a good horse and horseman.
They exist everywhere ; and in the far south assume
-overgrown and complicated proportions, such as to
render the Wyre Forest an almost unhuntable region.
The only exceptions are in the case of Corve Dale and
Ape Dale — the former a pretty but narrow vale that
■develops considerably as it runs down into Ludlow
territory; the latter a deep wet valley on the north-
west, beneath Wenlock Edge, and on the borders of
The Shropshire.

The southern half of the country is much the
rougher, more broken and wooded. The upper has
a great deal more open and better riding ground.
The fences, which, like the soil, are as a rule lighter on
the hills than in the valleys, are generally thick, un-
trimmed hedges on banks — guarded, very often, with
a strong double ditch. A horse accustomed to the
•country — knowing when to jump and when to creep —
is the only pleasurable mount. A rash, unhandy
steed would be no luxury, either at his fences in the
open, or in making his way through wood and dingle.
For climbing the hills and for carrying a man with
credit and comfort here, a strong-backed well-bred
horse of from fifteen hands to fifteen two is by far
the best conveyance. The hedges, it should be
mentioned, are built as much of hazel as of thorn,
and are seldom laid-and-bound, though careful farming
does not fail to insist on the gaps being stoutly made

328 The Hunting Countries of England,

up with wattle and thorns. The land, mostly a rich
red loam, ia about equally divided between grass and
plough — the former always, the latter generally,
giving hounds every chance of driving their game.
The woods, like most others, improve greatly in their
scenting properties as the season advances. They
consist almost entirely of oak with a sprinkling of
larch, the undercovert being grass and brambles.
Their size and frequency call for strong working
qualities on the part of hounds (which the Wheatland
pack possesses in no slight degree) ; for, though the
supply of foxes is good and a blank day a rarity
almost unknown, the woodlands necessarily take a
great deal of drawing — with, likely enough, a most
tiring run to ensue.

Great coverts, and many — in some parts too many
— of them, form a prominent characteristic of the
"Wheatland country. They succeed each other closely
all down the bank of the Severn, cluster thickly about
the southern or Kinlet district, and become continuous
and unmanageable in the rough regions of Wyre
Forest. In the north-east again, are the extensive
coverts of Lord Forester ; while in Mogg Forest and
along the steep side of Wenlock Edge they follow each
other almost in a mass. The widest and most open
ground — as it is probably the highest — is the Meadow-
ley Hill Range, which, commencing about Harpsford,
spreads across the heart of the country by Morvill,.
and round above Monk Hopton, Oxenbold and Hol-
gate, into The Ludlow. Well-foxed and very sporting,
it shares with Corve Dale and AYenlock Edge Wood
(which also run down parallel with it far over the

The Wheatland, 329

border into Ludlow territory) the credit of showing
the Wheatland Hunt their best sport. South of it,
and dating from its slope in this direction, the streams
and dingles that cut up the lower half of the country,
mostly take their origin.

The kennels — unpretentious in appearance, but
healthy and well situated — are just above the little
village of Eardington, soDie two miles from Bridg-
north (on the Great Western Railway, five and a half
hours^ journey from London). About twenty-five
couple of excellent working hounds form the pack,
towards the breeding of which the blood of The
Cheshire and Shropshire Kennels has chiefly con-
tributed. The qualifications most needed in hounds
for a hilly strong-wooded country are unmistakably
marked in their free sloping shoulders, strong backs,
and sturdy frames. Well-pronounced and reliable
tongue is also a true essential here — and the manage-
ment pride themselves on never keeping a second-
rate hound as a mere ornamental addition to the
kennel. The direction of the Hunt aSairs has for the
last ten or eleven years been entirely in the hands of a
committee — though I believe I am right in saying that
they would gladly abrogate their functions in favour of
a resident and zealous master, such for instance as
their neighbours the Ludlow possess in Mr. C.
Wicksted. A country so sporting, well preserved,
and good-scenting — with a most suitable pack of
hounds ready to hand, and a fair subscription — should
hold out strong inducements to many a man really
fond of foxhunting, and not bound by insurmountable
ties to some other locality.

330 The Hunting Countries of England,

A glance at the map shows at once the leading
natural divisions of the Wheatland country. The
hog^s-back ridge of Wenlock Edge runs, with its
almost continuous'range of wood, all along its north-
west border ; another minor range of covert lies im-
mediately parallel with it in Mogg Forest ; then comes
the grassy, stiffly-fenced vale of Corvedale ; and again
parallel, the strongly undulating surface of the
Meadowley Hills. Below the Edge is a narrow flat,
consisting chiefly of wet boggy grass, on to which
hounds occasionally dip, but more often only to turn
back after a few fields. A good road along the top
enables pursuers to maintain their hold upon the
chase, till thoy can judge of the direction a fox means
to take. In this lower strip are two or three small
coverts — e.g., Lushcott Gorse and Oak Wood (belong-
ing to Mr. R. Benson, of Lutwych). Between the
Edge and Corvedale the Burton Hills start from Wen-
lock, and run into Mogg Forest (which reaches from
about Brockton to Stanway). Corve Dale only com-
mences its course near Monk Hopton — Acton Round
beyond being again on high ground. And between
Acton Round and the Burton Hills are the Spoonbill
coverts of Lord Wenlock. On the Meadowley Hills
the principal coverts are the Hill Wood itself (belong-
ing to Mr. Pelham of Cound), Light Wood, Middleton
Gorse, Netchwood Gorse, and Powkes-More (Mr.
Howard's). Between the Meadowley Hill Range and
the Severn, again, is a northern corner of good upland
country, with the Aldenham coverts (Lord Acton's)
and the Willey Coverts (Lord Forester's) — Shirlett
being the principal wood of the latter group.

The Wheatland. 331

Great coverts^ as above mentioned, follow tlie course
of the Severn. Traps Eock, Homer Common, and
Farley Common carry on the chain from the verge of
Wenlock Edge Wood; and we then come to Lord
Forester's mass of riverside woods — Tick Wood, AVyke,
Benthall Edge to Coalport Wood and Caughley Big-
Woods. Travelling southward along the Severn
Bank, we find The Rookery and Chesnut Coppice
{Mr. W. 0. Foster's), the Stanley coverts (Sir Henry
Tyrwhitt's), and Severn Hall.

Below Bridgnorth, and in the southern half of the
country, are Cliff Cop, Eardington Forge, the Hampton
and the Highley coverts — which brings us down to
the Forest. From any of these latter riverside coverts
a fox may eventually break over the hill with '^ three
courses open to him,'' viz., to make for Kinlet (where
are large woods belonging to the Childe family), and
thence find his way to the Forest; or, secondly, to
steer by Billingsley (the Duke of Cleveland's), Chorley,
Stottesdon, and the Sidbury coverts (Mr. Cresswell's),
and round, possibly, to Kinlet and the Forest; or,
thirdly, to take the line of the Chelmarsh Bottoms (a
string of covert along the Borle Mill Brook, from
Highley to Woodlands) . The stream of the Rea on
the west, it may be mentioned, is, unlike the other
brooks, fairly free from covert.

For the two days of hunting the country is held to
be divided between the Bridgnorth side (the south and
east) and the Corvedale side. Tuesday being for the
former — Morvill is the meet that most often takes in
on that day the Meadowley Hill Range and the
Aldenham coverts; Willey is fixed for the woods

332 The Hunting Countries of England.

thereabouts; Nordley for the Stanley and Apley series;
and Lindley for the woods of Caughley. Glazeley is
generally chosen for the Chelmarsh Bottoms ; Billings-
ley for its solid coverts on hill and dale and for those of
Chorley; the Eagle-and- Serpent for the Kinlet coverts
(some hundreds of acres in extent) ; and Chelmarsh
for the many smaller coverts of Hampton and neigh-
bourhood.

On a Friday Much-Wenlock may be the meet for tho
day^s work that the Edge- Wood is always capable of
affording ; Wyke for the covert of that name and
Benthall and Tickwood; and Brockton for Mogg
Forest. For the last-named and adjoining coverts
Patton (the residence of Mr. E. H. Davies, Hon. Sec.
to the Hunt) is also the meet at least once in the
season ; and never fails to draw together one of the
largest fields of the year. The muster with the
Wheatland, by the way_, seldom exceeds fifty, even in
the vicinity of Wenlock or Bridgnorth. For the more
southern portion of the Edge Wood, and for the several
small coverts of Preen, the more frequent fixture is
The Five Chimneys, Presthope. Monk Hopton points
to Netchwood Gorse and Middleton Gorse, &c., and
Weston to Oxenbold and Neenton Gorse — while Ditton
Priors may be for Powkes-More and the rough gorse-
besprinkled Glee Hill.

The United Pack, 333

THE UXITED PACK.*

If the Wheatland Country and many parts of the
Ludlow are difficult to ride, that of the United Pack
requires still more circumspection, and insists upon
much more widely divided action between hounds and
horsemen. It is another step nearer Wales. Its hills
are loftier, steeper, and more closely contiguous :
while their heather-clad summits have in many cases
quite a moorland aspect. The valleys — highly culti-
vated, neatly and strongly fenced — are yet much
narrower and offer less scope for an open gallop with
hounds. The woods, very large and very numerous,
are mostly spread along steep hillsides in a fashion,
that entirely precludes riding with hounds through
them, and that would probably involve any stranger —
attempting to work on his own resources — in hopeless
confusion. For all that, the United Pack has a good
hound-country — and as such it must be accepted by
all who would hunt there, the ambition of mere riding
being altogether out of the question. But, when
hounds break covert down an open hillside, it is won-

* Vide Stanford's " Huutiug Map," Sheet 14, aud Hohsou's
Foxhnutiiig Atlas.

33 i The Hunting Countries of England.

derful liow some of their hardiest followers will dash
down the steep pitcjies in their wake^ and make the
most of the turf and arable that line the valleys. They
find plenty of jumping in that brief interval too ; for
every inclosure is carefully and closely feuced. Thick
thorn-and- hazel hedges separate field from field — a
bank of varying size generally forming a base,, but the
ditches as a rule insignificant. When these fences
are cut-and-bound, as they frequently are, they become,
with the help of the bank, quite sufiicient to test the
jumping power of the best of horses. But, as already
said, many of the dingles are too steep, and many of
the woods too dense and extensive, to allow of follow-
ing hounds at once. Then there is nothing for it but
to keep to the upper ground as long as possible, and
ride for a point. The Hunt know pretty?' well the run
of foxes in certain directions ; and three times out of
four will reach that point as soon as hounds. It is
only by this knowledge that they can keep a hold
upon the pack at all — as anyone, to take quite a mild
instance, who has ridden between the wooded face of
Black Hill and the woodlands of the opposite ridges of
Walcot, Radnor, &c., will readily understand. A
stranger, gazing upon the country with feelings not
altogether remote from awe, cannot but breath a
tribute of admiration to the pluck and perseverance
animating the good sportsmen who have so long and
so successfully kept foxhunting going in these hilly
regions. A pack of hounds possessing many sterling
qualities was maintained by the same family — the
Beddoes of Longville Castle — for over a century
(allowing for the intervening reign of Mr. Robert

The United Pack. 335

Lutliers, wlio added much to the fame of the pack),
and eventually about seven seasons ago, it came into
the hands of Mr. Harris of Pentre Nant — who had for
twenty-five years been connected with it, and who,
while retaining the old blood in kennel, has not failed
to seek fresh strains from neighbouring kennels. The
extent of country hunted has been very largely
increased of late years — side by side with the great
increase in the area of highland that has come under
cultivation — till the United Pack now wanders over a
district that is quite roomy enough for a second, or a
much larger, establishment. Two days a week, with
an occasional bye, are scarcely enough for a stretch of
country exceeding twenty miles each way. There is
no necessary limit to their sphere of operations on the
Welsh — or Montgomeryshire — side; but, practically,
the United Hunt do not work much farther than
Newtown, Powis Castle Park, and Welshpool. Beyond
this area — the ground becoming rougher and more
mountainous as you go — are only some few small hill
packs, kept by the farmers — who, everywhere in this
and the neighbouring counties, would seem to be
exceptionally hearty in backing up the traditional
sport.

No better proof of the scenting quality of this wild
hill country need be sought than is furnished in the
Journal of the Eoyal Agricultural Society for the
present year. The Earl of Cathcart in his admirable
article on half-bred horses quotes at full length the
catalogue of sale of the Horses used with the Mont-
gomeryshire Foxhounds, and sold at Welshpool in
1826. No. 10 is set down as having: "for two vcars

336 The Hunting Countries of England,

gone through the harassing service of breaking in
young hounds, and been a chief means of bringing the
Montgomeryshire hounds to hill fifty -four forces out of
sixty -three found last season '' ! ! What say you to
that, Messrs. Treadwell, Bob Ward, and George
Carter ?

The tops of the hills, where cultivation has not yet
reached them, are in most instances crowned with
heather and sprinkled with gorse — often thickly
enough to form strong covert in addition to that so
bountifully supplied by the woods on their slope and
base. The unturned ground of these uplands always
carries an excellent scent ; and the smoother summits
are also good easy riding. In many cases, however, —
notably on the wide ridge of Clun Forest — smooth-
sailing is much broken in upon by the wire fences of
the sheep farms.

One of the stiffest and steepest ranges is the Long-
mynd (about seventeen hundred feet in height), the
crest of which is some ten miles long and is freely clad
with heather and gorse. The top, however, is ex-
cellent riding, except where broken in upon by the
various dingles. On the side overlooking Church
Stretton its slope is so sudden and severe that to ride
down is at scarcely any point held to be feasible ; and,
if obliged to descend, men are forced to lead their
horses down the declivity as best they can. Other
great hills on this side, such as Caer Caradoc to the
east (actually in Shropshire territory, but drawn on
sufferance by The United) and rocky Stiperstone more
to the west, give a grand picturesqueness to the
scenery that appeals to any eye more gratefully than

The United Pack, 837

to that of the insensate and material foxhunter. To
him a landscape recommends itself in inverse ratio to
its wild and rugged beauty. He will gaze with content
and even rapture on a monotonous sea of green, such
as for instance is ofifered to him at the scene of the
Eugby, Melton, or Aylesbury Steeplechases; while
from glorious woods and majestic hills he will turn
with a sense of dread, or even of absolute dislike.

The woodlands of The United consist, like those of
The Wheatland, almost entirely of oak and larch ; and,
with scarcely an exception, they are plentifully stocked
with foxes. The kennels are at Clun, about nine miles
from Craven Arms — a station on the line between Leo-
minster and Shrewsbury. As a central point from
which to command the three countries of The United,
The Wheatland, and The Ludlow, Craven Arms is
excellently placed. Moreover, the three hunts are on
the best of terms, and do all in their power for mutual
convenience. The road from Craven Arms to the
United kennels makes its way along the foot of some
of the strongest coverts of the Hunt, for instance,
those of Sibdon, and, then immediately adjoining each
other, Oaker and Barrow.

Mr. Wicksted (the Ludlow) here runs a corner into
the United, and draws Clunbury and Hopton Park.
The United Pack, however, draws the Purslow Woods
(Mr. Pardee's) and the big wood of Soudley (Mr. P.
Morris's) which stretches up the face of the Black
Hill, opposite Clun. Beyond this, towards the south,
is the wood of Bryn Eddin ; then comes the gorse and
heath-covered surface of Caractacus Camp, Gaer
Ditches, and the large woods of Coed Ditton and

338 The Hunting Countries of England,

Kinsley. Working up the bank of tlie Teme, whicli
constitutes the southern boundary of the country, we
get to Selly Hall, and at the back Trevward with its
gorse and scrub, and, higher up. Coed ye Hendre and
Redwood. On the top of the hill range hereabouts
are the Garn Rocks, with gorse and heather freely
scattered over the rough surface ; and near them the
Hergan Plantation. Some of the pleasantest riding —
and best scenting ground — in the Hunt is found on the
high and heather covered plateau of Clun Forest, in
spite of the too frequent wires which cross and sub-
divide its face in the interests of sheep feeding.

Near Kerry are the hilly coverts of Kerry Pole, and
various other similar woods in its immediate neigh-
bourhood. Eastward, again, of these are the Long
Plantation and the Riddings (Rev. W. Grarnet-
Botfield^s), with other plantations belonging to Lord
Powis. The country between Kerry and Bishop^s
Castle is, it may be noted, all excessively hilly, except
via the Churchstoke valley ; but on the other side of
Bishop^s Castle more cultivation and more practicable
ground are found for a space. To the north, in the
direction of Churchstoke, is Pentre Nant, the residence
of Mr. J. Harris, the Master, with strong coverts in
its.vicinity j and two other notable woods are those
known as Mainstone and Blakeridge.

About Bishop^s Castle hedges and banks have a
better chance, though coverts of considerable size are
still prevalent — as for instance Oakeley Wood (the
property of Mr. Oakeley, a good supporter of the Hunt),
those of Mr. Plowden (a like staunch preserver), and
at Horderley. North of these are Linley Wood (Mr.

The United Pack, 339

Morels), and tlie lofty and rocky Steiperstone. Over-
looking Churcli Stretton is the Longmynd Mountain
above described. Running under Wenlock Edge is a
nice but narrow strip of wet vale ; and between this
and Church Stretton are the Hope Bowdley coverts,
and those of Helmeth and Ragleth. The United draw
the Edge Wood conjointly with the Wheatland as far
as Pilgrim's Lane ; while they hunt on Caer Caradoc
by permission of The Shropshire.

The Montgomeryshire side of the country demands
about one day a fortnight — and on these occasions the
hounds are brought overnight to the Master's residence
at Pentre Nant, in the same way as for the lower
country they are taken to Church Stretton. High,
cold, and rough is this Montgomeryshire district,
though it has many good coverts and many good
patrons — e.g. Wotherton (Sir Offley Wakeman's) and
Gumley Wood (Mrs. Price's). Rough heather dis-
tinguishes the Long Mountain and Welsh Harp. The
Black Bank coverts, again, belong to Lord Powis ;
and the Leighton coverts to Mr. Naylor. Crossing
the Severn to Welshpool we find The Relts, and Powis
Castle Park with its extensive coverts. Finally, there
are great rough woodlands at Pantyfrydd.

For hunting purposes the country is looked upon as
consisting of three divisions, viz., the Montgomery-
shire side, the ^^ lower country," or Church Stretton
side, and, thirdly, the ^^ middle country,'^ or Clun and
Bishop's Castle district. The first two divisions are
allotted one day a fortnight each, the " middle country "
one day a week. Wednesday and Saturday are the
hunting days ; the former usually taking in the distant

VOL. II. A A

340 The Hunting Countries of England.

fixtures, fhe latter being devoted to those nearer hom&
— with a byeday thrown in occasionally. Of the meets,
which are many and various, the following are some
of the most frequent — Clun, Walcot Park, Lydbury,
Aston, Purslow, Clunton, Kinsley, Trevward, New-
castle, Kerry and Kerry Pole, Moat Gate, Bishop^ s
Castle, Horderley Station and Lydham. For the
lower country Church Stretton and Rushbury Station
are the most common ; while for Montgomeryshire
Hockleton Bridge, Fordin, Powis-Castle-Park, and
Berriew are among the best known.

In spite of all difficulties in the way of riding, a
much larger field turns out regularly with the United
Pack than would be supposed — a muster of a hundred
being by no means uncommon near the eastern border.
The horse for the country, it is almost needless to add,
is in all respects the same as for the Wheatland or the
Ludlow.

The ChiclcUngfold. 341

THE CHIDDINGFOLD.*

A COUNTRY quite near London^ the Chiddingfold in
yet anything but the resort of cockneydom. A quiet
little Hunt in a nook between the Surrey Union,, Mr.
Combe, Lord Leconfield, and the Crawley and Horsham,
its sphere is limited to the edge of the Surrey Hills,
and to the earliest strip of the Weald which crosses
the south of that county and the north of Sussex. Its
coverts are too extensive and too closely packed to
allow much scope for a gallop, or for the disporting
of such a multitude as finds an outlet with the Queen's.
It has an open corner in the south-east, in the
neighbourhood of Cranleigh ; and there is more room^
again, in the extreme north, between Godalming and
Puttenham. The Cranleigh corner takes the type of
the more open parts of the Crawley and Horsham
country ; and the fences, besides being more strongly
built, are guarded with ditches. But elsewhere,
whether on the light soil of the hills or the stiiff clay of
the weald, the Chiddingfold is without doubt a very
" woody '' country. Its hills are, with the exception
of The DeviPs Punchbowl, not so rough — nor is

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 22, and Hohson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

A A 2

842 The Hunting Countries of England,

heatlier anything like so plentiful — as with Mr.
Eichard Combe ; though the fir woods of the upper
ground are very similar to those which so freely adorn
his hunting grounds. All the upper country of the
Chiddingfold is very hilly, in addition to being thickly-
wooded; but it is only on the extreme west that it
partakes of that rough heathery type so familiar to
every man whose lines have been cast at Aldershot.
The lower country to the south has still more extensive
woods ; but they stand on much more level ground
and in a deeper soil — while in character they are akin
to the large hazel-and-sapling coverts of Kent and
Sussex, whose deep narrow rides mostly depend for
their course upon the requirements of the wood-
cutter's carts in the past summer. Here and there a
ride may have been widened to an extent that will
give the gunner a fair chance at the rabbits as they
scuttle across ; but game preserving is not, as a rule,
carried on extravagantly or universally. Several
instances there are, as must always occur in the
vicinity of London, of coverts being let to men who
care nothing for foxhunting ; and who, however
meagre their own sport may be, are quite careless of
avoiding a clash of interests — in other words, are
only too ready to leave the question of foxes and
pheasants (either or both) in the unscrupulous hands
of keepers. There is less excuse for such culpable
selfishness here than in certain other countries whose
special attribute is game — (and where such indifference,
or even antagonism, on the part of an individual to
the sport of the community is often loudly and justly
condemned) — for Surrey is nowhere a game country;

The Chiddingfold, 343

and the few obstructionists who hire their shooting
here get no great return for their money.

