Foxhunting and the Landscape Between 1700 and 1900; with Particular Reference to Norfolk and Shropshire
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Foxhunting and the landscape between 1700 and 1900; with particular reference to Norfolk and Shropshire Jane Bevan Degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of East Anglia School of History October 2011 This copy of the thesis has been supplied on the condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and that no quotation from the thesis, nor any information derived from it, may be published without acknowledgement Abstract This thesis explores the history of foxhunting from 1700 to 1900. It examines how perceptions of an ideal hunting country, and what constituted an elite quarry, altered in tandem with alterations to the English lowland countryside. The relationship between the landscape and changes bought about by the upheaval of enclosure and agricultural development are discussed, in the context of the evolution in practice and geographical spread of foxhunting, at a national, regional and county-wide level. Several long-held beliefs are challenged. The social history of foxhunting and the increased participation of both ‘polite’ urban neophytes and prosperous tenant farmers during the two centuries is compared with the declining involvement of women. The impact of hunt clubs and the rise of subscription packs in the two study areas is contrasted. The influence of changes in the landscape on foxhunting is considered alongside the reciprocal impact of foxhunters manipulating the physical surroundings to enhance their sport. A detailed study of the history of hunting and its most iconic feature, the covert, in Norfolk and Shropshire highlights the importance of landowners control over the countryside. The comparisons between the intensively-researched hunting landscape of the East Midlands and these two peripheral counties highlighted differences and provoked an examination of likely explanations. The thesis has used a variety of research methods and sources. The exploration of ‘place’ has involved the use of maps and documentary records to explore the historic and physical context of hunting and the significance of any overlapping distribution patterns. Examination of a range of contemporary hunting diaries, poems and paintings has allowed a vivid insight into the ‘practice’ of foxhunting and the attitudes of its enthusiasts. ii Contents Page Page Chapters and subdivisions iii List of figures including maps vi List of tables ix Abbreviations x Acknowledgements xi Chapter One – Introduction 1 Literature 2 Study areas and their literature 4 Structure of the thesis 7 Chapter Two – The development of early hunting 14 Introduction 14 Early Foxhunting 15 Deer hunting and deer parks 19 Hare hunting 27 Chapter Three – The origins of foxhunting as a specialist activity 30 Introduction 30 The influence of improved animal breeding 32 The distribution of early foxhunting 34 The influence of soil types 38 Landscape classification 49 Classification based on agricultural regions 54 The importance of good access 56 Hunting on calcareous light land and sheep-corn areas – Group 1 60 Hunting on poorly-drained clay vales – Group 2 65 Hunting on mixed soil types – Group 3 75 The ‘ancient’ countryside and early foxhunting 81 The importance of tenure and ‘control’ in the development of foxhunting 83 Tenancies and leases 90 Rent rebates 93 Wood pasture areas 93 Conclusion 96 iii Chapter Four – The development of foxhunting after 1750 97 The expansion of hunting 97 The development of foxhunting in the East Midlands (‘The Shires’) 100 The use of hunting diaries as a resource 113 The use of enclosure maps and records as a resource 137 The use of hunting pictures as a resource 159 Invisible control of the landscape 166 Disadvantages of early-enclosed areas 168 Conclusion 173 Chapter Five - The expansion of access to foxhunting after 1750 174 Diffusion 174 Politeness 177 Improvement 183 Social diffusion of foxhunting 199 The increasing seclusion of landowners 232 The impact of shooting on foxhunting 238 