On the whole, though, the Chiddingfold country is
anything but short of foxes ; and it is said to own a
fuller supply at the present time than ever since it
acquired a separate existence. The farmers are ex-
tremely friendly to the sport ; and so are the resident
landowners. A change of Mastership has just taken
place — Mr. C. B. Godman, who re-established the
Hunt about the year 1876, and has since carried it
on with ever-increasing success, having just handed
over the reins to Mr. Ellis Gosling of Busb ridge.
Previous to Mr. Godman starting hounds, the Surrey
Union for three years hunted the district — the Sadler
family having for some twenty years before kept a
pack, to work not only this piece of country, but
much of Mr. Combers present territory, even as far
as Pirbright.

The present Chiddingfold territory commences at
Guildford, and runs under the Hog's-Back, as far as
Puttenham, half way to Aldershot. Going southward,
it includes Godalming and Haslemere ; marches with
Lord Leconfield along the south ; and takes in Cran-
leigh on the east — the Surrey Union granting Hurt-
wood, and Lord Leconfield conceding some woodland
on his border. The soldiers from the Camp are usually
represented at the few meets between Godalming and
Puttenham, and along the western border; but the
Chiddingfold field is invariably a small one, though
the 9.30 a.m. train from Waterloo will set man and
horse down at either Guildford or Godalming within the
hour.

314 The Hunting Countries of England,

The rougtiest piece of the whole country is of course
about The DeviFs Punchbowl,, in the hill above Hasle-
mere — of which Hindhead is the loftiest point (nearly
a thousand feet) . Whether on the side of the Chidding<
fold or Mr. Combe's, this neighbourhood is a strong
sample of wild hill and heather. A sprinkling of
heather is also to be found about Hurtwood, on the
other side of the country ; but with this exception it
is limited entirely to the western edge.

From Haslemere to the east is all clay — the Surrey
hills coming no further than Witley and Hascombe.
In this dip not only are foxes most numerous, but they
run stoutest and leave the best scent. But nowhere
with the Chiddingfold is killing a fox an easy matter.
In the upper half of the country he can too often run
them out of scent : while in the vale the chances are
in favour of his being able to shift his responsibilities
before he is tired — in both cases the number and pro-
pinquity of the coverts being all in his favour.

Stout, short-legged, and useful (the definition of
the term as given in '^ Market Harboro' '^ not to be
taken too closely) is the description of horse required.
He must be strong enough to make his way comfort-
ably through the deep rides of the woodlands, or to
mount the tiring hills of the uplands. It is, to say
the least, quite as necessary that he should be able to
creep as that he should know how to jump — for over
the greater part of the country he will seldom be called
upon to do more in the fencing line than scramble
over a bank. The fences on the Surrey hills are every-
where insignificant ; though, as already mentioned,
there are some pieces of the lower ground — especially

The ChidcUngfold. 345

where grass is interspersed — whicli are both hedged
and ditched.

The kennels are at Park Hatch near Godalming;
and the hounds — a comparatively recently formed pack,
but one in which the requirements of a woodland
country have been carefully borne in mind — were
handed over, with the country, from the possession of
the late to that of the new Master.

The following are some of the chief meets and
coverts. In the north-west corner Compton is the
ordinary fixture, for Losely and Prior^s Wood, near
Puttenham. More towards the centre is Munstead
Cross Roads for some fir woods in light sandy soil —
where a find is pretty sure, though scent is very un-
certain. Hascombe — the property of Mr. J. Godman,
and thus, it is needless to add, extremely well pre-
served— is a very favourite place. It is a large,
isolated, and very steep hill, on the edge of the sand
and overlooking the clay, with a good covert on the
top.

Leading coverts in the centre of the country are
Highdown Heath, Unstead Woods, and those of Bus-
bridge. There are good coverts too of Mr. Barretts
(another staunch preserver) at Wintershall ; and also
of Mr. Rowers (who is equally careful of foxes) at
Thorncombe. Wood Hill, Wonersh, is the meet for
Mr. Henning^s coverts ; and Hurtwood, whence a fir
forest runs right away to Ewhurst, is, though a rough
place, a very valuable stronghold.

On the lower ground — where the numerous woods
belong (with the exception of the property of the
Sadler familv, of Mr. J. Godman at Dunsfold, and

340 The Hunting Countries of England.

Lord Winterson round Sliillinglee) to almost equally
numerous owners — the principal meets are Chidding-
fold_, Baynardsj Cranleigh, Hall Place^ Dunsfold^ and
Yan-Lane. Near Haslemere are some rough, coverts ;
and Mr. Stewart-Hodson takes the best of care of his
string of coverts reaching to Frillinghurst and Kod-
gate. The last-named place is the rendezvous for
Botney Bay, a very deep clay woodland, in whose
tangle of hazel and briar a fox is to be found with
greater certainty than almost anywhere else in tha
Hunt.

Lord Fitzhardinge's. 347

LORD FITZHARDINGE'S.*

The immense area over whidi the representatives of
the Berkeley family had in the last century exercised
the right of hunting, viz._, from Bristol to the Marble
Arch — has piece by piece been relinquished till the
late Lord Fitzhardinge narrowed his scene of opera-
tions to a manageable four-days-a-week country — the
pith of which is the very narrow vale down the eastern
bank of the Severn, as it flows from Tewkesbury to
Bristol. If this lengthy vale (nearly fifty miles) could
but be brought into a compact area, Lord Fitzhardinge
would possess in it one of the finest of all foxhunting
countries — nearly all fine-scenting grass, level,
temptingly fenced, and thoroughly preserved for the
sport. The single drawback to the Berkeley Yale, as
it now stands, is its slender width. Confined as it is
between the Severn and the hills (continuations of the
Cotswold) it has nowhere south of Gloucester a
breadth of more than four or, at the outside, five
miles. A good fox is oflP to the hills and woods like a
shot ; only a bad and shortrunning one remains in the
vale. A straight one that will run up or down the

Vide Stanford's "Hunting Map," Sheet 14, and Hobsons
Foxhunting Atlas.

348 The Hunting Countries of England.

vale is a rare exception. So it becomes a rule that
tlie nearer the water a fox is found, the better the
chance of a gallop — and, while that gallop lasts,
nothing, even in the shires, can beat it for fun and
incident. The fences — big and close together — are
seldom strong enough to be forbidding. A fox with
a good point before him, and his movements well
hidden, is pretty sure to run straight ; and, though a
pack of hounds takes more time than a horse to
overcome a tangled fence, it is only a good horse-
man with a practised eye and ready judgment who
will pop in and out of these little enclosures as quickly
as the hounds he follows. Immediately round Berkeley
the meadows are particularly small, and jumping is
consequently almost incessant ; while the ditches — ■
often very wide and deep — are blind and choked till
the season is well advanced. From Berkeley north-
ward, to Gloucester, Cheltenham, and Tewkesbury, is
quite a flying country ; and little but grass is to be
seen, till near Tewkesbury the vale opens wider, the
plough has been brought more into play, and the
enclosures are of greater size. Several brooks also
cross this part of the vale, which is held in high favour
by the little hunting world of Cheltenham, whence
the Berkeley field at all northern meets is chiefly
recruited. It is, indeed, at this extremit}^ of his
country that Lord Fitzhardinge has his largest fields.
Elsewhere they are of comfortably small proportions —
the lack of crowd giving men, and consequently
hounds, the best possible chance of getting quickly
^md pleasantly over the closely fenced vale. For this
his lords]] ip and followers have to thank the shape and

Lord Fitzhardinge's. 3-i:)

position of his country. Except in tlie far north lie
has no neighbours but the Duke of Beaufort. The
latter hunts along the south and eastern border of the
Berkeley; and, as his hounds take the field five days
a week, the members of his Hunt have little leisure
for going elsewhere. The broad Severn is an effectual
barrier to protect most of the upper side of the countr3\
In the Tewkesbury district just mentioned a famous
gallop occurred two or three seasons ago — hounds
running hard and unchecked from Tewkesbury Park
till they killed their fox at the end of some fifty
minutes. The chief leaders in this memorable run
were Mr. H. Baker, Mr. R. Chapman of Cheltenham,
and F. Archer, the jockey. From Frampton to the
hills is, perhaps, as pretty a sample of the flying vale
as can be instanced; and the Hardwicke neighbour-
hood is, again, remarkably good. Immediately south
of Berkeley the ground is for a while a trifle more
undulating; then comes the Oldbury district, which
stands alone as being the only at all impracticable part
of the vale. An oval about Oldbury^ to include
Shepherdine, discovers a style of fence that puts direct
progress out of the question — the hedge being very
broad, very high, and backed up by a ditch that alone
should be sufficient to keep bullocks in a field. The
land here being all rich pasture, and naturally fully
exposed to the strong winds that sweep up the Severn,
the hedges are encouraged to grow as luxuriantly as
possible, with a view to providing in an effectual and
economical form the shelter needed by the cattle. You
may get about it after hounds, as in the too stoutly
fenced districts of other parts of the world ; but you

350 The Hunting Countries of England,

cannot ride anything like straight-to-liounds. Below
this comes the lowest section of the marsh — again quite
diflferent from the rest. All along the Severn-bank you
meet with occasional open drains. But here you see littlo
or nothing else. About New Passage absolutely every
field is fenced squarely in with four of these " rheens/^
and, without a horse that will face open water, it is
useless your venturing into the district. At the same
time, the rheens are seldom beyond a horse^s fair
powers j and if he is not afraid to jump he need
scarcely ever be stopped or put down by them. Here
and there a main-drain — cut altogether out of pro-
portion to the others — may interpose an impassable
difficulty ; though this happens but rarely. To jump
the rheens cleverly, and without taking too much out
of himself, a horse had better be able to shorten his
stride and measure his distance steadily — than be the
headstrong rusher that we are apt to class as a water
jumper elsewhere. For when the rheens are cleaned
out — as is often necessary — the mud is thrown out on
either bank, layer after layer, and grass spreads itself
over all. Thus the banks are generally found to rise
considerably above the surrounding level — calling for
caution on the part of a horse in taking off, and giving
him every chance of catching his toes on landing.
This marsh or rheen -country continues down the river-
side by Almondsbury to Bristol — below which there
are no hounds for about thirty miles.

Of course the Berkeley Yale becomes deep and
holding in mid- winter, like any other low country
of stiff soil. But at the worst it rides no deeper than
the Blackmoor Vale^ the Yale of Aylesbury, the Old

Lord Fitzhardinge's. 351

Berkshire Vale, or part of the Vale of White Horse.
It takes a strong horse, a well bred one, and a very-
good hunter to perform creditably over it. And if he
is to take his turn on the hills as well, he must
possess all the best attributes of a Cotswold horse in
addition. The coverts of the vale are small but
numerous — almost too numerous, when a bad fox is
before hounds ; for they not only encourage him to
dodge, but they aid him to set other foxes on foot as
he goes. Besides plantations and small woods, there
are about the marsh many withy beds which form
excellent covert. It almost goes without saying,
that foxes are wonderfully plentiful all over Lord
Fitzhardinge's country — or such a narrow strip as his
vale could not stand the incessant work it gets after the
first month of the regular season. Yet the worst stage
it ever arrives at is that the fox of the day may
sometimes be difficult to find, though no sooner are
hounds set going than other foxes are sure to discover
themselves.

Overlooking the Berkeley Vale for the whole of its
length are — as above written — the Cotswold hills, the
plateau of which, after providing the Duke of Beaufort
with half his hunting ground, runs north to do duty
for the Cotswold and the North Cotswold Hunts.
Strong woodlands clothe the steep ascent, everywhere
on the edge of Lord Fitzhardinge's country; and
these well wooded hillsides form the chief scene of
work during all the earlier and final weeks of the
season. The foxes which are naturally inclined to
gather in the big woods as autumn comes on are
thus thoroughly routed ; and many are driven down

352 The Hunting Countries of England.

to swell tlie supply of the smaller coverts in tlie vale.
Occasionally from tliese hill woodlands a fox may
travel away across the uplands; and by taking his
field for a gallop over the Duke^s stonewalls add still
further to the varieties which a rider with The Berkeley
will have to encounter. But a run in this direction is
not nearly so frequent an occurrence as might be
supposed, for in addition to the strength and rough-
ness of the woods themselves there exists between the
two countries for a considerable length a great gulf —
with woods and hill on either side. So a fox found
on the Berkeley brink of the ravine will most likely
only cross over to the Badminton side, to return,
when he finds hounds are still after him, without
caring for further exploration. This secondary valley
runs up northward by Wootton-under-Edge — Tiley,
for instance, being neutral. The course of the hills as
they overlook the Yale and the Severn, is approxi-
mately by Wootton-under-Edge, Coaley Wood, Wood-
chester, Standish, Painswick, St. Leonards, Leck-
hampton and so on above Cheltenham.

It would be supposed from the maps that a large
tract of country across the Seven — as far as Monmouth,
Ross, Mitchell Dean and Newnham, is still hunted by
Lord Fitzhardinge. As a matter of fact, hounds are
now scarcely ever taken over the water at all, though
the new railway bridge just constructed near Sharpness
Docks offers every facility for transport. The Forest
of Dean, which occupies the heart of this area, was
always a wild woodland tract, almost hopeless in its
roughness. Now that coUieries are in full swing in
every corner, and railways competing thickly for the

Lord Fitzhardinge's. 353

wealtli unearthed, foxliuuting lias little place; and tlie
chase has virtually withdrawn.

The Kennels, with every advantage of good situa-
tion, good water, and the good shelter of the old elms
overhanging wide grass yards, are within the precincts
of Berkeley Castle. During the period in which the
late Earl Fitzhardinge (uncle of the present Master)
hunted the " Broadway country " of the Cotswold in
addition to his home district, he had kennels also at
Andover's Ford, whither he took his hounds for a
month at a time. But the main kennels have been at
Berkeley Castle, and the pack has been uninterruptedly
and munificently maintained, since an Earl of Berkeley
first hunted the fox. At the present moment there
are about sixty-five couples of hounds in kennel, and
their quality is too well known to need comment. It
may be set down, however, that excellence in the chase
is always held to be the first consideration in selection
for breeding purposes. Other claims, especially blood,
have their weight; and shape and make are not
neglected. But, primarily. Lord Fitzhardinge^s is a
hunting pack — with great pace and plenty of music.
The old blood in his kennel has done much to benefit
other packs (take Mr. Coupland^s, the present Quorn,
for example) ; while for new infusions of recent years
the chief sources appealed to have been the Badminton,
Cotswold, Grove, and Belvoir.

Gloucester and Bristol would no doubt be found
convenient towns whence to hunt with Lord Fitz-
hardinge— and the former ofi'ers the variety of a *day
apiece with the Ledbury and the Cotswold. But from
either it would be necessary, in order to work out four

Sb4< The Hunting Countries of England.

days a week with tlie Berkeley, to take train
occasionally. Cheltenham (the properties of which as
a hunting-quarter have already been touched upon
under the head of the Cotswold country) commands all
the northern meets of Lord Fitzhardinge ; while Tet-
bury, in the Duke^s country, is within riding distance
of many of the Berkeley fixtures. The former places
are each about three hour^s journey from London
(Paddington) . Tetbury, being half a dozen miles from
a railway station, takes a little longer to reach.

The usual days of hunting are Monday, Tuesday,
Thursday, and Saturday; and when the season has
fairly set in they are, as regards the Yale, generally
distributed much as follows — Monday takes the
southern or Almondsbury district, for such a meet as
the Lamb-and-Flag, Henbury — whence they go to
Blaize Castle or the Berwick Woods (a capital strong-
hold), or else to Kings Weston, just above the rheens.
The Swan at Almondsbury is another common meet,
generally for the marsh and its withy beds. Meeting
at Stoke, they draw the small coverts of Stoke Park,
and on probably to the North Woods and Mr. Bush's
coverts; while from Alveston-Ship they have Hay
Wood, a good-sized covert of Mr. Lippincott's.

Tuesday is for the other end of the country — the
pleasant Tewkesbury and Gloucester district, where
fair hedge-and-ditch fences, with few strong binders
and less timber, help a horse to sail along as fast as
hounds will take him. Tewkesbury Park, with small
goo'd coverts round, is one of the most northerly and
notable meets. Then there is The Hare-and-Hounds
on the Gloucester road, whence they may go either to

Lord Fltzhardinge's. 355

Chosen Hill or the nice covert of Hatherley Wood, and
on to Norton Hill. Meeting at Norton, they will very
likely take the same ground the reverse way. On the
home side of Gloucester is Hardwicke Court (the resi-
dence of Mr. Baker, who is a strenuous supporter of
the Hunt) . Here they draw the Hardwicke gorse and
coverts, or else go over the canal to other coverts
of Mr. Baker's and those of Sir William Guise —
excellent country surrounding this fixture. From
Whitminster Inn, again, they may take Standish Park
on the verge of the hill — the property of Lord Sher-
borne, but at present the residence of Mr. Potter, and
in which neighbourhood Mr. Butcher also contributes
largely to fox preserving. The same meet may also
lead to Hardwick or Frampton. A new gorse, by the
way, now exists near Standish Park, known as
Quedgeley Gorse and belonging to Major Curtis-
Heywood. Frampton Court itself is often fixed, and^
in the absence of Mr. H. Clifibrd, is held temporarily
by an equally good preserver, Mr Tidswell. The
White Lion-Cambridge also generally means Frampton
— hounds then drawing towards home, taking for
instance Cat's Castle, a small privet and thorn covert.

Thursday and Saturday are both usually spentjin the
home district, of Berkeley, Thornbury, Rangeworthy,
and neighbourhood. Indeed Saturday is more often
than not fixed for The Kennels, whence they have his
Lordship's many little coverts in the vicinity of the
Castle, Tintock, Fishers, Bushy Grove, and Redwood
— also Mr. Bengough's coverts. Or they may start
ofi" either in the Michael Wood or Hill's Wood direc-
tion. Hill Court is the usual meet for HiU's Wood, or

VOL. II. B B

356 The Hunting Countries of England,

for Fisliing-House Witliy bed close to tlie Severn.
Damery Mill is for Tortworth Park (Lord Dacie^s), or
else for St. MichaeFs Wood Chace — the largest covert
in the vale, and full of foxes. Wick Bridge may also
be for the last-named stronghold, or for the small
coverts over the railway.

Among the chief hill-meets are Wortley, by
Wotton-under-Edge, whence they may draw right on
from Wortley Bushes to Ozleworth Park (Mr. Eolt^s).
From Kingscote Park (the residence of a widely known
sportsman, Colonel Kingscote) they begin with his
High Wood, and may work on to Woodchester Park,
(Mr. LeigVs). Down House may be fixed with a
view either to Coaley Wood or for the vale — to
Ashmead and The Narles. Woodchester Park, with its
various woods, will provide a day of itself; as also can
Standish Park above mentioned.

Hon. Mark Rolle's. 357

HON. MARK EOLLE'S.-

The country whicli is now about changing hands, but
which has been associated with the name of Hon. Mark
EolJe ever since it embarked on a separate existence,
is situated on the far west of the very sporting county
of Devon. The late Eev. John Eussell, of widely-
loved memory, was brought up at Iddesleigh, within
its borders; and during his Oxford vacations had a
few couple of hounds with which to rouse the deep
glens and woods round his home. This was fully sixty
years ago ; but for many years afterwards, whether
from Iddesleigh or from his subsequent home at
»Swimbridge, he could wander with his hounds almost
where he chose — over ground that has since been
found ample for The Dulverton, The Stars of the
West, The Earl of Portsmouth and Hon. Mark Eolle.
In later times Mr. Furze kept hounds at Dolton ; and
with the purchase of these in 1858 Mr. Eolle laid part
foundation of a pack that was eventually to develope
into such well admitted excellence. At the same time
he bought also the entire pack of hounds of Mr. Deacon
of the H.H., and afterwards was able to obtain some
from the Eufford and the Duke of Cleveland. As

* Vide Stanford's '' Hunting Map," Sheet 19, and Hobsou's

Foxhunting Atlas.

D B 2

358 The Hunting Countries of England.

years went on lie had various drafts from Belvoir and
Brocklesby; and bred as mucli as lie could from those
sources. Add to this^ that Lord Portsmouth was ever
ready to lend him all possible assistance ; and it will
readily be understood that when in 1876 Mr. Rolle
was forced to the conclusion that his health would not
admit of hunting four days a week^ a dog pack far too
good to merit dispersion was sold out of the country.
With the lady pack remaining, he continued to hunt
three days; but no longer went to the ^^ Blagden
Country/^ a fine scenting district which since then
has in a great measure constituted the country of Mr..
Calmady of Tetcot. From Barnstaple round the sea
coast to the borders of Cornwall outlines Mr. Mark
Kolle^s country — with Lord Portsmouth along his
inland boundary. In other words, the fish-hook
course of the river Torridge — which rises near the
coast at Hartland ; and, after penetrating some fifteen
or sixteen miles into Devonshire, returns to the sea
between Westward Ho and the town of Barnstaple
— practically delineates his scene of operation.

The beauties of Devonshire scenery depend, as we
all know, in a great measure on the varied and broken
nature of the country — on the closeness with which
glen follows glen and hill succeeds hill, and on the
multiplicity and richness of its woods. In many parts
every valley is a deep dark coombe — to cross which it
is necessary to dip into the shade of perhaps a mile of
overhanging foliage, along paths made and used only
by deer and cattle. But apart from the depths of the
valleys, the steepness of the hills, and the density of
the woods, there are other causes which tend to make

Eon, Mark Rolle's. 359

Devonsliire a difficult arena for the foxhunter. The
■open ground (save and excepting, of course, the
many heathery commons and the great open waste of
Exmoor) is generally so closely fenced with enormous
banks — straight cut, often stone-revetted, and usually
thickly planted on top — that it is impossible for any
horse to carry a man over them. Thus, '^riding to
hounds '' is ninety-nine times out of a hundred con-
fined to galloping from point to point along lanes or
well-known bridlepaths — keeping as much as possible
on the higher ground, and trusting mainly to a
knowledge of country (with such aid as eyes and
ears can gather from a distance) eventually to bring
you once again on closer terms with the pack. What
a chance such conditions must give to hounds hunting
a fox on their own resources — especially on such
grand scenting soil as Devonshire admittedly possesses
— it is needless to point out. And in truth no county
in England can show more genuine foxhunting, or can
point to the work of its hounds more proudly than
this wild western shire. The hounds of the country
will sweep at a tremendous pace over the great banks
— taking them widely abreast when the scent serves
them. But it is curious to note the appalling effect
produced on an imported hound, by his first ex-
periences of these formidable earthworks. His first
half dozen banks are pretty sure to roll him back as
many times ; and it is only the pressure of example,
and the dislike of a high couraged foxhound to
finding himself left behind, that help him to acquire
the knack of jumping a Devonshire bank even as
-quickly as this.

360 The Hunting Countries of England.

Sucli, however, being the characteristics of Devon
generally — as of Somerset partly — a pleasant exception
is found in the western portion of Mr. Mark Rollers
country. Up the earlier vale of the Torridge and its
confluent stream the Waldron — i.e., the Putford and
Bradworthy side of the Hunt territory — is a nice open
and generally rideable country, more in keeping with
Ireland than Devonshire. It is neither nearly as hilly
as the rest of the country, nor are its banks so steep,,
high and hedge covered — most of them, indeed,
being well within the scope of a clever horse's powers.
The inclosures are rather larger than those of the
east or Lord Portsmouth's country ; and except hero
and there along the valleys, where meadows generally
form the banks of the streams^ they are almost
entirely under the plough. AVere it not for
occasional bogs — which, however, seldom avail to
entrap the natives — there are few impediments in this
district that need stop a good man on a well taught
Irish, or even Devonsliire, horse. The farmers of
the neighbourhood breed a great many small
but well shaped horses, which from the earliest days
of breaking they teach to scramble on to a bank and
off again, and to follow their masters over when called.
Capital sportsmen and keen foxhunters are the yeo-
men of Devonshire. In the '^Bradworthy country''
they nearly all follow the hounds; and what their
horses cannot carry them over, they generally nego-
tiate by jumping off, popping over with their horses
after them, and remounting again in incredibly quick
time. The coverts of this favoured side, too, are not
nearly as large and frequent as those of the east, or

Hon. Mark Rollers. 301

Torrington side — through whicli the same river
Torridge runs, but amid hills and woods of a very
pronounced type. "Brakes'^ — i.e., natural gorses —
from the staple coverts of the open country ; and a
fox found here will often travel long distances to reach
either the coombes and cliffs of the coast or the
strong woodlands inland. All Mr. R,olle^s country is
decidedly good scenting ground — unless, it should be
added, the season happens to be a very wet and cold
one. A few small patches of moor, or common, are
scattered over his territory ; but they are both scarce
and small as compared with the share possessed by
other Hunts adjoining. Plenty of foxes, also, there
are throughout his country — few Hunts owning a
greater number of zealous preservers.

Stanford's map goes to show various railways
cutting across the country under notice; but it is
satisfactory to note that many of these ominous, red-
dotted lines are at least premature. For instance,
there is no railway at present between Hatherley and
Holsworthy, nor again between Hatberley and Tor-
rington. The Torrington neighbourhood contains
most of the big woods alluded to, such as Monkleigh
Wood, Pencleave, Potheridge (where remains a fine
old farmhouse, still pointed out as the birthplace of
General Monk) with various others down the lower
banks of the Torridge. All the country north and
south of Torrington continues very hilly and thickly
wooded; but towards Barnstaple it again improves,
and is a little more rideable.

The pack has for twenty-four seasons been kept at
Stevenstone, the residence of the master, and where he

362 The Hunting Countries of England.

built kennels on taking hounds. Now, however, the
hounds have become the property of Sir William
Williams, the new Master; and new kennels are in
the course of erection near Torrington.

The days of hunting up to the present have been
Monday, Friday, and either Wednesday or Thursday
as might be the more convenient. Wednesday being
market day at Holsworthy, the meets of that neigh-
bourhood are generally fixed for the following day.
Monday has been for the Bideford and Barnstaple end
of the country and the home district ; Friday for the
south side ; while the meet of the middle of the week,
often involving distances of fifteen miles, or even
more, to covert, has been reserved for the chosen east.
Near Barnstaple is Tawstock Court (the seat of Sir
Henry Wrey) with coverts round the estate. From
the meet of Alverdiscot they draw Mr. W. A. Deane's
celebrated coverts — notably the New Brake and
Newton Wood. Bellevue or Stevenstone are for Mr.
Kolle's coverts — Ward Brake, which consists of gorse
and plantation, being especially a great place. One of
these last meets is usually named for the first day of
the season, and also for the day following the annual
Hunt Ball. Roborough is for the big wood adjoining ;
and an equally favourite meet is Beaford Moor for
Cudworthy Brake (Col. Arnold^s) — a sure find, and the
chance of nice open country, attending both occasions.

Among the Friday fixtures are Buckland Filleigh —
the property of Mr. Browne, who has coverts of
immense size — great woods and strong hills surround-
ing the house ; Meeth, on the southern border of the
countr}^, is another very popular meet; and foxes are

Hon. Mark Rolle's, 363

always in readiness in the plantations of the brothers
Madge. About Heanton are many very well preserved
woodlands belonging to Lord Clinton, whose property
hereabouts extends to Shebbear — Potheridge being
about the junction point of his estate with that of his
brother, the retiring Master. About Langtree are
some nice brakes and woods; and at Winscot Mr.
Moore-Stevens preserves foxes most keenly in his
various coverts.

The Wednesday or Thursday country has among its
chief meets Woolfardis worthy, whence are various
brakes to be drawn — Jacobus Moor (a gorse on a patch
of moorland) being usually the first. On one occasion,
after meeting here, they ran from Marshall Brake (two
miles beyond Woolfardisworthy), a ten mile point, to
ground in the wood close to Torrington. Seckington-
Cross, Hartland, is their most distant fixture, in the
rough promontory of the far north-west. Foxes,
however, found near here will generally run inland
rather than to the clifi*s — unless it be to the deep woods
of Clovelly. Seckington Brake and The Plantation
are both capital little places, and are the property of
Mr. Fane. At Gorvin, too, are a couple of excellent
brakes belonging to Sir George Stucley. Bradworthy
is, perhaps, the best meet in the country ; and there
are several right good brakes in its vicinity. Chief
among these are Dinneworthy Brake, Little Beer, and
Ashmansworthy Brake. Woodford Bridge has Bick-
ington Brake (Mr. Rollers) ; and Thornbury some
well-foxed woods on the Torridge, e.g., Bradford
Wood, &c. ; while near the meet of Dunsland are
useful plantations of Mr. Barratt's.

36-i Ihe Hunting Countries of England.

SOUTH-AND-WEST WILTS*

The combinate title of ttie country under notice is due
to the amalgamation of two Hunts under the present
Master. Colonel Everett commenced work in 1869 by
forming a West. Wilts country from such territory as
the South Wilts could spare him — little more than
Heytesbury, Warminster Down, Southleigh and
vicinity — to add to what he could have to the westward
on sufferance from the Duke of Beaufort and the
Blackmoor Yale. In 1871, Mr. Codrington (who had
held the South Wilts for two years, in succession to
Capt. Jarrett and Mr. Thomas Pain) resigned. Colonel
Everett then united the mother country with its
branch ; and has ever since been Master of the South-
and-West Wilts. About two years ago the Duke of
Beaufort reclaimed the nice strip of grassy vale that
he had lent his neighbours, in the north of their
country from Westbury upwards ; and the South-and-
West Wilts were accordingly driven in on that side
upon the downs of Salisbury Plain. To the w^est they
might still hunt far over vale and farther still over a
varied pleasant countiy — if only the dwellers in that

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 20 and 21, and
Hohson's Foxlmntiuo' Atlas.

South-and-West Wilts, 365

strangely un-Englisli land had been born to any souso
of the blessinofs of foxhuntino:. It seems scarcelv
credible in this year of grace 1883, when the increase
of population and the inroads of building are pressing
hard upon the space of half the hunting countries of
England, and have even crushed some altogether out
of being — that a fall, moiety of the county of Somerset
(much of it, too, extremely good riding ground and
with fully sufficient coverts) should know nothing of
foxhunting. Yes — "and pity ^tis ^tis true^' — from
Bristol to Bridgewater ; from Bath (and almost from
Frome, which is nearly the farthest point westward
that the S. and W. Wilts reach) to the very seashore
(a space of some 30 miles square being thus included)
— not a foxhound is ever seen, for the simple reason
that there is not a fox for him ; nor does it appear
to occur to the people that the joint presence of such
actor and agent -would be in any degree agreeable
or beneficial to them. This is by no means in keep-
ing with the spirit of western Somerset — where the
chase, whether of fox or stag, is upheld by men of
every degree with a reverence second only to that
paid to orthodoxy of religion. The man of Dunster
or the Quantocks might well cast at his compatriot
of the diocese of Bath and Wells the poet^s query :

Lives there a man with soul so dead,
Who never to himself has said,
This is my own, my native land ?

and leave the obvious inference to point itself. But
this bane does not extend over the edge of the county,
as hunted by the S. and W. Wilts round and about
Wanstrow, nor does it apply to the adjoining part

SGG The Hunting Countries of England.

hunted by the Blackmoor Yale. Still, the fact remaios
that an area of good hunting country;, sufficient for two
packs and in close proximity to many old-established
Hunts, is content to remain altogether without hounds;
and, what is more to the point, the S. and AV. Wilts,
as regards its present dearth of vale, is left much in
the position of the thirsty mariner, ^^with water, water,
all around, but ne'er a drop to drink.'^ This is but
an outsider's view — possibly, it may ^be suggested,
only a valesman's — and may very likely fail to
represent the concensus of opinion on the spot. But
most hunting men will, I think, concede that hills —
whether those of High Leicestershire, of Yorkshire,
Scotland, Hampshire, or elsewhere — may, as a rule, be
placed some points behind their adjacent lowlands, in
a comparative estimate of merit for the all-important
purpose in view. In other words that in nine times
out of ten, the vale gives better hunting and more
pleasurable riding.

The S. and W. AVilts country has, however, at least
one corner of admirable vale — as well turfed, and
carrying as honest a scent, as any of the '' Yale of
Blackmore '' (the title by which the maps denominate
the valley of the river Stour, and its tributaries).
This is from Mere and West Knoyle southward, to
include East Knoyle, Sedgehill, and Semley; where
not only is there sound and excellent going, but, when
once clear of W. Knoyle, banks and fences less fiercely
formidable than in the stiffest parts of the Blackmoor
Yale territory. Much of the famous Yale holds the
web so closely in a rainy winter, that only the very
best of horses can gallop the rush-covered and deeply-

South-and'West Wilts, 367

gripped meadows, even thougli bank-and- ditch fences
call for less exhausting effort than strong stake-and-
bounds, that have to be covered at a fly.

Adjoining this little section of vale, there runs near
the southern margin of the S. and W. Wilts a narrow
and low, but broken and strongly wooded^ strip almost
to Salisbury. Before entering this — about Wincombe
and Donhead — the country is absolutely hilly, stoutly
inclosed and distinct from down, and is backed up by
the great ornamental woods of Fonthill Abbey, where
our revered preceptor Beckford lived, hunted, and
planted. From anywhere here a fox may run down
into the vale, whether of the S. and W. Wilts, the
East Dorset, or the Blackmoor Vale — the three
countries touching each other close to Gillingham, and
about five miles from the town of Shaftesbury. But
from Wardour Castle up to about Barford, is a com-
plete chain of woods, underlying the jhigh gorse-
sprinkled ridge which marks the southern border
between the S. and W. Wilts and the East Dorset.

With another great chain of woods in the Witham
district to west, and the two enormous coverts of the
Groveley and Great Ridge on the uplands, it is patent
enough that the South-and-West Wilts has at least its
share of coverts. Yet quite a third of its present
area is without a covert of any sort ! All the rest of
it — not hitherto alluded to, is open down, of the Ted-
worth and Hampshire kind — lofty, undulating,
unfenced, mostly ploughed, and totally unplanted.
Roots and corn are sown on it, and a short turf clothes
such slopes as are still left for sheep walk. Foxes lie
in the corn in summer, among the turnips till Christ-

368 The Hunting Countries of England.

inaSj in tlie fallows — or where tliey can find a sheltered
corner — afterwards. And in each and every case they
are nursed and tended by a sport-loving race of
farmers.

The downs — (Once they were truly downs, in the

acceptation that then conveyed a picture of soft

herbage, a green springy surface — and " heads up and

sterns down.''' But all that was upset when the price

of wheat suddenly made the ploughshare a magician's

wand, pointing to gold below the surface) — the downs,

still bearing the unmerited title though now more

deserving of that of wolds, take up a full half of the

present S. and W. Wilts country. From Salisbury as

an apex (whither the various dividing streams and

valleys converge) they spread in fan shape to the

north and west — Salisbury Plain alone occupying

nearly half the fan, the Great Ridge forming another

feather (some fifteen miles in length, and gradually

spreading from three to eight in breadth), and below

this a third but narrowest, range running due west

along the border. Salisbury Plain has (beyond a little

place at Chittern belonging to Mr. W. Long) not a

covert upon it. From Tilshead to the Wiley Valley

— a distance of fully half a dozen miles — it is entirely

dependent on what the farmers can do ; and foxes are

always to be found, until frost has withered the turnips.

Till December, or sometimes later, they are put up by

the field spreading themselves, and riding in line

across the open. A fox thus found starts at the worst

advantage with hounds, for a scramble over the open

downs; and, if the scent be fairly good, they never

leave him. Rousing him in this way from his kennel,

South-ancl-West Wilts. 3G0

it is difficult to give him sufficient time to get on his
legs before hounds are upon him ; for, as we have all
seen, they will often pull down a fresh found fox in a
field of turnips or rough plough, in the first hundred
yards. And in this way many a fox falls a victim on
the downs.

Thus it will have been gathered that the three main
component parts of the South and West Wilts country
are (taking them in inverse order and degree) down,
woodland, and vale. The down preponderates, and
stands any amount of work to at least Dec. 1st.
The woodland is always a stand-by ; and allows of
hunting being carried on late into April. For instance,
the two immense coverts of Great Eidge and Groveley
are especially useful for spring hunting — the former
belonging to Mr. Morrison, and the latter, which
extends as a continuous wood for four or five miles,
part to Lord Pembroke and part to Mr. Wyndham of
Dinton whose father and uncle kept the South Wilts
hounds for j^ears. The vale comes in as the down goes
out — the frost that destroys the turnip leaf making the
fences of the low ground more visible and feasible. In
the same way the woods improve as the downs lose
their virtue — the fallen leaves perishing under the cold
and wet.

For such distinct varieties of country a horse would
have to possess exceptional and manifold merit, were
he expected to shine to like advantage in all. The
downs call for speed and blood; the woods for
endurance ; and the vale for boldness and jumping
power. So it is generally found advisable to effect a
compromise by riding a light well-bred horse on the

370 The Hunting Countries of England.

hills, and keeping a sturdy clever hunter for the vale.
For a down fox seldom takes the vale ; while a fox
found in the vale or in the deep woods of the west has
plenty of scope in his native sphere.

The most westerly woods regularly drawn are, per-
haps, those known as the Black-Dog Woods at Stander-
wick ; though occasionally hounds are taken as far as
Orchardleigh, and about once a season to Mells. But,
lower down, about Wanstrow, they hunt regularly;
and Batcombe Wood is one of their deepest coverts.
Eight hundred acres is no uncommon size for a wood-
land on this side ; and, after leaving Barrow Wood,
Upton Wood, &c., one finds about Witham a great
chain of such coverts, stretching northward almost ta
Warminster, and southward to the Stourton Woods in
the Blackmoor Vale country. Among these are the
West End Woods, Witham Park (a wood some three
miles in length), Bradley W^oods (the property of the
Duke of Somerset), and the Marquis of BatVs great
coverts at Longleat. Just within this semicircle of
woodland is a district best known as the Maiden-
Bradley country, wherein is Hicks Park Wood, an
admirable covert, well situated and owning a stout
race of foxes. When drawing this, the chief aim is,
not unnaturally, to prevent foxes from making for the
big woodlands so near at hand. All this, the Frome
side of the country, is hunted on a Tuesday (or it
may be, a Wednesday or Thursday, according to
where the Duke may be meeting) — the usual places of
meeting being Black-Dog Wood, Wanstrow, Witham,
Yarnfield (on the edge of the Blackmoor Yale),
Maiden Bradley, Bishopstrow, and Southleigh (the

South-and-West Wilts. 371

wood near the Kennels at Greenhill, two miles from
Warminster). Monday^ when the season has fairly
set in, is given to the south of the country for the
Fovant district (where the railway and the river
Nadder run together down to Salisbury) or for the
cherished " Knoyle Yale.^^ In the former case
hounds can be thrown at once into the Wardour
Castle woodlands, or, if wind and weather seem pro-
pitious, to the gorses on the hill top adjoiniug. The
ordinary meets are Wardour Castle, Sutton Mande-
ville, Dinton, Fovant-Hut and Eacecourse, Fonthill
and Wyncombe Park ; while the best fixtures of the
vale are East and West Knoyle, Sedgehill, and
Semley Station, with some nice little woods under
the Knoyles.

The best run on record during the present Master's
administration took place after a meet at Semley some
few seasons ago. Finding at Beckles Cliff, they ran
nearly to Cranborne Chace, back into the home
country by Alvediston, up the valley towards Wilton,
and killed at Tisbury, after a run of two hours and
forty-five minutes — in which hounds are computed to
have run fully seventeen miles.

Friday, the remaining hunting-day, is looked upon
as belonging to Salisbury Plain and the downs;
though the Wiley valley is very frequently the scene
of the meet, and there is a nice wood at Heytesbury,
besides some withybeds by the riverside. Thus
Heytesbury, Codford, and Fisherton are common
fixtures; while on the downs are Maddington,
Shrewton, Elston Farm, and Chittern Ban. Great
Ridge and Groveley, on the opposite downs, are more

VOL. II. c c

372 The Hunting Countries of England.

often taken on a byeday ; and as already mentioned,
come strongly into play towards the end of the
season.

For these three days a week Colonel Everett keeps
a very strong pack in kennel — often beginning the
season with about fifty couple. An active, not over-
sized hound is aimed at ; and both dogs and bitches
can go a great pace, besides being a good-looking,
even pack, and having a reputation for smart and
steady work. Like almost all western packs, they
get much of their blood from the kennels of the Duke
of Beaufort and Lord Portsmouth, aided also by Lord
Portman, the Blackmoor Vale, the Tedworth, &c.
Salisbury Plain forms a splendid schooling ground in
the autumn ; for there hounds learn their work in the
midst of multiplied riot — hares often getting up
round them by the dozen. The fact of their having
to find foxes in the open — their game frequently
jumping up in their very midst — is of itself very
exciting to young hounds; and the sober drudgery
of the woodlands must be a wholesome and useful
antidote.

The South and West Wilts field is seldom, if ever,
a large one. The vale meets are always well attended,
as they bring men over the borders from the Black-
moor Vale and Lord Portman's ; and Sherborne in
the former country is a strong hunting centre. War-
minster would be the readiest point whence to hunt
entirely with the South-and-West Wilts. Salisbury
too (about two hours and a half from London —
Waterloo Station) commands this country besides
that of the Tedworth and Lord Radnor.

Lord Portman's 373

LORD POUTMAN'S.*

LoED Portman's (the East Dorset) country is part of
the extraordinary extent of gound hunted until the
year 1858 by the late Mr. J. J. Farquharson. If only
as a curiosity of fox-hunting history, it is worth
putting on record that the territory held and hunted
for many years solely by that gentleman, included the
whole of the present countries of Lord Portman, Mr.
Eadclyffe (the South Dorset), and the Cattistock,
besides parts of the present Blackmoor Yale, Lord
Eadnor's, and South-and-West Wilts. The huntsman
who worked this immense country for him was John
Treadwell, father of the Old Berkshire huntsman — once
so celebrated with the Quorn.

On Mr. Farquharson's retirement, Lord Portman
established his present pack at his seat at Bryanston,
close to the little town of Blandford, to hunt a district
of which Blandford, Stourminster, Shaftesbury, and
Cranborne are outline points. In this area are in-
cluded a large strip of the Stour Yale or Yale of
Blackmore, a considerable extent of lofty down, many
strong woods besides the forest-like expanse of Cran-

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map/' Sheets 21 and 22, and
Hohson's Foxhunting Atlas.

C C 2

374 The Hunting Countries of England.

borne Chace^ and, lastly _, a rough bat sportiog district
on tlie verge of the New Forest. The Yale occupies
the west of the country; and the best of it — from
Shillington to Gillingham — runs up between Stur-
minster and Shaftesbury, to dovetail in with the South-
and-West Wilts and the Blackmoor Yale. It thus
forms a close and valuable addition — almost an
integral part — of the pleasant hunting grounds for
which Sherborne — the Melton of the west — is the
chief resort and base. Sherborne and its immediate
surroundings have already been dealt with in these
sketches, under the head of the Blackmoor Yale.
But its vicinity bears so directly upon any description
of Lord Portman^s country, that it is impossible to
avoid allusion here. The largest and the hardest
riding field that comes out with Lord Portman (it
would be hard to find one to surpass it anywhere in
the latter respect) is when his hounds are in the vale,
within reach of Sherborne. Nor is it difficult to
appreciate the causes that tend to the popularity
enjoyed by Sherborne. Not only is it within eas}'
reach of anywhere west of London; but, while offering
unusually good country and ample hunting, it does
not call for anything like the exaggerated stud that
is held necessary for a campaign at certain quarters in
the Midlands. At Sherborne, I am led to believe, a
man starting with half a dozen sound and well-con-
ditioned horses (or, if he have luck, with even one or
two less) may see all the sport, and see it as well as
his fellows. The luxury o£ a second horse is very
much the exception; and is, indeed, held to be almost
superfluous. The distances to covert are not great.

Lord Portmcufs, 375

for of tlie five days a week that are invariably offered
liim, there is not likely to be more than one — if any —
beyond a radius of twelve miles. He will get four
days a week with the Blackmoor Vale, and one with
Lord Portman or The Cattistock — to be varied, or
added to, by an occasional trip to the South-and-West
Wilts. These are nearly altogether upon grass ; and
much of his time will be spent in the air. (No wonder
that the soldier sportsman of Aldershot — in hot youth
or accomplished maturity — is apt to look upon
Sherborne as his haven of refuge, and, when time and
funds admit, to flee thither from his drudgery and the
sandy wastes around !) The grass is deep ; but the
inclosures are generally small, and a galloping horse
has scarcely time to extend himself between his fences.
Thus a stout horse that is a bold strong fencer and
easy to turn is a better conveyance than a raking
steeplechaser. Young blood may perhaps often prefer
to be flying its fences rather than going on and off
them (and the banks of the Dorsetshire vale are
usually much too wide even to be merely "topped,^'
i.e., kicked back upon). But for a man who has
learned to like bank-jumping, and plenty of it, no
more pleasant arena can be found than is offered him
in the neighbourhood of Sherborne.

A goodly number of most sporting farmers come
out with the East Dorset Hounds. Their horses are
probably bought when quite young from Irish droves ;
are soon taught to jump ; and can then hold their own
pretty easily, in a closely inclosed country where speed
and breeding are not the first essentials. On a fine
scenting day — no uncommon indulgence where moist

37u The Hunting Countries of England,

old turf is every day tlie main foundation — hounds can
go over the vale faster than horses. For the lesser
animal is not only quicker over its fences, but gets
into its stride sooner, laying itself down to gallop at
once — and particularly is this to be noticed where tha
land has been given up altogether to dairy farming,
the staple industry of the vale.

In the centre of the best of the East Dorset vale
stands Doncliffe, a well-wooded hill belonging to Mr.
Morrison of Fonthill. A strong good wood, it occupies
an isolated position not unlike that of Great Wood in
the Duke of Beaufort's country, and is productive of
much capital sport. The other coverts of the vale are
all small ; and when these have once been rattled,,
their foxes naturally congregfate at Doncliffe — to be
found again there and go off at score into the open,
without hanging a moment.

In the lower, or Woolland, vale the fences are
blinder, the inclosures smaller, and the country
generally more cramped, than is the case north to
Shillingston.

Between Woolland and Blandford, and to the high,
road between the latter place and Milborne (virtually
the boundary line between the East and the South
Dorset) is almost all rough hilly woodland, though set
down on the map under the deceptive title of the Dorset-
shire North Downs. The high land rises abruptly in
true down fashion j though there is but little open
ground — and that little is mostly ploughed — on the
summit. Houghton Wood (some eight hundred acres)
and Milton Park (about a thousand) are two of the
largest woods; and are both owned partly by Mr..

Lord Portman's. 377

Pleydell and partly by Mr. Hambro\ In the im-
mediate neigLbourhood of Bryanston, too, are several
considerable coverts ; in which hounds can work the
cubs almost at the kennel door.

North of Blandford, and again on high ground, you
soon enter upon the forest glades and hazel copses of
Cranborne Chace — a tract of some seven or eight
miles of the Robin-Hood-and-merry-green-wood class,
through which the modern fox hound drives lustily,
particularly if the weather be wet and fairly warm.
Cranborne Chace holds game and riot cf every de-
scription, even to roedeer : but foxes seldom failj and
hounds and roedeer soon get to treat each other with
familiar contempt.

East of this picturesque district are Lord Alington's
large coverts at Crichel ; and beyond these again you
come into the " Horton country '^ — a rough but very
sporting outskirt of the New Forest. It extends from
Wimborne to Cranborne ; has a good deal of heath
scattered about it; and is excellent working-ground
for hounds. It is in most parts strongly fenced with
banks and single ditches — the banks often rotten and
treacherous. It holds, however, a good scent when-
ever the weather is favourable; and its foxes, if not
too plentiful, have the merit of being strong and wild.
Long and good runs are, consequently, generally
associated with the Horton district. The coverts, of
varying size — from plantation to wood — are quite
suflScient for all requirements ; and, besides these,
there is the heather, in which foxes frequently lie up.
For instance, Uddens Bog — on the heath outside the
Uddens domain — almost always holds a fox. The

378 The Hunting Countries of England.

New Forest Hunt until recent years included in their
country mucli of this district, up to Cranborne.

Between Cranborne and Handley is some nice open
and undulating down — with much of the old short
turf still left. And many good gallops come off here.
The down extends also as far as Tarrant Keynston,
within two or three miles of the Kennels. Harley is
looked upon as the best down covert ; and is a
constant source of sport. It consists of a good gorse,
well protected on two sides by a strip of sheltering
plantation.

Lord Portman^s usual hunting days are Monday,
Wednesday or Friday. Monday is as a rule a hill day.
The other two are liable to change in any direction, so
as best to fit in with the convenience of neighbouring
Hunts and the requirements of the home country.
The hounds are not only fashionably bred ; but are
extremely active and very taking in appearance. Lord
Portman originally began with a lower standard of
height than that generally accepted ; as in taking the
young draft from good kennels he got many clever
hounds rather below the fashionable height. It is
certain that a moderate-sized and compact hound, and
one not too heavy, is most suitable to so varied a
country. It often happens that hounds after working
half the day in the vale have to finish with an afternoon
on the hills ; and thus have two most opposite kinds of
ground to travel over. The Grove, Brocklesby, Belvoir,
and Wynnstay Kennels, as well as those of Lord Pol-
timore and Lord Portsmouth, have all helped to make
the pack ; and more recently the Oakley and the Fitz-
william have rendered some service.

Lord Portman's, 379

Among the leading meets in the several sections of
the country, the following are some of the most im-
portant. At the top of the vale is Park Farm (close
to Gillingham), with several small coverts about, most
of whicb belong to Lady Westminster. East Stour,
nearer Shaftesbury, is for the same class of country
and coverts ; Dbncliffe is for the hill and wood above
described ; The Plough Inn, Marston, is for other
small coverts in its neighbourhood ; and Fontmel for
those of Sir Richard Glynn. At the Woolland end of
the vale is the meet of Woolland itself, for its coverts
and those of Kitford and Whitmoor. Or the same
fixture may be given with a view to the adjacent hills.
Fiddleford is advertised for Piddle Wood and adjoining
coverts ; Stourminster for the same or similar district ;
and Shillingston Station for a number of coverts rented
by Mr. Connop and specially well cared for in the
interests of fox hunting.

The chief hill meets, on the rough stony upland of
the south (where the woods are big and strong ; and
where, again, roedeer are found in plenty), are Turn-
worth, Milton Abbey, Whitchurch, The Down House,
and The Kennels.

For Cranborne Chace (which, by the way, is the
property of various owners — prominently General Pitt-
Rivers, Mr. Farquharson, Colonel Howard and Lord
Pembroke) the usual meets are Stourpaine Bushes,
Fontmel Wood, Ashmore, Eastbury (Mr. H. R. Farqu-
harson's), Rushmore, and Chace Farm.

On the East, or Horton side, are Uddens, Horton
Inn, St. Giles, Gaunts, and High Hall with its decoy —
a very favourite spot for foxes.

380 The Hunting Countries of England.

Lord Portman's country is, on the whole, well stocked
witli foxes — the supply being very constant, takino*
the country through. And this although game pre-
serving is also largely carried on. Many coverts again
are occupied by the farmers, who are all very staunch
and friendly.

In conclusion, Blandford (about four hours from
London, L. & S. W. Ry.) is the most central quarter
for hunting with Lord Portman's hounds. Though a
small town, it can offer good and ample accommoda-
tion ; and it also commands the South Dorset.

The Cleveland. .331

THE CLEYEL.VXD.*

Occupying tlie topmost corner of sporting Yorkshire,
the Cleveland country commences on the wild North
York Moors, and reaches northward to the sea and
the Tees — the little town of Eedcar, and close to it
the Kennels, marking the point at which that river
merges into the German Ocean. Until about the year
1870, the Cleveland Hounds, like their neighbours the
Eskdale and the Sinnington, had no permanent
kennels ; but were entirely trencher-fed. At one
period indeed of their history (previous to the year
1817) they held a still humbler position — being hunted
and whipped-in to by men on foot, and running fox
and hare on alternate days. Needless to say, the
material which then composed the pack was in keeping
with the crude and somewhat haphazard state in which
it was maintained.

Up to that time the hounds were known as the
Roxby ; but in June of that year, at a meeting held at
Loftus, the title of '^ The Eoxby and Cleveland " was
originated; and the Hunt inaugurated under the
presidency of Mr. John Andrew. By the rules of the

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 5, and Hobson's
Foxhunting' Atlas.

382 The Hunting Countries of England.

Hunt, as then framed, an annual subscription of
11. lis. 6d. constituted a claim to membership; and it
was agreed that the members should dine together at
the beginning and end of each season — every member
not attending on either of these occasions to forfeit
five shillings, of which half a crown was to go towards
the dinner-bill, half a crown towards the general fund
of the Hunt. It was further enacted that ^' at each
dinner the President shall call for the bill two hours
after the cloth is drawn ^^ — an explanation for such
arbitrary legislation being* possibly contained in the
fact that those were the days of old port. The first
dinner under these rules of conviviality and sobriety
is accordingly recorded as having taken place at the
Bed Lion Inn on the 16th Oct. 1817.

Mr. J, Andrew continued as President of the Hunt
till his death in 1835 ; when his son John reigned in
his stead. He too died, 1855, and was in his turn
succeeded by his son Thomas. The last named
gentleman also surrendered the reins of office only at
his death, a.d. 1870. During this lengthy period of
hereditary mastership, the hounds were kept, in a
very primitive and economical fashion, by the united
efforts of the members of the Hunt. Some good
strains of blood, however, had long been preserved in
the pack ; and on the accession of Squire Wharton of
Skelton Castle, it was decided to do justice to the
hounds by bringing them under orthodox kennel
management. Mr. Newcomen had the pack for a
time at his place at Ivirkleatham ; but eventually the
present site was fixed for the kennels. Mr. Newcomen
had the mastership for five years, and Mr. Proud, the

The Cleveland, 383

present master, lias now held office for four. So
mucli for the antecedents of tlie Hunt. The pack
itself has steadily improved since its status has become
established — the friendly assistance of Lord Zetland
(who has done so much in the way of bringing the
best blood of the Midlands to blend with the northern
strains) having been especially valuable in maintaining
an excellent working pack at Redcar.

The great rolling hills of north-eastern Yorkshire
dip to sea level, at some points only on reaching the
coast line, at others a few miles short of it — some-
times abruptly, sometimes by easy gradient. And it
is at the foot and on the slopes of these hills that
the Cleveland country lies. The strip of level plain
between hill and shore, on the north, is sadly
narrowed by the busy presence of the smelting
furnaces, which cease neither day nor night from
turning the ironstone of the adjacent hillsides into-
metal and money. Only a comparatively few years
ago foxes could be hunted in the immediate precincts
of Middlesboro'. Now, a broad chain of furnaces,
and an almost continuous town of workmen, cover
the riverside from Stockton to Redcar ; wagonways
run into the heart of the country ; and steam is to he
seen issuing from mining works at intervals along the
whole line of hills adjacent. Yet even now room is
found for a frequent scurry across the flat to the
woods and higher ground of Wilton, Kirkleatham,,
and Upleatham ; and the utmost is made of this
pretty but limited area, by means of artificial gorses
and earths to attract foxes from the hills. The
whins of Lazenby, West Coatham, Megget Lane,

38^ The Hunting Countries of England.

Mrs. Berryson, and Adamson, are iustances of a
system that owes much to Mr. Newcomen^s master-
ship. Nice flying fences and a good deal of grass
mark this level strip ; and, if we except the various
" stells '' [Anglice, brooks) which flow deep and
muddily across it, there is little or nothing to stop a
fair hunter. Stifl" clay is the ground work — as it is
also on the west ; where another slice of vale is found,
along the border of the Hurworth, by Marton down
to and beyond Stokesly. Here, too, the coverts are
small — being chiefly plantations and whins ; e.g., the
Blackmoor and Marton plantations and the whins of
Seamer and Rye Hill. Great woods, on the other
hand, are found clothing the sides of many of the
Cleveland hills, and the banks of the various '' gills ''
— another colloquialism, which may be translated as
dales, becks, gullies, coombes, ravines, &c., according
to the nativity or education of the reader. Wide
wooded icatercourses will perhaps answer for a general
rendering of the term. A range of woods faces the
kennels that alone might overawe the soul of a hunts-
man from a country of small coverts. But they are
well-rided as they are well-and-stoutly-foxed. Most
fortunately for the Hunt, they are the property of
crentlemen who take the strongest interest in its
prosperity. Thus the Kirkleatham Woods belong to
Mr. Newcomen, the AVilton Woods to Sir C. Lowther,
and those of Upleathara to Lord Zetland — and it is
scarcely exaggeration to assert that they might be
drawn every day of a week without failing to hold a
fox. Their staunch virtue is the more valuable as
they practically form the heart of the Cleveland

The Cleveland. 385

territory. Behind this front line of strongly wooded
hill — andj indeed^ breaking also through its midst —
is gently sloping upland to form the base of the
rougher heights surrounding. The little town of
Guisborough lies behind this frontier hill (with its
heather clad summit of Barnaby Moor) ; and tolerably
light, and quite rideable ground — chiefly arable —
reaches Guisborough from two sides. So a fox from
Wilton or Kirkleatham, when he is forced to leave — as
can generally be managed, unless he goes to ground
— can find plenty of room to travel before reaching
the rough background of highland. The neighbour-
hood of Stangnow and Moorsome brings us up to
the moors ; but nearer the sea on the east are found
both broken ground and more strong woods. Every
gill is thickly fringed with trees and thicket. Some-
times they are difficult to draw, and often they are
difficult, or even impossible, to cross on horseback.
Indeed, a horse for the Cleveland, besides possessing
a more than rudimentary knowledge of how to cross
a plain hedge-and-ditch country (as both the vale
and the tilled upland may be termed), should have a
certain turn for mountaineering, or at least should
have the full use of his limbs and senses, to enable
him to creep through and climb over the gills and
other kindred difficulties.

Saltburn Gill and the Kilton Woods (both the pro-
perty of Mr. Wharton) are the first strong coverts we
come to on the east, followed by Grenkell and the
Roxby Woods (of great size and length). At Hutton
is a very large extent of young woodland, recently
planted by Sir Joseph Pease. But at every point

386 The Hunting Countries of England.

where the water has cut its way from the upper ground,
we find the sides of the burns widely clad with covert
from moor to sea.

The ironstone mines on the hillside, besides the
intrusion of their presence, provide another incon-
venience in the opportunity they offer to foxes for
getting to ground. Clefts, holes, and cavities exist
in such profusion that any attempt at earth stopping-
would be a farce — and so disappointment is often
only the result of a hard run. Among the qualities
most needed for a hound in this country is, besides
nose and tongue, that of drawing covert carefully
and perseveringly ; for foxes will hide up very closely
under the banks and rocks, and often decline to
move until bundled out of their kennel. The supply
of foxes is, generally speaking, an ample one ; and,
while the scent on the cultivated ground is often good,
it seldom fails to be strong on the heather.

Nor is fox preserving by any means confined to large
covert-owners or landowners. The tenant farmers are
still as friendly to the sport as they were in the days
when the Cleveland was entirely a farmer^s pack ; and
the small field (seldom more than twenty-five or thirty
in number) is almost entirely composed of them and
the resident gentlemen. The neighbouring towns,
wealth-producing, dusty, and grimy as they are,
scarcely constitute pleasant residences for those whose
income they provide ; and so they send but few
representatives into the hunting field. The Kedcar
Kennels, by the way, though by no means palatial
either as to situation or architecture (being some
adapted buildings bound closely in between railways

The Cleveland. 387

and iron works) enjoy a notable immunity from most
kennel ailments. It has more than once happened that
a hound suffering from kennel lameness, and sent
thither, has entirely recovered. The immediate vicinity
of the sea, and still more the opportunity of exercising
throughout the year on the broad sands, may have no
little to do with this advantage.

Monday and Thursday are the days of hunting —
arranged at discretion as regards place of meeting.
The earliest cubhunting commences on the upper
moorland; but as soon as the corn is cut, the hill-
woodlands are well worked, and foxes driven as much
as possible to the lower ground. The ordinary meets
for the flat opposite the Kennels are Kirkleatham
(more often than for the woods above), Marske,
Coatham, &c. Among those for the western flat are
Ormesby, Stokesley, and Seamer; with a prospect of
a run over nice lowland, possibly into the Hurworth
territory to Hilton Woods or the Leven banks (where
a fox will generally get to ground) . On the hills are
Kildale, for its woods and the moor ; while the farthest
fixtures towards the wilds of grouse shooting are
Castleton and Danby. To the east are Liverton and
Kilton for the deep woods and gills ; Loftus whence
they may draw the cliffs ; and Inderwell for Roxby
Woods and Grinkell. From Guisborough they have
Guisborough Banks ; and for the re-entering hollow
between Kirkleatham and Upleatham is Yearby
Bank. Skelton Warren, again, gives them some four
or five hundred acres of rough covert.

VOL. II. D D

388 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE NORTH DURHAM.*

Whether you glance at the labyrinth of red streaks
which on Stanford's map denote (and it would almost
seem, protest against) the evil course of railroads_, or
breathe awhile the smoke and dust from the coalmines
that surround the old cathedral town, the difficulties
of making Durham a hunting centre are only too
readily suggested. In the days of Ealph Lambton
and his celebrated pack the Durham Hunt no doubt
deserved its celebrity. To it belonged the whole of
both the present North and South Durham countries ;
and the way was then incomparably more clear for
fox and hound. The grassy hills of the north-west
were open as now ; and the centre of the county was
not cut up and marred by the blustering interference
of steam. Yet an excellent pack of hounds is still to
be found within a mile or so of Durham : in spite of
railways and collieries, the fox is still regularly found
and hunted in the home district ; while the more open
country at a distance is still replete with as sterling
sport as ever. That much of the North Durham

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheets 2 and 5, and Hobson's
Foxliunting Atlas.

The North Durham. 389

coimtry is hunted under great difficulties goes without
saying; but that the result is a success is all to the
credit of the good and determined sportsman who
brings it about. If ever a proverb were instanced it
is here^ in the contempt begotten of familiarity with
the collieries and their iron-roads. The latter are
mostly mere ^' wagon ways/^ it is urged ; and " you
soon get accustomed to them." Woods, well stocked
with foxes, run just below the kennels, almost up to
the town of Durham and right among a network of
coalworks and trams — and here hounds are taken to
amuse themselves whenever a day can be added or
spared. Most often a fox found here will but dodge
from wood to wood, and round the works and build-
ings, till his death. But now and again an old
wanderer from the west country has made his way
hither in a spirit of inquisitiveness or frolic. Then,
shaking the dust off his feet, and the grit off his
brush, he clears himself at once from the uncongenial
surroundings, and leads them a straight merry dance
to his native wilds. The mere wagon ways, it is true,
present no very serious obstacle. They can be crossed
almost anywhere ; and the lives of hounds are not
endangered as they would be amid swiftrunning trains.
Once clear of this unhallowed circle, a fine wild high-
land district of grass and woodland will soon present
itself — the woods extensive, but easy for hounds to
drive and horses to gallop through, and the intervals
filled in with large grass inclosures of from twenty to
fifty acres. Stone walls divide field from field, as in
the best of the Tynedale country — to which this side
of the North Durham is not altogether dissimilar,

D D 2

390 The Hunting Countries of England.

The walls are often too big to be easily jumped —

added to whicli they occur most freely on the highest

and steepest ground. But, being built entirely of

loose stones, it is always easy to send the upper layers

rolling by a push of the shoulder. A place thus made

is likely to remain untouched till the shepherds go the

round of their w'alls and fences in the spring; and, as

the foxes of the district are apt to travel similar lines

on repeated occasions, the gaps will continue to

play their part throughout the season. As above

mentioned, the grass and walls are only found quite to

the west — where the ground rises rapidly towards the

moorland. They commence in earnest about Cornsay;

though quite a good country is entered upon before

reaching that point — the ground southward to Crook

and Brancepeth for example. It undulates strongly in

every direction ; but the hill sides are very rideable,

and — in a wet winter especially — carry a capital scent,

while the foxes are remarkably straight and stout. It

is mostly arable, but with grass sprinkled here and

there ; and the fences are chiefly light thorn and

timber as in Northumberland. Hilltop to Colepike or

Broomshields (Mr. John Greenwell's) will represent

about the best of the west — and Cornsay is an

especially favourite meet, never failing to bring many

men from a long distance. Between Cornsay and

Hilltop and near Lanchester is The Ford (the

property of another good fox preserver, Mr. Matthew

Kearney). Westward of Cornsay, too, the country

soon assumes a more wooded character — as, for

instance, at Elm Park and Harpley Park, where

the Rev. G. P. Wilkinson takes care that foxes should

The North Durham, ' 391

always recognise a welcome. The Woodlands is the
title of the extensive and well-timbered domain pur-
chased a few 3^ears ago by Mr. Van Haunsbergen, who
does not fail to pay fall regard to the interests of the
chase on his new property. None of these woods are
dense enough to make foxes hang long before hounds ;
and a scent in covert^ or out^ is seldom wanting. Over
the stone walls from field to field hounds will skim
Tapidly — topping the walls in a line, and generally
making their way very much faster than horses can
follow. A horse that can climb a hill, do a good day^s
work, and be quick and clever under difficulties, is a
much more satisfactorj^ and suitable mount with the
North Durham than a long-striding raking thorough-
ibred. He must have strength ; and the less leg he has
with it the better. From the Woodlands foxes are
very likely to run up what is generally termed " Lord
Bute^s country '^ in the extreme west. Some hundreds
•of acres of plantation have been laid out here in
recent years ; and foxes will travel to them from any
■ distance, even from the Durham neighbourhood. The
same style of wild grass- and-woodland prevails over
the district of Langley and Burnhope (the former
being Lord Durham^s property) ; and Greencroft Park
is a favourite meet for the same kind of country.
Saggerston is one of the largest woodlands — more
difficult than most of the others to get away from, but
noted for its strong travelling foxes. A run of last
season (1882-83) gives a sample of the powers of these
western foxes. Finding one of them at Raquetside,
near Cornsay, they ran him by Iveston into the Braes
•of Derwent country — killing him close to Pontop, after

392 The Hunting Countries of England.

a run that covered nearly twenty miles of country^
For the greater part of the journey hounds entirely
beat their field; and when at length they ran into-
their fox, six hounds rolled over the side of a quarry
with him — one hound being killed, and others badly
injured by the fall.

Brancepeth Castle, rather more to the south (the-
seat of Lord Boyne, who is a thorough friend of fox-
hunting), is, with its parks and coverts, of the greatest
service to the Hunt. The woods are chiefly spinnies
and belts of timber, through or among which hounds
and horses can move quickly and freely. But below
Brancepeth and Willington the coal district begins ;.
and foxhunting has once more to face difficulty and
entanglement. Occasionally, however, hounds are at
Tudhoe ; and, again, they may find a fox at Shincliffe-
and run to Quarrington Woods.

The more open parts of the east of the country are
chiefly plough and chiefly hilly ; and carry a good
scent when the ground rides deepest. On this side
are Elemore Hall (the seat of the Baker family), Shat-
forth ; where is a gorse covert from which good runs
are often obtained; the wood of Rough Dean, and the
gorse of Cherry Knoll (Major Gregson^s). Then there
are Lord Durham's excellent coverts at Houghton and
Pensher — besides a new gorse which he has expressly
planted at Herrington, and which must prove of the
greatest benefit. Lord Londonderry — who is also a
strong supporter of the Hunt — always has foxes at
Seaham, close to the sea. Rymer's Moor is a very
popular meet in nice open country; and a fox from
there is very likely to take a six mile-point to the big

The North Durham. 393

rocky woods of Castle Eden, in the Soutli Durliam
territory.

To the north the most notable places from a hunting
point of view are Hermitage — a good meet and draw,
the property of Sir Henry Pottinger — and Ravens-
worth, where Lord Ravensworth has many great
coverts, and foxes always. The meet for the latter
is generally Burtley Tollbar, whence hounds often
draw also Urpeth and Twizul.

Mr. Anthony Maynard has now held the mastership
of the North Durham for just a dozen years — with a
pack of which the blood of Lord Eglinton^s and Lord
Zetland^s (or rather Mr. Cradock^s) kennels laid the
chief foundation. His hounds are kept at his resi-
dence, Newton Hall, two miles from Durham. Monday,
Wednesday and Friday are his days of hunting —
Wednesday being as a rule given to the east of the
country, the other two days to west and north. There
are few better preserved countries than the North
Durham — as a report of sixty litters of cubs in the
present summer would seem amply to prove.

394 The Hunting Countries of England,

BRAES OF DEEWENT.*

The soutii bank of the Tyne hardly carries with it
the appearance or atmosphere of a locality specially
suited to foxhunting — nor_, till you get some miles
west of the great smoky city of Newcastle^ can it be
made to lend itself in any way to such a purpose.
Ironworks, coalmines, and an almost continuous town,
the habitation of working hands and their belongings,
leave space for nothing more unromantic than toil and
money making, nothing more exhilarating than the
fiery and dingy breath of the ceaseless furnaces. But
the dark area of smoke and dirt by the riverside
gradually narrows ; and the rough, steep, hillside in
the background rolls upward to a fresher atmosphere
and an open country — to be succeeded by other lofty
hills and other deep valleys in wide and rapid succes-
sion. Often and again more coalpits, works, and
wagon ways mark and mar the already rough face
of nature; but the fox can be hunted and men can
ride in the pursuit. There is ample covert for him,
too, in the thickly wooded ravines, through which the
various burns find their way to the Tyne. The chief

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 2, and Hobson's
roxhimting Atlas.

Braes of Derwent, 395

of tliese streams (the Derwent) in itself rises to tlie
dignity of a river ; and, working along the south and
east of the country through a deep and scarcely
broken chain of woodland, practically hems the country
in between itself and the main river. (This Derwent
is not to be confused with the other stream of that
name, which, rising close to Scarboro', runs fantasti-
cally inland into the heart of Yorkshire.) The rivers,
brooks and burus, with their wooded banks, form a
perfect labyrinth over a great part of the Braes
of Derwent country ; and foxes often run from one to
the other in the same natural and persistent fashion
that they are prone to adopt among the valleys and
coombes of Devon. They would seem to have a pro-
nounced dislike to the best of the open hills, where
there is little or nothing to hide them from the keen
vision of a huntsman. As it is, the latter may often
score a point by keeping an eye forward, getting a
view across a wide valley, and making the best of an
advantage that is legitimate enough on a bad scenting
day. To lift hounds frequently amid the braes of
Derwent would be quite as impossible as impolitic ;
for, a great part of their time the pack is working
through covert alone and out of reach. Under such
circumstances tongue is quite one of the most
important attributes of the hound — and, indeed, he is
worse than useless without it. Impressed by the
obvious need of a more than ordinary cry in such a
country, the present Master, Colonel Cowen of Blaydon
Burn, has long made extensive use of the bloodhound
strain for his pack. At home he keeps a certain
number of bloodhounds of a very old and pure breed.

39G The Hunting Countries of England.

and of an active sort quite different from the heavy,
distorted specimens of ugliness that find favour in the
south. While free from the lumber and ungainliness
of the latter, they are equally clear of the reproach of
sullenness in the field or of dwelling in needless
uproar on the line. At the same time they have a
tremendous note, which, in a cross with the foxhound,
is transmitted to their progeny. The first cross is
generally the most successful (as it is said to be in the
case of the rough Welsh hound with the English
foxhound), subsequent breeding tending rather to
perpetuate inherent faults of either side than to
remove them. With a few couple of these hard-
running, loud-tongued, hybrids in the pack, and the
rest of the hounds also bred to take their part in the
music, there is seldom any difficulty in knowing in
which direction the chase is proceeding, even among
the deep extensive woods of the Braes of Derwent.
Should they force their fox over the brows and drive
him across the well-tilled uplands, there is little or
nothing to prevent a good rider having a cheery
gallop with them. The fences are plain and tolerably
easy jumps — chiefly hedges and light timber, of the
class that holds good in Northumberland and
Durham generally. Most of the land is under the
plough — though grass fields come in here and there,
more often in the form of temporary seed. After
plenty of rain it will often hold a good scent —
though those who know it best do not claim for it
the character of " a fine scenting country." Though
the upland is so readily crossed, the valleys call for
both caution and experience. Scarcely one of these

Braes of Derwent. 397

rushing burns but has many treacherous spots on its
banks, wherein horse and rider may be left floundering-,
if they try to cross haphazard. And, besides the
bogs by the waterside, the banks of the ravines
through which the water flows are often deep, rockj',
and perhaps precipitous. Witness the bed of the
Derwent about Muggleswick, where the sides of the
glen are eighty or ninety feet high, and present a
continuous precipice for some two miles. This of
course is an exceptional and the largest instance ; but
in a lesser degree is by no means unknown elsewhere.
About AYhitonstall and the higher ground of the
west, stone walls come in to vary the fences. And from
Whitonstall to, and about, Newlands is considered the
best scenting and the most open ground of the Hunt.
The hills are everywhere rather severe, though very
rideable. The great woodlands of Minster Acre, just
beyond Whitonstall and the property of Mr. H. C.
Silvertop, are drawn by the Tynedale as well as by the
Braes of Derwent — a friendly argument being con-
stantly maintained as to the exclusive right of the
latter to all coverts south of the Tyne. Whatever may
be the i^ros and cons they are never very stoutly urged.
The Tynedale are content to rest upon the privilege of
time and custom ; and the Braes of Derwent have too
many coverts in their undisputed possession to make
it worth their while to protest. Were the matter the
other way, and some of the favoured country of the
Tynedale in dispute between them, the subject might
demand more attention. For they of the Braes often
gaze very wistfully across the Tyne — and point with
candid envy to the smaller coverts and smoother land

398 The Hunting Countries of England,

of their opposite neighbours. " There/' they remark
in self-depreciating sadness, "it is easy enough to force
a fox out of a siugle little wood, and if he should reach
another it is only to be pushed out again^ probably in
view of the whip who has galloped round. Now^ with
ns he never need leave woodland — and very often
won^t/^ Another point on which they will descant
with fervent and mournful eloquence is the number of
old disused coalpits which honeycomb the ground in
so many districts. Foxes burrow their way into the
old workings ; and it is quite impossible to stop them
out. Once in, they may ramble half a mile into the
bowels of the earth — and there is always a certain
amount of danger of hounds plunging in after them.
An old coalmine is a very favourite breeding place — as
instanced within a field or two of the Master's
residence, where a litter of cubs has been reared in a
coal shaft for some years in succession. Of course this
profusion of open earths all over the country renders
the killing of foxes most difficult ; though the Hunt
has little to complain of in the stock usually to be
found. Coalmines in full action are also still at work
in various directions — notably up the valley of the
Derwent, where they are to be met with at least as far
as Consett.

But in spite of all these difficulties and drawbacks a
great deal of sport is earned ; and is heartily appre-
ciated by men to whom the cry of a hound is music
under all circumstances. Colonel Cowen, the present
Master, has held the reins of office for eleven years —
previous to which his brother Mr. W. Cowen had them
for twenty. The origin of the pack dates back at least

Bjxies of Derwent. 3D9

a hundred years, when Mr. AnthoDy Humble of
Prudhoe (whose family is still represented in that
village) first started hounds. The same blood was care-
fully maintained by his successors_, until, about seven
years ago, dumb madness broke out, and the entire
pack had to be destroyed. The catastrophe occurred
very shortly before the commencement of the hunting
season ; but the neighbouring Masters (Lord Zetland,
Major Browne, Mr. G. Fenwick, Mr. J. Cookson, &c.)
at once came unsolicited to the rescue ; and within
three weeks Colonel Cowenwas set going again with
more hounds than he had before. His present Kennels
are at Coalburn, about four miles from Blaydon by the
Tyne : and in a good position for the country.

Some of the principal chains of woodland run as
follows : The great and well preserved woods of
Minster Acres adjoin those of Mr. Ormston of Healy,
who has planted a large circle of covert extending over
an area of hundreds — almost thousands — of acres.
From the Tyne up the rugged valley of the DeviFs
Water runs Dipton Wood ; and, in fact, all up the far
west of the country, by Slaley, &c., wood follows wood
in close succession. Fir and larch are the chief
material to form them ; and foxes are plentiful all over
the west. In the same way woodlands run the whole
length of the Derwent, commencing on the moorlands
of Edmondbyers. Continuing past Muggleswick, like
coverts are found on the Shotley Hall estate, as also
by Pontop and Hamsterley (the property of Miss
Surtees, a direct descendant of the wittiest of
sporting writers) to Chopwell (where are some eleven
hundred acres of covert in the hands of the Commis-

400 The Hunting Countries of England,

sioners of Woods and Forests) and Gibside (tlie resi-
dence of Mr. J. Bowes). Just over the Hill are Lord
EavenswortVs coverts — many of which he gives to the
Braes of Derwent to draw, others to the North
Durham. Blaydon Burn forms another wooded glen,
past the residence of the Master ; and Stanley Burn is
very similar, while about Winlaton there is enough
woodland to last an entire day.

Wednesday and Saturday are the hunting days ; and
are fixed as convenience may suggest. The direction
in which hounds are likely to draw is however pretty
well established by custom — and seldom takes by sur-
prise the small field that joins them. The following
few meets will serve as leading samples — to the west,
Shotley Bridge, Ebchester, Whitonstall and Hedley-
on-the-Hill; down the Derwent, Black Hall, Lintz-
ford, Rowlands Gill, and The Spen ; near the Tyne,
Prudoe and Crawcook.

The Radnorshire and West Hereford. 101

THE E.ADNOESHIUE AND AVEST
HEEEEORD.*

Among the several very sporting, tliougli avowedly
rather rough, countries on the outskirts of Wales, by
no means the worst is the one bearing the above title.
Its dingles are much less plentiful — and of a much
milder type — and its woods are far less awesome, than
those of some of its neighbours; while its hills, though
lofty, are in most instances smoothly sloped and
readily surmounted. Not that it is all hill ; for West
Hereford has a level and goodly vale, and then some
quietly rising ground to meet the more vigorous out-
lines of Radnorshire. The Kennels, and the Master's
house, at Castle Weir, near Titley, are situated on this
intermediate slope — overlooking the level vale that
stretches right and left at its feet from the Arrow to
the Wye, and that is bounded in the westward distance
by the wooded heights of Ladylift and other strong-
holds of the North Herefordshire. To the rear of the
kennels, the country undulates easily and openly in
grass and plough, till it nears the Radnorshire frontier.
Before reaching it, the highest ground encountered is

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 14, and Hobson's
Foxliuntino; Atlas.

402 The Hunting Countries of England.

on the hills of Bradnor to the north of Kington, and
Haro-est to the southwest. Stanner, which marks the
border line of the two counties, has a rocky hillside of
quite a different nature ; and, though a small stretch
of valley opens beyond, you are now fairly in Wales ;
with mountains and moorland, and names with many
consonants, looming in the near distance. To the
northward — above New Kadnor — foxhunting is vigor-
ously carried on, over hilltop and heather to the con-
fines of The United country. Eadnor Forest, indeed,
is very popular ground with the Hunt under notice.
The heather always carries a scent ; the upper ground
affords excellent riding. A few bogs may exist on
the summit ; but a Eadnorshire man does not often
find himself engulfed in a bog. Wire stretches here
and there over the sheepwalks of the Forest ; but its
ways are pretty well known, and its intervals easily
arrived at. Altogether the Radnor Forest is very
similar to the forest of Clun in the neighbouring
country. But w^herever heather-line is approached wire
fences are put up on the sheepwalks ; as, for instance,
on the comparatively low summit of Gladestry-hill.
To the south of this — and of Colva, where foxes
always live, though often difficult to find — the country
is rougher, higher and wilder, till it gradually becomes-
altogether unhuntable. Still hounds go frequently
across the Wye into the Bredwardine neighbourhood ;
and seldom fail to find a bold travelling fox in keep-
ing with the wild district beyond. As often as not he
will make his point across the highland right away to
the Black Mountain — a great rough height overlook-
ing the South Herefordshire country. Thus, curiously

The Radnorshire and West Hereford. 103

enough, the Radnorshire-and- West-Hereford lies
between two great landmarks with very similar names,
to wit, the Black Mountain on the south, and (some
three miles outside its boundary) the Black Hill, by
Clun, on the north. Moreover a third Black Hill, by
Aymestrey on the river Lugg, marks its eastern limits.
But to return to Radnor Forest, a great resort for
spring and autumn hunting. Besides various patches
of gorse, a great mass of covert (some seven or eight
hundred acres) exist there under the name of Radnor
Forest Wood — owning, however, only a small propor-
tion of thick undergrowth — the main part being
hollow woodland, through which hounds and horses
make their way very readily. Its foxes, too, are very
willing travellers ; and will often go great distances.
All the country round the town of New Radnor is, by
the way — though hilly — very good going. There are
a certain number of dingles ; but the hillsides are
excellent galloping, with open heather on most of
the summits — as is the case also about Hargest and
Gladestry — and the coverts are anything but massive
till the Forest Wood is reached. Not far from this,
however, come the great woodlands of the Hunt — the
Presteigne Woods being as much a feature of the
country as is the Pembridge (or west Hereford) vale
above-mentioned. From the immediate vicinity of
Presteigne run at least three miles of woodland under
various denominations, belonging to several different
owners, and having branches in several directions.
A great part of it comes under the heading of Nash
Wood ; but it extends under one title or another as
far as Burva Camp. Mr. Evelyn, Mr. Bevan, and Sir

VOL. II. E E

404^ The Hunting Countries of England.

Jolin AValsham arc, perliaps, the principal owners ;
and all of them are content to make it a home for
foxes. From Nash Wood to Radnor Forest is about
a four mile gallop at the most, but over tolerably level
and rather favourite ground. Still farther north,
Pillith marks another hilly, but sporting and open
district, cultivated everywhere except on the hilltops,
which are generally covered with heather, fern, and
patches of gorse. Similar country extends to
Knighton, which is nearly the junction-point with the
Ludlow and The United ; and about Willey is the
same kind of ground, with some good oak woods which
alv/ays hold foxes. Lingen Vallets and Coles Hill
are excellent coverts of larch and gorse in a wild
open country, and belong to Mr. Evelyn. The
former clothes two sides of a hill, and is consequently
often difficult to get away from — though many a good
run has taken place thence into the Ludlow country.
Wapley Hill is a great landmark on the northern edge
of the Pembridge vale. Its summit carries an exten-
sive rabbit warren j but Coombe Wood (also the
prooerty of Mr. Evelyn) is its main covert. From the
top of Wapley Hill a more comprehensive view of the
country is to be had than from any other point —
though there are several eminences from which on a
clear day the configuration of the landscape is to be
easily and widely followed. Shobdon (Lord Bate-
man's) is another large property close at hand ; and
the Stanton Park estate, still nearer the Kennels, has
several small coverts, which both Capt. King- King,
and his brother Mr. W. King-King hold carefully to
the good of foxhunting.

The Radnorshire and West Hereford. 405

It should be mentioned that in the Pembridge Vale a
very useful covert has long been lent by the North Here-
ibrd Hunt, viz., Heath Wood, from which many capital
runs have dated. Other good coverts in the vale are
Sarnesfield Wood (Major Worswick^s), and Moorhouse
Coppice. The latter is a large and strong wood
close under Lady-Lift, is the property of Mr. Peploe ;
and is the most easterly meet of the Hunt.

This Pembridge vale is as pretty riding ground as
is to be found in the county of Hereford. A good
deal of it is grass; and the fences are everywhere
practicable to a clever horse. In some parts, where
the clay is stiff and the soil rich enough to feed the
grand red bullocks, the hedges grow wide and ragged
and the ditches are dug exceptionally deep. The
deeper the ditch the higher the bank upon which the
thorns are planted ; and so — though the banks are in
themselves insignificant as compared with those of
Ireland or Somerset — there are many fences in the vale
that few, if any, horses could take in their stride. One
educated to the county will, especially if the ditch be
towards him, pitch on the bank among the thorn or
hazel, and make his way out with a second spring —
dropping only his hindlegs if going fast, or poising to
extricate himself where exigency demands and time
allows. The fences are very seldom cut-and-laid ; so
there are no binders to entangle him, though the
gaps are mended with wattle as strong and unyielding
as any timber. Elsewhere the ditches are of very
trifling dimensions; but it nearly always happens
that a Herefordshire fence has a different level of
ground on either side of it. The horse that under-

E E 2

406 The Hunting Countries of England.

stands this, and is in the habit of doing his jump in
two, will save himself a great deal of unnecessary
exertion — a remark that applies in regard to the hills
even more than to the lower country. A strong horse
and a clever jumper is accordingly the best mount.
There are none too many coverts in the vale ; and
those that exist are in a great measure dependent on
the amount of work bestowed upon the opposite hill
coverts of the North Herefordshire, to wit, Lady-Lift,
the Wormsley Hills, &c. If these latter are not con-
stantly rattled, the vale foxes will accumulate and
remain in them, and sport in the vale comes compara-
tively to a standstill.

By no means the whole of the Radnor- and-West-
Hereford country can be said to be thoroughly good
scenting ground. The most consistent scent is found
on the heather of the upper country ; but even here
it is often marred and interrupted by the presence of
fern — which huntsmen are accustomed to regard as
one of their worst enemies on the hills of the Welsh
border. The hilly woodlands, on the other hand,
present nothing like the difficulty that one would at
first suppose ; for not only are they as a rule tolerably
hollow and easy for hounds, but a huntsman, keeping
on the higher ground, is really in a better position to
hear and follow his pack on a fox than in a dense
level wood.

Coverts of considerable consequence in the vicinity
of the vale are Highmoor Wood, in the Bollingham
district ; and Cwmma Moor, with no rides, and
altogether impassable to horses. Below and about
Bollingham the country is all rising ground, partly in

The Radnorshire and Wed Hereford. 407

grass, partly under the plough. Of the country due
"vvest of the Kennels, and already referred to, Stanner
Rocks and the Devil's Grarden represent — as the names
will easily allow one to believe — the roughest draws
of the Hunt. On Gladestry Hill hounds try for their
fox among the heather ; and they also go to the Black
Yalt coverts (Sir Gilbert Lewis') and to Red Wood,
a good covert of Lord Ormathwaite's just beyond
Huntington. On Knil Garaway (a continuation of
Bradnor Hill) is Knill Gorse ; and between here and
the big woods of Nash, &c., is Eywood (the property
of Mr. Bacon, an excellent friend to the Hunt). One
of the best of their coverts too, and just south of the
Kennels, is Lynhales. This has for the last twenty
years belonged to Mr. S. Robinson; and no pains
have been spared to render it of value to the Hunt.
Down by the Wye, again, are two excellent little
coverts of Capt Downs'.

Monday and Friday are the hunting days — the
former being more usually for the hills, the latter for
the low country. The opening meet is always Castle
Weir, the residence of the Master. Other meets with
a view to the low country are Newport, Cwmma Moor,
Letton Court for Tin Hill, &c., Sarnsfield Oak for
Sarnsfield Coppice, and Bredwardine across the Wye.
On the hills are Eywood, Lingen for Lingen Yallets,
Norton, PiUith for the northern hills, Radnor Forest
Wood, Griffin Lloyd for Mr. W^ayman's good gorse,
&c., Stanner, New Radnor, Gladestry, and Huntington,
while in the spring they will meet as far on the moors
as Rhosgouk and Pain's Castle.

Colonel Price has now kept hounds at Castle Weir

108 The Hunting Countries of England,

for sixteen years; and was the first to unite Eadnor-
shire and West Hereford as one country. Previous-
to this, West Hereford had been altogether unhunted
for many years — though the Eadnorshire or "hill
country '^ has for the last century either maintained
hounds of its own or been visited by the United.
For some years previous to the commencement of"
Colonel Price's mastership, Captain Bevan had hounds
at Presteigne. But, according to an old volume
which is held as an authority on local matters, "the
first account of the maintenance or keeping of a pack
of hounds (consisting of twenty couple) by subscription^
in the town of Kington is dated 1777, when Mr.
Robert Whitcombe, a wealthy inhabitant, was treasurer
and chief conductor of the hunt. Messrs. Stephens,
Thomas King, James King, George Cornwall, M..
Bridges, John Harley, and William Back, the vicar,
and others formed the hunting Company. Mr. Whit--
combe was to find a good huntsman, and provide
uniform and a suitable horse J'

Colonel Price has carried the horn himself for the
last nine seasons, and with every success. As a bold
and exceptionally fine horseman, too, he is known far
beyond the precincts of his own country. His hounds
are of a small, but sturdy and well shaped, sort; and
have a high reputation for work. The blood of The
Radnorshire Brewer of years ago is still quoted with
satisfaction in the books of more than one neighbour-
ing pack. At home his descendants are often mated
with the pure Welsh hound — so noted for power of
tongue. On the opening day of last season ('82, '83)'
the members of the Hunt presented their indefatigable

The Radnorshire and West Hereford, 409

and popular Master with a portrait of liimself on the
" good grey mare ^' with four of his favourite hounds
grouped round her.

The occasions on which men look for their best
runs with these hounds are when they find a hill fox
in the low country and run him home. A few seasons
ago, for instance, they ran the same fox twice — each
time a thirteen-mile point for Moley Wood to the
Craigie Rocks, almost field for field. And on both
occasions he beat them.

410 The Hunting Countries of England.

THE MONMOUTHSHIRE.*

Abeegavennt is tlie basepoint of the Momoutlisliire
Hunt — tlie kennels of the town lying at the feet of
impossibility. Blorenge Mountains just behind might,
with all their rugged height, fail of themselves to
forbid foxhunting; but collieries and ironworks step
in a fe^v miles westward, and mountain -ward, and
entirely cut off a country that a Welsh-taught foxhound
might otherwise make light of. For mountains in
Monmouthshire are but as molehills in Cheshire, and
a high bred hound accustomed to the former is just as
good a climber as a fox^ on the same principle of
contrariety, possibly, as makes Londoners the best
mountaineers. A foxhound in good condition is not
only just as active as his enemy in surmounting rough
ground and steep ascents, but is much more enduring
— and the scene of a fox lying dead-blown on a rocky
ledge, while hounds jump noisily and vigorously at
him from below, is not at all uncommon. The hills
hunted by the Monmouthshire are by no means rocky
as a rule : but on the great Skyrrid — or, as it is more
often termed, the Holy Mountain — there are sheer

* Vide Stanford's " Hunting Map," Sheet 14, and Hohson's
Foxhunting Atlas.

The Monmouthshire. 411

cliffs, over whicli hounds have more than once rushed
to their destruction in the heat of chase. But else-
where the hills are not only climbable but rideable.
Men hesitate to leave the top till quite assured that
hounds are away from the range on which they stand :
then they will race down its face at a speed that will
terrify a new comer from the plains. Horses seldom,
if ever, fall when urged downhill at this ^' breakneck ''
pace — which furnishes the best proof of the safety of
the practice. Coming up again is a toilsome and
somewhat prosy process. Hounds never seem to be
going so fast as when they are streaming gaily away
from you over a brow that you are slowly plodding
to reach. But to climb a lofty hill directly to its
summit seldom pays ; and is certainly seldom under-
taken by those who know the country, its coverts, and
the run of its foxes. The latter know they can look
to no Jacobus Ladder to aid them on the extreme
upper height ; but are sure to bend round the hillside
right or left for some ultimate and more tangible
point. To decide the direction accurately, is the test
put upon men who hunt here — and experience and
instinct do marvels in aiding the practised sportsmen
of the country. A ride along the sides of the hills, or
even across the milder undulations, is pleasant and
easy enough. The ground is seldom holding, and
a fair proportion of it is laid down in grass ; while
the fences stop nothing, that will stoop to tread over
them — an Irishism meant to convey that care rather
than flippancy is becoming to a Monmouthshire
hunter. The hedges are low banked, and, where
weakest, often times wattled about girth high. Ditches

112 The Hunting Countries of England.

extant and permanent are comparatively rare ; being,
more often than not trodden down or ploughed to the
surrounding level. For when the first use of the
ditch, viz., of supplying material for the hedge bank,
has once been served, the two ulterior purposes for
which it might be employed — viz., draining the land
and herding bullocks — have no place. The ground is
too steep and too sound to require artificial drainage ;
and it is not a bullock country. So a horse that is
careful to pick up his feet — and if necessary his
shoulders — and that will take pains to discriminate
when the unexpected ditch comes before him, is
far better than a hunter too lavish of his jumping
powers. But he must be able to gallop, downhill,
uphill, or on the flat — and muscles and lungs must
be well-braced and strong to allow of his doing this
creditably through a long run. It is a capital country
for hounds ; for hounds on a scent can never be ridden
over, and nine times out of ten are doing their work
clear of the crowd — if a Monmouthshire field can ever
be termed a crowd. A good many people hunt ; for it
is a county in which sporting instincts are naturally
inherent to all bred on the soil. Shooting, fishing,
foxhunting and otter-hunting are brought prominently
in front of both county gentlemen and farmers from
earliest youth -, and are standing topics from which
they cannot altogether escape at dinner table or
market ordinary. To their credit be it said that they
yield themselves very ready victims to the charms of
such subjects — in converse as in daily life. It is a
saying in Monmouthshire that has passed into a proverb,
and^ — what is more — has been reduced to practice by

The Monmouthshire. 41 o

more than one living person (die present Master as an
instance), that a man may be at the death of a fox,
shoot a grouse or partridge or woodcock, and kill a
salmon, all on the same day. The Usk on the west of
the country, the Wye and the Monnow on the east,
provide salmon and otter ; while the heather-topped
heights of the Sugarloaf Mountain and its western
neighbours are excellent grouse ground. Abergavenny
itself — close to which is the Master's residence of Nant
Oer — is admirably situated for all these phases of
sport. The kennels are at its gates, the Usk runs past
its walls, and the grouse hills almost overhang it. On
the more huntable side of the country — as opposed to
that of the Sugarloaf and the Blorenge Mountains,
which lie to the west of the main line of railway from
Abergavenny to Hereford — the two most notable
features are the Great Skyrrid and the Graig. Some
hunting countries are marked out, and can be best
defined, by their principal coverts, or by their divisions
of grass and plough, hill and vale. The Monmouth-
shire is best described through the medium of its
mountains — the remainder (unless a southern corner
can be deemed an exception) consisting of minor undu-
lations connecting the mountains. Below Abergavenny
and beyond the Little Skyrrid, is the smoothest ground
of the Hunt — the neighbourhood of Langattock,
Lanark, &c. Court Robert is an especially favourite
place — with no other covert near, and nice undulating
ground on all sides. But the country quickly gets
rougher as Monmouth is neared. Thus the White Hill
is a very formidable place ; and Langoven again is
rough, hilly, and wooded. But the Great Skyrrid and

414 The Hunting Countries of England,

the Graig are tlie two stupendous strongholds for
which the foxes of two-thirds of the country almost
invariably make. The former — the " Holy Mountain/'
the Fusiyama of Monmouthshire — is a stupendous hill,
with strong covert veiling a great part of its face.
Contemplating it from below, the stranger from the
plains will probably gasp in silent wonder when told
that this towering mass is one of the chief draws of
the Monmouthshire foxhounds, and that its wooded
and rocky sides are the source of many of their best
runs. Yet so it is — and it is extraordinary how
frequently, and even readily, they will force their
fox away from this awe-inspiring stronghold. From
Great Skyrrid to the Graig is some three or four miles
of nice riding — the Graig being another lofty and well-
wooded stronghold of greater extent than its rival.
More good open country lies at its feet to the south
and continues to Lanrouthall, beyond which and the
River Monnow you soon reach more hill and woodland
round Welch Newton. Skenfreth, close adjoining the
Graig, is rough ; and so is the Wyeside above and
below Monmouth. Little Skja-rid is considerable as a
hill, but nothing as a mountain. It has on it some
excellent covert, the property of the elder Mr. Hanbury
Williams (of Coldbrook Hall), the father of the Master j
and, besides always having foxes on it, is on the edge
of the best of the country. To the Blorenge and
Sugarloaf and other western hills hounds go chiefly in
the spring. The DeviPs Punchbowl — a deep and
darkly wooded hollow on the face of the first-named —
is a gruesome lookiug place; and the mountain rises
behind and beside it like a brown wall. But it holds

The Monmouthshire. 415

many a fox; and liounds can breast the hill readily
after him. Now and again they have brought him
back and killed him, while the horsemen have not
attempted to rise above the midlevel which the covert
marks. On one occasion the pack drove a fox round
the back of the mountain into the midst of the collieries,
and had him dead beat among the works and buildings.
No amount of casting round served to carry hounds a
yard beyond the spot on which they had thrown up
their heads; and so they were taken home. After-
wards it transpired that the colliers had bagged poor
Keynard in his distress, and turned him out the next
Sunday morning to bait with their dogs. That he
slipped them all, and made good his escape, was a
triumph not only to him, but to the cause of good
feeling and true sport alike.

Mr. F. Capel Hanbury- Williams has kept the
hounds since 1868 ; and, till the last two or three
years, hunted them himself. His pack shows as much
quality and excellence, both in kennel and field, as
any on the Welsh border. Its breeding has been
assisted of late years by sending to the kennels of
Lord Fitzhardinge and Lord Hill. The Monmouth-
shire country is one over which hounds can travel very
quickly, as they are generally able to fly the fences in
line instead of having to stop and creep. Many of
the woods are big; but after Christmas, at all events,
hounds can drive through them very readily. Here,
as among their neighbours, the matter of tongue,
ready and loud, is sturdily insisted upon. Besides
dash and style, determination and tongue, another
great requisite has to be secured with hounds on the

416 The Hunting Countries of England,

Monmouthsliire hills. This is that they should be
absolutely steady and free from riot — and especially
proof against the most tempting of all '^ riot/' the
mountain sheep. The little red Welsh sheep, half
hidden among the ferns, looks anything but unlike a
fox — added to which, his scent is as fascinating and
beguiling to the nose of a hound as is that of a deer.
The temptation once yielded to may easily engender a
habit that no amount of whipcord has power to
eradicate — and capital punishment will then become
the only remedy.

A horse, to live with them or near them, must be
strong and fast, and possess all the climbing properties
that it is possible to get in him. One talent there is,
by the way, which he need have none of — and that is
water jumping. Not a brook exists in this or in
neighbouring countries of similar character, but the
water runs rapidly over a broad stony bed, and may be
forded almost anyway. At any rate, where it cannot
be forded, it certainly cannot be jumped.

The days of hunting are five in the fortnight —
Monday always being one of them ; and the following
are some of the principal meets and draws : Either
The Kennels or Colnbrook Park is the fixture for
Little Skyrrid, '' Ty Pwlt,'' &c. ; Maindiff Court (the
seat of Mr. Crawshay-Bailey) for Werngochen Wood,
the Holy Mountain, &c. ; Seventh Milestone Grosmont-
Road, for Pembiddle Wood, Campston, &c. ; Ninth
Milestone, ditto for Marlboro' Wood, Trumper's Gorse,
&c. ; The Cedars-Ewyas-Harold (Capt. R. P. Rees')
for Pyke Wood, Dulas coverts, &c. ; Pontrilas, on the
north of the country, for Paradise Wood, &c. ; Dan-y-

The MonmouthsJiire. 417

Graig (Mr. Godfrey Radcliffe's) for Graig Hill, &c., or,
for the same hill coverts, the meet may be The Three-
Salmons-Graig or Graig House (Mr. E. K. Mardon^s).
Blackbrook Lodge is for Coed-y-Pwlt (needless to say,
these names are not written from memory !) ; Sken-
frith Bridge for Hell Wood, Cockshult, The Darren,
&c.; The Twmp-Kockfield (Mr. Joseph Price's) for
Twmp Wood, The Buckholt, &c. ; Welch Newton
Village for Newton Woods, &c. ; Rockfield Village for
Eockfield Wood, Perthyra, &c. At the Hendre Mr.
J. A. Rolls has kennels for the hounds when they
come to draw White Hill — whence they go on to Tre
Owen, Llangattock, Trivor, and so on. Wonaston
Court (Mr. J. Cannon's), again, is for the south side
of White Hill ; Troy House (General Somerset's) for
Troy Wood; Mitchel Troy Village for Pwlt-y-duon,
Cwmcarvan, &c. ; Cross Robert Wood for Penlan and
Veddw Vaur; Penarth Mill for ''The Prysk and
Wylpitch ; Llansay Cross Roads for Llansay AVood
and Coed-y-Gollen ; Raglan for Duke's Gorse, Lower
House, Penyclawdd, &c. ; Tregure for Pare Wood,
Bailea, &c. ; Llantilio Court (Sir Henry Jackson's) for
Mill Wood, Grange Wood, &c. ; Half Way House,
Tal-y-coed, for Tal-y-coed, Grange, and on over
Trothy, Gunter's Wood, Pont-y-ruchen, &c. ; Llanarth
Court (Mr. J. A. Herbert's) for Coed-y-Gelly, Coed
Rohert, &c. : Clytha (Mr.Wm. Herbert's) for Coed-y-
Bwnydd, Coed Adam, Ithla, &c.

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" ARCHERY."

ALL the principal Matches throughout
the United Kingdom are reported
during the season.

"GOLF."

REPORTS of Golf Contests, Description
of Links, Ac.

"YACHTING."

ARTICLES on Yacht BuUding, Reports
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ARE fully reported every week during
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" LAWN TENNIS."

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and Notes on the Formation of
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REPORTS of Association and Rugby
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"BICYCLING AND TRICYCLING."

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" CRICKET."

FULL and accurate Reports of all
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"TRAVEL AND COLONISATION"

(CONTAINS Articles upon Exploration.s
J in little known parts of the world,
their capabilities for colonitation, stock-
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and pasture) and Fai-m Stock, Reports of
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&c.

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PRACTICAL instruction for laying out
and managing Flower and Kitchen
Gardens, Grape Houses, Orchard Houses,
Forcing Beds, &c., are given.

A CHESS PROBLEM

IS given constantly, with annotated
Games, and Chees news.

W

"CARDS."
HIST Hands illustrated by " Caven-
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" SKATING."

ARTICLES and Diagrams on the above
are given during the season.

Also Articles relating to "THE NATURALIST," "FOREIGN FIELD SPORTS,"
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PART IIL — Sheep Farming in Queensland, by John Sidney.

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The ENGLISH GAME of CRICKET : comprising a Digest

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Natural History and Practical Management.

BY

W. B. TEGETMEIER, F.Z.S.,

{Member of the British Ornithologists' Union.)
Author of "The Natural History of the Cranes." &c.

Illustrated with numerous full-page engravings drawn from Life by T. W. WOOD.

CONTENTS.

The Natural History of the Pheasants, Habits, Food. Structure, <fec. ; Manage-
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Species adapted for the Covert and the Aviary, and an account of their Diseases
and Transport.

Notices of the Second Edition.

From Yarrell's " British Birds," fourth edition. — •• For further details, as well
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YACHT ARCHITECTURE.

By DIXON KEMP,

Associate Institute Naval Architects (Member of the Council).

THIS WOEK enters into the whole subject of the laws which govern the resis-
tance of bodies moving in water, and the influence a wave form of body and
wave lines have upon such resistance. It also deals comprehensively with the
subject of STEAM PROPULSION as applied to yachts. An easy SYSTEM for
DESIGNING is provided, and every necessary calculation is explained in detail.
The latter part of the work is devoted to YACHT BUILDING, and engravings are
given of every detail of construction and fitting, including laying off, taking bevels,
<fcc. The List of Plates (exclusively of over thirty devoted to the elucidation of the
text, and nearly two hundred woodcuts) exceeds flftv. and comprises the LINES of
some of the most CELEBRATED YACHTS AFLOAT by the most successful
builders and designers.

Summary of Chapters.

Chap.

I. — Displacement. Buoyancy, and Centre of Buoyancy explained.

II. — Proportions of Yachts and Tonnage Rules ; Rules for Freeboard, Depth, &c,

III. — Stability as influenced by the Proportions, Form. Weight, and Ballasting

of Yachts ; their Centres of Gravity and Buoyancy. Profusely Illustrated,

IV. — The Motions of Yachts among Waves as influenced by their Forms and

Proportions.
V. — Lateral Resistance, and the adjustment of its centre in relation to the
Centre of Effort of the Sails.
\n._Power to Carry Sail ; the Impulse of the Wind as a Propelling Force;

Apportioning Sail for Speed ; Speed Formulae, &c.
VII.— The Action of the Rudder and Steering Efficiency. Proportions of

Rudders, &c.
VIII.— Resistance of Vessels movmg in Water. The Wave Line Theory : the
Stream Line Theory; the Wave Form Theory. Mr. Fronde's Admiralty
Experiments, clearly defining the exact influence of Form on Speed.
IX.— Resistance Experiments with Models.

X.— The Wave Form in Theory and Practice. The Forms of many celebrated
Yachts analysed.

XI. Steam Yachting. The Boiler, Enguie, Indicator, &c., practically explained

at great length.

XIL Propulsion by Steam. The action of the screw propeller and all the

conditions which influence propulsion by steam explamed, with
numerous practical examples.
XIII.— Rules and Formulae in use for determining the Displacement, Stability,
and other qualities of a yacht fully explained.

XIV. Working Examples for making all the necessary Calculations concerning

a Yacht, every sum being given in detail. ,

XV. Yacht Designing : being a complete system for putting into effect the Art

of Designing Yachts by Scientific Methods.
XVI.— Laying Off, Making Moulds, Taking Bevels, &c.; Takmg Off a Yachts
Lines, &c.

XVII. Yacht Building : Giving detailed examples for constructing yachts, with

numerous plates and engravings of the various parts of the vessel,
including two large coloured lithographs on a half inch scale giving
sectional views of a 40-toimer, complete \rith all her fittings, &c.
XVIII.— Spars and Blocks. Rules for fixing upon their lengths, girths, &c. Sizes

of block, cordage, &c.

XIX.— Ballasting.
Appendix.— Contains much information concerning small yachts, various useful
tables. &c.

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Third Edition. Price 7s. 6d., by post 7s. lOd.

FIGURE SKATING;

BEING

THE THEORY AND PEACTICE OF THE ART AS DEVELOPED
m ENGLAND,

WITH

A CLAMCE AT ITS ORICIM AND HISTORY

By H. C. VANDERVELL and T. MAXWELL WITHAM

(Members of the London Skating Club).

There are thousands of skaters who attain a small amount of skill in Figure
Skating, and there stop, because they neither know what to do or how to do it. A
reference to this, the acknowledged Text Book on Figure Skating, will solve any
difficulty that may have stopped progress for years.

Fourth Edition. In post 9,vo., limp cloth, gilt, price 2.s. Gd, bij post 2s. 8d.

THE ART OF SKATING;

WITH

ILLUSTRATIONS, DIAGRAMS, AND PLAIN DIRECTIONS FOR THE
ACQUIREMENT OF THE MOST DIFFICULT AND GRACEFUL
MOVEMENTS.

By GEORGE ANDERSON ("Cyclos"),

Vice-President of the Crystal Palace Skating Club, and for many years President
of the Glasgow Skating Club.

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THE

CATTLE OF GREAT BRITAIN:

BEING

A SERIES OF ARTICLES

ox THE

VAEIOUS BREEDS OF CATTLE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM,
THEIE HISTORY, MANAGEMENT, &c.

Edited by J. COLEMAN,

Editor of the Farm Department of " The Field," and formerly Professor of Agi-iculture
at the Royal A^cultural College, Cirencester.

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LIFE BY HARRISON WEIR.

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the

SHEEP AND PIGS OF GREAT BRITAIN:

BEING

A SERIES OF ARTICLES

ox THE VARIOUS

BREEDS OF SHEEP AND PIGS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM,
THEIR HISTORY. MANAGEMENT, &c.

Edited by J. COLEMAN,

Editor of the Farm Department of " The Field," and formerly Professor of Agricultvu-e
at the Royal Agricultviral College, Cirencester.

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PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION OF THE CATTLE, SHEEP, AND PIGS OF CREAT
BRITAIN.

Now ready, with Illmtratiom from the Original Draioings by Harrison Weir,
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The Cattle, Sheep, and Pig's of Great Bpitain;

Being a Series of Articles on the Various Breeds of the United Kingdom,
their History, Management, &c.

Edited by JOHN COLEMAN,

Editor of the Farm Department of "The Field." and formerly Professor of Agriculture
at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester.

THE

I,

II.

Ill

IV

V,

VI
VII.

VIII.

IX

X

XI

XII

XIII
XIV.

XV.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX,

XX

XXI.

THE

I.-

II.-

CONT

CATTLE OF GREAT BRITAIN.

— Introductory.

— Breeding and General Manage-
ment.
— Principle.-^ of Feeding, and

Value of Different Kinds of

Food.
—Buildings, and the Manage-
ment of Manure.
— Daii-y Management, the Milk

Trade, &c.
—Shorthorns. ByJohn Thornton.
—The Hereford Breed of Cattle.

By T. Duckham.
— Devon Breed of Cattle. By

Lieut.-Col. J. T. Davy.
—The Longhorns. By Gilbert

Murray.
—The Sussex Breed of Cattle.

By A. Heasman.
.—Norfolk and Suffolk Red-Polled

Cattle. By Thomas Fulcher.
—Galloway Cattle. By Gilbert

Murray.
—The Angus-Aberdeen Cattle.
—The AjTshire Breed of Cattle.

By Gilbert Murray.
—West Highland Cattle. By

.lohn Robertson.
—The Glamorgan Breed of Cattle.

By Morgan Evans.
— Pembrokeshire or Castlemartin

Cattle. By Morgan Evans.
—The Anglesea Cattle. By Mor-
gan Evans.
—The Kerry Breed of Cattle. By

the late R. O. Pringle.
—The Jersey Breed of Cattle. By

John M. Hall.
—The Guernsey Breed of Cattle.

By " A Native."

SHEEP OF CREAT BRITAIN.

-Introductory.

-The Management of Ewes up
to Lambing.

ENTS.

III. — Preparations for and Attention

during Lambing.
IV.— Management from Birth to

Weaning.
V. — From Weaning to Market.
VI.— On Wool.
VII.— Leicester Sheep.
VIII.— Border Leicesters. By John
Usher.
IX.— Cotswold Sheep.
X. — Long-WooUed Lincoln Sheep.
XL— The Devon Long- Wools. By

Joseph Darby.
XII. — Romney Marsh Sheep.
XIII.— Southdown Sheep.
XIV.— The Hampshire or West
Countrj' Down Sheep. By
E. P. Squarey.
XV. — Shropshire Sheep.
XVI.— Oxfordshire Down Sheep. By
Messrs. A. F. M. Druce and
C. Hobbs.
XVII.— The Roscommon Sheep. By
the lateR. 0. Pringle.
XVIIL— Negrette Merino Sheep.
XIX. — Exmoor Sheep.
XX.— The Black-faced or Scotch
Mountain Sheep.
XXL— Cheviot Sheep. By John Usher.
XXII.— Dorset Horned Sheep. By
Joseph Darby.
XXIIL— Welsh Mountain Sheep. By

Morgan Evans.
XXIV.— The Radnor Sheep. By Morgan
Evans.
XXV.— Herdwick Sheep. By H. A.
Spedding.

THE PIGS OF CREAT BRITAIN.

I. — Introductory.
II.— The Berkshire Pig.
III.— Black Suffolk Pigs.
IV.— Large White Breed of Pigs,
v.— Small White Pigs.
VI.— Middle Bred White Pigs.
VII.— The Black Dorset Pig.
VIII.— The Tamworth Pig.

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THE

DOGS OF THE BRITISH ISLAWDS:

A SERIES OF ARTICLES

THE POINTS OF THEIR VARIOUS BREEDS,

THE TREATMENT OF THE DISEASES TO WHICH
THEY AEE SUBJECT.

EEPEINTED FEOM '"THE FIELD" NEWSPAPEE.

BY J. H. WALSH,

" Stonehenge," Editor of '• The Field."
(WITH THE AID OF SEVERAL EXPERIENCED BREEDERS.)

CONTENTS.
General Management.

Book

I. — Management of Dogs in Health.
II.— Drugs Commonly Used for the
Diseases of Dogs, and their Modes
of Administration.

Book

III. — The Ordinary Diseases of the Dog

and their Treatment.
IV.— Judging at Dog Shows and Field

Trials.

Sporting Dogs.

Book ^

I.— Dogs Used with the Gun.

Book
11. — Hounds and their Allies.

Non-Sporting Dogs.

Book

I.— Watch Dogs.
II.— Sheep and Cattle Dogs.

III.— Terriers (other than Fox and Toy).
IV.— Toy Dogs.

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THIS WORK CONTAINS ABOVE 700 PAGES, AND NEARLY 400
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Shifts and Expedients

OF

CAMP LIFE, TRAVEL, and EXPLORATION.

BY

W. B. LORD AND T. BAINES.

(Royal Artillery.) {F.R.G.S.)

CONTENTS.

Introduction.

Chap.
I.— Outfit to take abroad.
II.— Boats. Kaf ts,and Makeshift Floats
III.— "Working in Metal.
IV. — Huts and Houses.
V. — Extempore Bridges and Make-
shifts for Crossing Eivers and
Ravines.
VI. — Timber and its Utilisation.
VII.— Sledges and Sledge Travelling.
VIII. — Boots. Shoes, and Sandals.
IX. — Waggons and other Wheeled

Chap.
XV.— Fish and Amphibious Animals.
XVI.— Poisoned Weapons, Arrows,

Spears, &c.
XVII.— Tracking, Hunting, and Trap-
ping.
XVIII.— Palanquins, Stretchers, Ambu-
lances, <fec.
XIX.— On Sketching and Painting
under the Ordinary Difficul-
ties of Travel.
XX.— The Estimation of Distances,
and Hints on Field Observing.
Vehicles. j XXI.— Hints to Explorers on Collect-

X. — Harness and Pack Animals. j ing and Preserving Objects

XI.— Camels. | of Natural History.

XII.— Cattle Marking. ' XXII.— Ropes and Twines.

XIII.— Water, and the Sap of Plants. XXIII.— Bush Veterinary Surgery and
XIV.— Camp Cookery. Medicine.

Extract from the Introduction.

Like two voyagers retunied from a long cruise in far off seas, we throw together
our joint gleanings in many lands. These do not consist of jewels, gems, gold, or
furs ; no piles of costly merchandise do we lay at the reader's feet as offerings from
distant climes, but simply the experiences of two roving Englishmen who have
'•roughed it." By those who have to pass through a campaign, travel wild
countries, or explore little known regions, shifts must be made, and expedients of
many kinds had recourse to, of which the inexperienced in such matters would but

little dream In our travels and adventures we have not been associated, the

paths trodden by us being widely separated. Whilst one was ex-ploring the wilds
of North Australia, the other was dwelling in a canvas-covered hole in the earth
before Sebastopol. The scenes change ; Southern and Tropical Africa is visited
by the late Australian traveller, whilst the Crimea, with its mgged hills and wild
ravines, is exchanged for the jungles of Central India by the other.

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THE

MODERN SPORTSMAN'S
GUN AND RIFLE,

INCLUDING

Came and Wildfowl Guns, Sporting and Match Rifles
AND Revolvers.

Vol. I. — Game and Wildfowl Guns.
Vol. II.— The Rifle and Revolver.

By J. H. WALSH,

" Stonehenge," Editor of " The Field,"
Author of'^ Dogs of the British Islands" " The Greyhound," " British Rural Sports, <tc.

PRESS OPINIOIsrS ON VOLUME I.

" A perasal of Mr. "Walsh's book has forced upon us the conclusion, one that will
he shared by nearly every reader, that it is indisputably the standard work on the
subject and is likely long to remain so— a position it richly merits. Sportsmen
will anxiously look forward to the second volume of the work, for there is every
reason to anticipate that the same high standard will be maintained, and that the
rifle will receive as complete an exposition as the ' Game and Wild Fowl Guns.'
We are only fulfilling a duty to the public when we say that no man connected !■
any way with guns or gunnery should be without a copy of Mr. Walsh's masterly
volume."— 7%« Birmingham Daily Gazette, Nov. 21, 1882.

" It will be seen that the work contains a variety of hints which may be useful to
intending purchasers of guns, so that we can confidently recommend an intelligent
glance through it as likely to save money and prevent disappointment."— (Sa^wrrfay
Review.

" Taking the work as a whole, the sportsman will find in it much information on
guns, shot, and kindred topics." — Pall Mall Gazette.

"The most complete work that has yet been written on sporting guns."'—
St. James's Gazette.

" For breadth of view and completeness this treatise could hardly be excelled.
It has, moreover, the advantage of reporting authoritatively on the very latest
improvements, both as regards weapons and powder and shot, all which objects
of a sportsman's consideration seem to be susceptible of indefinite progress."—
Daily News.

"With such a guide as this, all who appreciate sport will be able to enjoy it
fully, and, what is of importance, will be able to avoid much of the danger
attending the use of imperfect weapons.— T/^e Era.

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SPOETING SKETCHES

WITH

PEN AND PENCIL.

BY

FRANCIS FRANCIS AND A. W. COOPER.

CONTENTS.

The First of September. Rabbit Shooting.

A Day in a Punt. Eoaching".

Mark Cock ! Grouse Shooting.

Trouting. Salmon Fishing.

Long Tails and Short Ones. Snipe Shooting.

Paying the Pike. Grayling Fishing.

Crown ito., printed on toned paper, price 15s., by post 16s.
THE

ANNALS OF TENNIS

BY

JULIAN MARSHALL.

This work will be found very complete, and. it is thought, justly entitled to take its
place as the standard work on Tennis. It has cost its author much laborious
research; and, independently of its great value to tennis players and all lovers of
the game, it is trusted, from the vast amount of curious lore it contains, the volume
will be found not unworthy of a place on the shelves of the scholar. The author
himself a well-known amateur, is fully competent to speak with authority on the
game, having had the opportunity of studying the play of the best Continental, in
addition to that of the best English, masters, and, therefore, may be taken as a safe
guide by learners.

CONTENTS.

I. — Tennis Abroad.
II. — Tennis in England.
III. — The Court and Implements,

rV. — The Laws and their History,
v.— The Game.
VI. — Appendix.

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THE

ENGLISH GAME OF CRICKET:

COMPRISING A DIGEST OF ITS

ORIGIN. CHARACTER, HISTORY, AND PROGRESS,

TOGETHER WITH

AN EXPOSITION OF ITS LAWS AND LANGCTAGE,

CHARLES BOX,

Author of "The Cricketers' Manual," "Reminiscences of Celebrated Players," Essays on
the Game, "Songs and Poems," "Theory and Practice of Cricket," &c.

CONTENTS.

Chap.

I)

TO > Introductory.

VI.)

Glances at the Past and Present State of
County Cricket.
VII.— Middlesex.
VIII.— Public School Matches.
IX.— Kent.
X. — Hampshire.
XI.— Surrey.
XII. — Sussex.
XIII.— Nottinghamshire.
XIV.— Yorkshire.

Chap.

XV. — "Warwickshire and Derbyshire.
XYI. — Gloucestershire.
XVII. — Lancashire and Leicestershire.
XVIII.— The Eastern Counties.
XTX )
^x' I Iiitercolonial Matches.

XXL— School and Village Matches.
XXIL— Curiosities of Cricket.
XXIIL— Cricket Grounds.
XXIV.— Laws of the Game.

XXV. — Poems, Songs, and Ballads.
XXVI. — Glossai-y of Words and Phrases.
Postscript. — Shakespeare and Cricket
— An Enforced Dissertation.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

" The most complete and interesting work on cricket ever published. No expense
has been spared in making that which is really useful a very handsome volume."-
Belts Life.

" We welcome with heartiness a writer like Mr. Charles Box, who has so
pleasantly united in the splendid volimie before us the old order (of cricket) with
the new." — Siiorthrq and Dramatic News.

"This work will prove interesting to all lovers of cricket."- 7'wn^s.

" The volume is a very handsome one indeed, destined, doubtless, to become an
authority on the essentially ' English Game of Cricket.' "—Morni7ig Post.

"The best work on cricket that has yet come under our notice."" —Nottingham
Journal.

" A handsome and well got-up volume, the author being the man of all others
qualified and in a position for compiling such a work. — Kent Herald.

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PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX. 13

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PASTURES, OLD AND NEW:

A Plea for the Improvement of Old Turf, Better

Systems of Grassing-down, and the Prolonged Tenure of

Alternate Husbandry Grass Layers.

By JOSEPH DARBY.

Second Edition, large post 8vo., price 5s., hy post 5s. Sd.

^ IsT C3- L I IST a-.

By FRANCIS FRANCIS.

Author of " A Book on Angling," " By Lake and River," " Hot-Pot," &c.

CONTENTS.

Preface. : chap.

Chap. v.— The Pike.

I.— The Art of Angling. VI.— Trout Fishing with Bait

IL— Mid-Water Fishing. VIL— Fly Fishing for Trout.

III.— Surface or Fly Fishing. I VIII.— Trout Fhes.

IV.— The Gudgeon, the Pope or Euff, I IX.— Grayling Fishing.

the Bleak, the Eoach. the Eudd. ! X.— Salmon Fishing.

the Dace, the Chub, the Barbel, t XI. — Salmon Flies.

the Bream, the Carp, the Tench, XII. — On Tackle Making.

the Perch. ' Addenda.

Post 8vo., in cloth, price 5s., hy post 5s. 4d.

SIOT-IPOT.

MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS
By Francis Francis,

Author of " A Book on Angling," " By Lake and Eiver," "Angling," &c

CONTENTS,

A Christmas EeTerie — The First Day of the Season — A Strange Fishing Match —
The Poacher — The Banker — Eeminiscences of an Angler; or. Justices' Justice —
Christmas in the Fisherman's Snuggeiy— St. May Fly— Catching Tartars —
Under the Boughs, " Now and Then "-Eeminiscences of an Angler, " Farmer
Gumshun" — Bankers and Tinkers — The Pleasures of Grayling Fishing — Will
Whistle — An Angler's Christmas Yarn — Eeminiscences of an Angler, " Squaring
the Keeper ''—A Week on the Brattle— A Storm on the Bra wle— White Trout and
Salmon Fishing in Gahvay — Eeminiscences of an Angler, '' Anglers' Miseries "
— Sam Coventry — Piscatory Prosings " De Omnibus Eebus," &c. — Chewton Pike.

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14

A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

Demy Svo., with folding plates and full-page illustrations printed on
toned pa^er, price 21s., by post 21s. 9d.

MODERN WILDFOWLING.

BY

LEV/IS CLEMENT,

" WlLDFOWIiER."

CONTENTS.

aap.

AX

[II.)

Punting.— Introduction.
Chap.

Muzzle-loading Punt Guns
(Flint, Percussion and Copper
III.) Tube Ignition.
IV.)

V. y Breechloading Punt Guns.
VI.)

VII.— Loading Punt Guns.
VIII.— Aiming and Firing Punt Guns.
X.— The Setting of Punt Guns.
XL — Eecoil and After-recoil Appa-

XII,

XIII.

XIV.

XV,

XVI

XVII

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII,

XXIII

XXIV

XXV,

XXVI.

Punts.

—Launching Punts and Canoes.
— Punting Accessories.

V Punting.

,_My First Single-handed Punt-
ing Trip.
.) Amateur and Professional
i Puntsmen.

Chap.

XXVIL
XXVIII.

XXIX.

XXX

XXXI

XXXII.
XXXIII,
XXXIV,

XXXV,
XXXVI
XXXVII,

XXXVIII

XXXIX

XL

XLI,

XLII

XLIII

XLIV.

XLV,

XL VI,
XLVII.

XLVIII

>■ Shoulder Guns.

—Flapper Shooting.
—Inland Duck Shooting.
—Sailing to Fowl.

l Decoying to the Gun.

— Decoying in America.

— American Blinds.

— American Canvas - back
Shooting.

— Shore Shooting.

,— Flighting.

) Curious Wildfowl and Sea-

j fowl Shooting Expedients.

.—Close Time and Wildfowl
and Sea-fowl Acts.

.— " Wildfowler's" Table of
Loads.

— Nettmg Plovers and Snipe
Snaring.

— Snaring and Hooking Sea-
fowl on the Continent.

— Decojing into the " Pipes."

— Flight Ponds and Rock
Fowling.

— Concluding Eemarks.

OPINIONS OF THE PEESS.

" An excellent work indeed, and full of capital illustrations, is ' Modern Wild-
fowling; ' to recommend it aright I should have, if I were clever enough, and it did
not already exist, to invent the famous phrase, 'a book no gentleman's library
should be without.' "—Truth, March 17, 1881.

" This book deals not only with the various modes of approaching or decoying,
and kiUing wildfowl of all kinds, but enters into minute details upon the construc-
tion of punts, both single and double handed; sails; punt guns, muzzle-loading as
well as breechloading; recoil apparatus; and shoulder guns of all patterns, with
the varying loads required for different bores. In addition to this are several
chapters devoted to a narration of the adventures of the author while in pursuit of

wildfowl, both at home and abroad— which are very pleasant reading

"With the addition of a good index, sportsmen will have in this work a capital vade
mecum on the art of wildfowUng.— T'/ie Zoologist for November, 1880.

"THE field" OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

15

Second Edition. Large post 8vo., price Is. 6rf., by post 8s.

THE

"IDSTONE" PAPERS.

A SERIES OF ARTICLES AND DESULTORY OBSERVATIONS ON
SPORT AND THINGS IN GENERAL

"IDSTONE,'

Of "The Field."

CONTENTS.

Chap.

I. — Agricultural Labourers.
II.— The Rough Rider.
III.— The First of May.
IV.— " Strictly Confldential."

v.— Shooting Dress.
VI.— Some Old Portraits.
VII. — Dens and Sanctums.
VIII.— The Rat-catcher.
IX.— Early Morning in London.
X.— The Earthst" >pper.
XL— The Shooting Pony.
XII.— Whistle and Whip.
XIII. — Old Traps and Spring-guns.
XIV.— Tom Frere the Hard-riding

Farmer.
XV.— Expecting Brown.

Chap.

XVI. — Brown in the Country.
XVIL— The Earthstoppers' Feast.
XVIIL— The White Snipe.
XIX. — Swans and Eagles.
XX.— The Philosophy of Missing.
XXI. — Shooting in Aldemey.
XXII.— Shirkers.
XXIII.— Our Black Heath.
XXIV.— Traps and Calls.
XXV.— Northward.
XXVL— A Bright October.
XXVIL— Varied Shooting.
XXVIIL— The End of the Season.
XXIX.— On Beating for Game.
XXX. — Land Valuers and Stewards.
XXXI.— Snipe Shooting.

WOEK BY THE LATE FRANCIS FRANCIS.

Now ready, crown Svo., price 3s. 6d., by post 3s. 9d.

ANGLING REMINISCENCES,

By the late FRANCIS FRANCIS,

Author of " A Book on Anghng," <fcc.

CONTENTS.

A Christmas Retrospect.

Luck.

Loch Tay.

The Angler's Wish.

Grayling Fishing.

Spring Salmon Fishing.

Barbel Fishing.

Cover Shooting.

Fly Fishing for Ladies.

Saint Mayfly.

My First Salmon Run.

The Mayfly Mess.

A Month in the West,

Trout Fishing.

In and Out Dales.

Up and Down.

Tom Bowers's Christmas.

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ESSAYS

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SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY.
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CONTENTS.

Shooting — Hawking — Fishing — Training Hawks — Lark Mirrors — Plover
Catching— Fishing with Cormorants — Decoys— The Irish Wolfhound— The Badger
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Thirty-eight Essays: concluding with Practical Hints on Bird Preserving for
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HINTS ON THE MANAGEMENT OF HAWKS.

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RAMBLES AFTER SPORT;

OR,

TRAVELS AND ADVENTURES IN THE AMERICAS AND AT HOME.
By "OLIVER NORTH."

CONTENTS.

A Week's Duck Shooting at Poole — That Sheldrake — Quail Shooting in California
— Bear Hunting in Mexico — Bear Shooting in California — My First Elk — Mj-^ Last
Bear — Round Cape Horn, Valparaiso, Santiago — AndacoUo, J-iima, Panama,
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OOXjOK/^IDO :

ITS

AGRICULTUEE, STOCKFEEDING, SCENERY, AND SHOOTING.

By S. NUGENT TOWNSHEND, J. P.

("St. Kames.")

" THE FIELD " OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX- 17

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THE

HUNTING COUNTRIES

OF

ENGLAND,

THEIR FACILITIES, CHARACTER, AND REQUIREMENTS.

A GUIDE TO HUNTING MEN.

By ^'BROOKSB Y/'

CONTENTS.

PART I.— Introduction— The Belvoir— The South "Wold— The Brocklesby—
The Burton and The Blankney— The Fitzwilham — The Quorn— The Cottesmore-
The Puckeridge— The Old Berkeley.

PART II.— The North Warwickshire— The Pytchley— The Woodland Pytchley
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Warden Hill Hunt— The Heythrop- The Old Berkshire— The South Oxfordshire—
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South Berkshire— Mr Garth's— The H. H.— The Tedworth— Lord Ferrers'— The
Warwickshire.

PABT III.— The Dulverton— The Stars of the West— Mr. Luttrell's- Lord
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MOSS FROM A ROLLING STONE;

MOORISH WANDERINGS AND RAMBLING
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RABBITS FOR PROFIT AND RABBITS FOR POWDER.

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III. — On the Management of Weeds and

the Economy of Fishing.
IV. — The Enemies of Trout and how to
Circumvent them,
v.— The Artificial Incubation of Ova.

CONTENTS.

Chap

VI.— On the Rearing of Fry and
the Conduct of Ponds, Stews,
&c.
VII.— Some Hatcheries.
VIII.— Coarse Fish.
IX. — On Salmon and Trout Ladders
and Passes.
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THE ANGLER'S DIARY

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Also Forms for Registering the Fish taken during the year ; as well as
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WILD BIRDS' PROTECTION ACT, 1880,

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ALSO

Cenaut Etgi^t from a llantfl0rlr'iS Point of Wic^.
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CONTENTS:

Chap.

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11. — Farm Valuations.
III.— Forestry.
IV. — Underwood.
V. — Fences.

VI. — Grasses suitable for Woods and
Plantations.
VII.— The Home Farm.

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T-y ■ >- Eepairs and Materials.

X.— The Blights of Wheat and other

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XI. — Accounts.

XII. — Useful Rules of Arithmetic and
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COMPILED AND ANNOTATED
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Merits, &c.

CONTENTS.

Derivation — History — Constituents — Varieties — Sprouting - Soils — Planting—
Manures— Earthing up— Disease— Scab— Storing— Forcing— Producing New
Varieties— Substitutes for the " Potato '"- Miscellaneous Information.

THE field" OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

25

Demy ^vo., price 3s. 6f/., by post 3s. 9c/., Illustrated with several Diagrauis.

THE

PRACTICAL SURVEYOR-.

A TREATISE UPON SURVEYING.

SPECIALLY AERANGED FOR THE GUIDANCE OF PUPILS, STEWARDS,
THE SCHOLASTIC PROFESSION, AND INTENDING EMIGRANTS.

BY THOMAS HOLl_OWAY.

CONTENTS.

Chap.
I.
II.

III.
IV.-

VI.
VII.

VIII.
IX.-

XI.
XII.

Chap.

-The Man and his Outfit. XIII.

-The Chain — Cautions to Be-
ginners— Best Figure for Chain
Sui-veying. XIV

-Boundaries.

-Setting-out Lines by the Eye and
passing Obstructions.

-Division of the Circle and Use of
Box Sextant — Chain Angles
Condemned— Cross Staff Con- XV

demned — The Optical Square
— Measuring Inaccessible Dis-
tances. XVI,

-The Theodolite — Setting-out
Lines with the Theodolite.

-Reduction of thte Measure of Un- XVII,
dulating Ground to Horizontal
Measures and Table of Vertical ' XVIII.
Angles.

-Measuring Lines — The Offset

Staff and taking Offsets. ! XIX.

-To prove the Correctness of Ob- I XX.
servations taken with the Sex- j XXI.
tant — Single Fields Measured
with the Chain and Optical
Sqiiare. so that the Areas can
be directly Calculated.

-To Set-out a Eight Angle with XXII,
the Chain — Figures of the Lines
of Measurement best adapted XXIII,
to Irregular Fields

-Equalising Boundariea. and

Drawing a Triangle equal to a I XXIV.
given Figure. I XXV

-Computation of Areas of Irre- I

gular Fields. | XXVI.

—Example of a Survey of several
Fields together, and the Field
Book.

— Reference Numbers to Maps —
To put Dntached Buildings
in correct Positions on a Plan
by Means of Unmeasured
Lines — Lines Measured on
the Work — Making Stations.

— Plotting — Selection and Ma-
nagement of Paper — Inking
in.

— Surveys made for the purpose
of Dividing Land into Stated
Quantities.

— Setting-out Allotments and
Building Plots.

—Angles and Bearings, and Use
and Adjustment of Circular
Protractor.

— Traverse SurA-eys.

— Quality Lines — Superstructures
and Works Underground —
Harvest and Coppice Work
— Reducing Plans from a
Large Plan to a Small One.

— To Copy a Map — Colouring,
Penmanship, &c.

— Commencement of a Parish
Survey — Surveying to a Scale
of Feet.

— Town Surveying.

— Testing the Accuracy of a
Survey — General Remarks.

— In Memory of the Past.

Price 6d., hy post Id. ; or 2s. 6d. the half-dozen.

"The Field" Duplicate Judging Book

Facilitates the work of the Judges at Poultry and other Shows, by a very simple
method of entering and preserving a duplicate judging list.

" THE FIELD " OFFICE, 346. STRAND W.C.

26 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

Second Edition. In Three Prirt.% large post Sro., price 5s., by post 5s. 4<f.., each.
THE

FAEM, GAEDEN. AND STABLE

By I. E. B. C,

Editor of " The Gamekeeper" s and Game Preserver's Account Book and Diary."

Part I.— The Farm.

Cattle— Crops— Daii-y— Diseases— Fencing— Food for Stock— Manures-
Miscellaneous— Pigs— Sheep— Soils— Weeds — Woods.

Part II.— The Garden.

Flowers— Fruit — Houses — Lawns — Manures — Miscellaneous — Seeds — Trees and
Shi-ubs— Vegetables— Vermin— Weeds.

Part III.-The Stable.

Carriages—Diseases—Feeding— Harness, <fec.— Miscellaneous— Stable Management.

Published Annually. In large post 8vo.
THE

KENEL CLUB STUD BOOK:

CONTAINING A COMPLETE

RECORD OF DOG SHOWS AND FIELD TRIALS,

WITH

Pedigrees of Sporting and Non-Sporting Dogs.

Vol. I., from 1859 to 1873, price 12s. 6cl., by post 13s.

Price 10s. 6d., by Post 10s. lOd. each. —

Vol. III., 1875 ; Vol. IV., 1876 ; Vol. V., 1877 ; Vol. VI., 1878 ;

Vol. VII., 1879; Vol. VIII.. 1880; Vol. IX., 1881; Vol. XL, 1883;

Vol. XII., 1884 ; Vol. XIII., 1885 ; Vol. XIV., 1886.

Demy 8vo., price Is., by post, Is. Id.

THE EARLY MATURITY OF LIVE STOCK

By HENRY EVERSHED,

Writer on Agriculture in the "Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society of
England," " The Field," '• Quarterly Review," <fec.

" THE FIELD " OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX. 27

Published Annually. Demy 4to., pi-ice Is., by post Is. 2d.
AND SPORTSMAN'S ILLUSTRATED CALENDAR FOR 1888.

Articles on the following Subjects are included in the List of Contents ;
NOTES ON THE PAST RACING SEASON.
YACHT RACING IN 1887.
LIST OF HUNTS, THEIR MASTERS, &c.

FIELD TRIALS WITH POINTERS AND SETTERS IN 1887.
DOG SHOWS AND CANINE MATTERS IN 1887.
SUMMERING HUNTERS.
FOXHUNTING AND FARMERS.
COUNTY CRICKET IN 1887.
FISHERMEN'S COMFORTS.
BAITS AND BAIT CATCHING.
TENNIS SEASON OF 1887.
FLOWERS WORTH GROWING WELL.
VELOCITY OF THE FLIGHT OF BIRDS.
POULTRY IN LIMITED RUNS.
INVISIBLE APPROACH FOR WOOD PIGEONS AND OTHER

BIRDS.
THE GOLFING GREENS OF THE WORLD.
TABLES OF AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL PEDESTRIAN,

BICYCLING, AND SWIMMING PERFORMANCES, the best

on Record.
STALLIONS FOR BREEDING BLOODSTOCK AND HUNTERS

(List of about 300 Stallions, with their Pedigrees, and Fees for

Thoroughbred and Half -Bred Mares).

Also Summaries, Tables, Recipes, &c., viz.,
Angling close seasons Jumping records

Athletic championships Lawn, improving the turf of

Beagles, packs of ; Oaks winners
Bicycling, best times on record Otter hounds, packs of

Boat-races, Oxford and Cambridge Public Schools athletics n 1887

Boots, waterproofing and boning Eaces of 1888, dates of

Brown harness, dressing for ' Racquets, Schools challenge cup

Cambridgeshire winners ! Running, best times

Cesarewitch wmners ' Stimulants for ferns

Close seasons for game ] St. Leger wmners
Cricket on cocoa-nut mattiiig Swimming, amateur performances

Derby wiimers ! Tennis, University matches
Dog clubs, list of Terms, University and Legal

Fairs for horses, cfec. Tricycling performances

Foxhounds, packs of | University athletic sports
Game, l-^gal season for killing University boat-races

Oolting greens of the British Isles Universitj^ racquet matches

Harriers, packs of University tennis matches

Huntsmen, changes of Walking, best times.

" THE FIELD " OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

28 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

Fourth Edition. In demy 4to., on toned paper, and in fancy cover, price 2s.,
by post '2s. 2(7.

THE BOOK OF DINNER SERVIETTES;

COXTAINIXa

A NEW INTEODUCTION ON THE DECOKATION OF DINNER TABLES,
AND GENEEAL DEBECTIONS FOE FOLDING THE SEEVIETTES.

There are Twenty-one different kinds given, with Ninety-two Woodcuts Illustrative
of the various Folds required, and the Serviettes complete.

Just published, price 5s., by post 5s. 2d.

"COWIBINED FIGURE SKATING;"

Being a collection of 300 combined figures, as skated by the Skating Club, London,
the Wimbledon Skating Club, &c., illustrated by 130 scaled diagrams, showing the
correct direction of every curve executed by the skater, and the recognised amount
of circling round the centre; together with a progressive series of alternate
" calls." The figures are named in accordance with the revised system of nomen-
clature and rules for combined figure skating, compiled by the Skating Club,
London, Sept. 11, 1882. Diagrams of the combined figures in the first and second
•class tests of the National Skating Association are included.

By Montagu S. F. Monier-Williams and Stanley F. Monier-Wiluaivis

(Members of the Wimbledon Skating Club).
Now ready, post free, 6d., cloth gilt..

RULES OP THE QAME OF HOCKEY

AND OF

THE HOCKEY ASSOCIATION.

Price 6d., by post, 6^d.

THIS THJ^IS^ES:

Rules and Bye-Laws as to Boating, Fishing, the Use of Steam
Launches, &c.

By C. E. GODDARD, Solicitor.

THE FIELD " OFFICE, 31:6, STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX.

29

In crown 8vo., 'price 5s., hy post 5s. ^d.

BO^T-I^^OIIsrC3- ;

OR,

THE ARTS OF ROWING AND TRAINING.

EDWIN DAMPIER BRICKWOOD

(KX-AMATEUR CHAMPION OF THE THAMES).

CONT

ROWING.

Chap.
I. — Introduction: Past and Px-esent
Condition of Boat-racing.
II. — Racing Boats : Their Historj^ and

Fittings.
III.— The Sliding Seat : Its Invention.

Adoption, and Theory.
IV.— How to Use an Oar. and Sculls,
v.— Faults and Errors : What to avoid.
VI. — Steering: Coxswain and Non-
coxswain.
VII. — Teaching Beginners.
VIII.— Coaching for Races, and Selec-
tion of Crews.
IX. — The Varieties and Conduct of
Boat-races.
X.— The Laws of Boat-racing.

'x?:-

XII.

ENTS.

Char

The Qualifications of Ama-
teurs.
Boat Clubs : Their Organisation
and Administration.
XIII. — Historical Records, A.D. 171.3 to

1S3S
XIV.— Historical Records, A.D. 1839 to

18.>5.
XV.— Historical Records, A.D. 18-56 to
I 1875.

TRAINING.
XVI.— Its Principles.
XVIL— Its Practice.
XVIII.— Prohibitions, Ailments, (fee.
i Appendix.— Rules for Betting.
I Index.

Published Annually. Price Is., hy post Is. Id.

THE ROWING ALMANACK AND OARSMAN'S
COMPANION FOR 1887.

Edited by E. D. BRICKWOOD

(EX-AMATEUR CHAMPION OF THE THAMES),

Author of '• Boat-Racing ; or, the Arts of Rowing and Training."

CONTENTS.

A Calendar with Space for Memoranda
and High Water Table, with a Table
of Tidal Obsei-vations.

A Review of the Rowing Season.

Record of all Regattas and Principal
Club Races, with a copious Index.

The Championship of the World.

Amateur Rowing Association.

The Definition of an Amateur.

The Laws of Boat-Racing.

Henley Regatta Rules.

Metropolitan Amateur Regatta Rules.

A Rowing Directory.

The Lengths of the different Racing

Courses.
An Itinerary of the River Thames from

Oxford to Putney, showing all the

points of interest, with Hotels, <fcc.
The Rule of the Road on the River.
Thames Navigation Rules.
The Thames Preservation Act, 188-5.
The Thames Bj-e-Laws, 1886.
Tables of W^inners of all the principal

Races and Regattas .

THE field" OFFICE, 346, STRAND, W.C.

30 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS

"REPORTS on SALMON LADDERS, with Original

-*-^ Drawings, Plans, and Sections. By FRANCIS FRANCIS. In post 4to., price
2s. Gd., by post '2s. 7d.

A MANUAL of the LAW of SALMON FISHERIES in

-^^^ ENGLAND and WALES, with a copious Index. By Spencer Walpole,
one of Her Majesty's Inspectors of Salmon Fisheries. Price 2s. Qd., by post 2s. 8d.

A TABLE of CALCULATIONS for use with the "Field"

-^--^ Force Gauge for Testing Shot Guns. Also an Illustration and Description
of the Apparatus. In demy 4to., price 2s. Gd.

rPHE RULES of PIGEON SHOOTING. Published by

-L Special Permission, the Hurlingham Club and the Gun Club Eules of Pigeon
Shooting. Second Edition. Bound together in cloth, gilt edges, price 6d., by
post 7d.

q^HE COURSING CALENDAR, for the Spring Season

J- 1887. contains Returns of all the Public Conrses run in Great Britain and
Ireland. A revised List of Addresses of Coursing Secretaries. Public Coursers,
Judges, Slippers, and Trainers, with List of Waterloo t up Winners, Greyhound
Sales, &c. Edited by C. M. Browne (" Eobin Hood"). Price 10s. Gd.

rpHE LAWS of LAWN TENNIS, as adopted by the

-*- Marylebone Cricket Club and the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis
Club. Entered at Stationers' Hall. Price Gd., by post G^d.

ALL

-C\_ TT(

Price Qd., hy post Id.

ENGLAND LAWN-TENNIS CLUB REGULA-
TIONS for the MANAGEMENT of LAWN-TENNIS PRIZE MEETINGS,

Price Is., hy post Is. Sd.
FIELD" LAWN TENNIS CALENDAR for

rPHE

1887. Containing a List of Secretaries and their Addresses; Synopsis of
the Laws of Lawn Tennis ; Report of the Meeting of Representatives ; and a
IFull Report of all the Meetings of the last Season, &c.

'T'HE ITALIAN SYSTEM of BEE KEEPING; being an

-*- Exposition of Don Giotto Ulivi's Economical Frame Hives and Honey
Extractor. By Arthur J. Danyell, late Capt. H.M. iilst Regiment. With Illustra-
tions. Price I.S., by post Is. Id. This pamphlet contains practical, directions for
the making and utilisation of frame hives, costing less than 2s. each, and a centri-
fugal honey extractor costing 5s. or 6s.

" THE FIELD " OFFICE, 34f), STRAND, W.C.

PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX. 31

In ito., printed on toned paper, with plates, price 5s., by post os. 4rf.

THE QUEEN LACE BOOK:

AN

Historical and Descriptive Account of the Hand-made
Antique Laces of all Countries.

This work contains the whole of the series of .articles on Antique Point Lace
which have been published in '' The Queen." It will prove an invaluable guide
and book of reference to ladies interested in Antique Lace, and, with its highly-
ornamental embossed cover, will form a handsome ornament for the drawing-room
table.

ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE CLASSICS.

Post Svo., 540 pages, price 7s. 6d.

HALF-HOURS with CREEK and LATIN AUTHORS.

FROM VARIOUS ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS, WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.

By G. H. JENNINGS and W. S. JOHNSTONE,

Authors of a ''A Book of Parliamentary Anecdote."

In post 8vo., price 5s., by post 5s. 'id.

THE BARB AND THE BRIDLE:

A

HANDBOOK OF EQUITATION FOR LADIES,

AND

MANUAL OF INSTRUCTION IN THE SCIENCE OF RIDING FROM THE

PREPARATORY SUPPLING EXERCISES ON FOOT TO THE FORM

IN WHICH A LADY SHOULD RIDE TO HOUNDS.

By "VIEILLE MOUSTACHE."

Handsomely bound in cloth, price os. 6d., by post 3s. 9d.

ACTING CHARADES FOR OLD AND YOUNG.

BY

Author of " The Enchanted Toasting Fork," <fcc.

In paper cover, price 6d.

''THIE Q^TJEEIsT" K/EOIIPBS.

By " THE G. C." (Author of " Round the Table").
" THE QUEEN " OFFICE, 34-6, STRAND, W.C.

32 A CATALOGUE OF BOOKS.

Now Bendy, Price One Shilling ; ?)y Post, Is. 2^d.

THE QUEEN ALMANAC,

AND

^ LADY'S CALENDAR for 1888.

AMONG ITS CONTENTS WILL BE FOUND

A CHROMO-LITHOGRAPH PLATE OF DESIGNS

FOR ARRASENE, CHENILLE, AUTUWIW LEAF AND UNEN EMBROIDERY IN
COLOURS. DESIGN FOR PRIMROSE LEAGUE DIPLOMA.

TWO COLOURED PLATES OF NOVELTIES IN KNITTING
AND CEOCHET.

Specimens of China and Pastel Painting : Ornamental Chests, Caskets,
• and Keys ; Nail, Band, and Repousse Work ; Suggestions for Fancy-
Needlework ; Artistic Arrangement of Rooms ; Evening Toilettes,
Headdresses, and Jewellery ; Fashions in Muffs, Boas, Bags, Fans,
and Sunshades, &c.

FORTY-NINE PORTRAITS:

Her Majesty the Queen's Daughters, Daughters-in-law, Gray. dchild ran

and Great Grandchildren, Prince Alexander and Princess Victoria of

Teck. the Emperor and Empress of Brazil.

Fashionable Mantles, Dresses, and Headdresses for Indoor and Out-
door wear ; Winter Mantles and Hats ; Children's Costumes, Hats,
and Toques ; Suggestions for Fancy Costumes ; Lingerie, Under Linen,
and Children's Costumes ; Suggestions for Ornamental and Useful
Arrangements of Flowers and Plants : Chip Carving, &c.

Full information is given relating to — The Eoyal Family : the Eoyal Household :
the Government ; British and Foreign Ambassadors; Lord Lieutenants of Counties
in the United Kingdom; Irish and Scotch Eepresentative Peers; Peers who are
Minors; Peeresses in their ovk-n right: Alphabetical List of the Surnames of the
Peers Temporal; Complete List of the House of Peers, with their Surnames and
Titles, and the Titles of their Eldest Sons; Jewish Calendar ; Bank of England:
Post Office Regulations; Eclipses in 18SS; List of Charities, Associations. <fec. :
Obituary of Ladies of Distinction during the Past Year.

RECIPES FOR Soups, Fish, Entrees. Sweets, Breakfast
Dishes, and Savouries.

" THE QUEEN " OFFICE. 346, STRAND, W.C.

Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at
Tufts University
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North Grafton, MA 01536

CARSON'S PAINT,

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H.R.H. THE DUKE OF EDINBURaH,

AND 15,000 OF THE NOBILITl, GENTRY, AND CLERGY,

FOR EVERY DESCRIPTION OF

OUT-DOOR WORK.

It is especially applicable to

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IKUJN, BRICK, STONE, COMPO.

CAN BE LAID ON BY UNSKILLED LABOUR.

W. C. & SONS supply suitable Paint and Varnishes for both
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STABLES, KENNELS, Etc.

Also Iron Work Black and Black Japan for Stable Fittings.

PRICES, TESTIMONIALS, AND PATTERN CARDS POST
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One Cwl, and Oil Mixture, Delivered Free.

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HILL, LONDON, E.G.,

BACHELOR'S WALK, DUBLIN,

AND

ROYAL AVENUE, BELFAST.

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They have NO OTHER ADDRESS, and are NOT CONNECTED with any
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