Chapter Six – The impact of foxhunting on the landscape 1700-1900 245 Introduction 245 Defining hunt territories or ‘countries’ 246 Indicators of a shortage of foxes – ‘bag foxes’ 249 Methods of encouraging fox numbers 253 Chapter Seven – Foxhunting in Norfolk 265 Introduction 265 Loss of wastes and woodlands 268 Eighteenth-century foxhunting 273 Nineteenth-century foxhunting 276 The activities of landowners – the clash of pheasant shooting versus hunting 279 Methods of increasing fox numbers in the nineteenth century 283 A survey of fox coverts and their impact on the landscape 288 Sources of information on coverts 291 Fox coverts and soil associations 295 Fox coverts and tenure 299 The creation of fox coverts 303 iv Chapter Eight – Foxhunting in Shropshire 310 Introduction 310 Loss of wastes and woodland 312 Eighteenth-century foxhunting 316 Nineteenth-century foxhunting 318 Methods of increasing fox numbers 325 The activities of landowners – the clash of pheasant shooting versus hunting 328 A survey of fox coverts and their impact on the landscape 330 Sources of information on coverts 333 Distribution of coverts 340 The creation of fox coverts 345 Differences between Norfolk and Shropshire 349 Chapter Nine – Conclusion 357 Long term trends 357 Changes in control and access 359 Foxhunting’s impact on the landscape 366 Place and practice 372 Primary sources 374 Bibliography 377 Appendices 1. Results of the survey of fox coverts in Norfolk 2. Results of the survey of fox coverts in Shropshire v Figures including maps Page 1.1 Location map of study areas 5 2.1 Detail from ‘Hunters in the snow’, P. Breughel the Elder, 1565 17 3.1 ‘A Hunt near Norwich’ early 18th century painting, artist and date 31 unknown 3.2 ‘Sir Robert Walpole at the Hunstanton Meet’, John Wooton, early 1720s 33 3.3 Map of location of foxhound packs established before 1800 36 3.4 Map of the major soil groups of England and Wales 41 3.5 Map of Rackham’s ‘simplified landscape regions’ 52 3.6 Map of Thirsk’s simplified agricultural regions of England 1500-1750 55 3.7 Detail from ‘Henry Fox and the Earl of Albermarle shooting at 57 Goodwood’, George Stubbs, 1759 3.8 ‘William Anderson with two saddle horses’, George Stubbs, 1793 58 3.9 ‘Come hup! I say – you hugly beast’, John Leech, 1843 59 3.10 ‘Mr Peter Delme’s hounds on the Hampshire Downs’, 62 James Seymour, 1738 3.11 Map of enclosure dates for Leicestershire parishes showing main 67 hunting centres 3.12 Map of the extent of pasture in Brixworth, Northamptonshire,1688 69 3.13 Open-fields at Harby demonstrating access routes, 1790 71 3.14 Extent of open-fields in north-east Hertfordshire c. 1750 80 4.1 Detail from ‘A Kill at Ashdown Park’, James Seymour, 1743 105 4.2 Detail from ‘The 3rd Duke of Richmond with the Charlton Hunt’, 105 George Stubbs, c 1760 4.3 ‘Going in and out clear’, Sir R. Frankland, 1811 109 4.4 Map of field boundaries and acreages taken from Wymeswold 110 Enclosure map of 1757 4.5 Map redrawn from Langtons Enclosure map of 1791 112 4.6 Map of the location of Hugo Meynell’s meets in 1791 113 4.7 ‘Topping a flight of rails’, Sir R. Frankland, 1811 117 4.8 ‘The rendezvous of the smoking hunt at Braunstone’, 119 Charles Lorraine Smith, 1822 4.9 Map of Enclosure dates of parishes in Northamptonshire 122 4.10 Part of Kislingbury Enclosure map of 1780 125 4.11 Map of meeting places of the 3rd Duke of Grafton’s pack in Suffolk 128 1786-1787 4.12 Enclosure dates for parishes around Wakefield Lodge 129 4.13 Map of The Manor of Grafton showing the land held by 131 the Reverend Rogers in 1789 vi 4.14 Map of Belgrave in Leicestershire enclosed in 1654 140 4.15 Field boundaries and acreages taken from 141 Billesdon Enclosure Map of 1764 4.16 Field boundaries and acreages copied from Rearsby 142 Enclosure Map of 1761 and Syston Enclosure Map of 1778 4.17 Part of Enclosure Map of Barsby, 1794 143 4.18 Enclosure Map of Wymeswold, 1757 146 4.19 Field boundaries and acreages taken from the Enclosure maps 147 of Long Clawson (1791) and Stathern (1792) 4.20 Enclosure Map of Redmile in the Vale of Belvoir, 1793 148 4.21 Copy of map of open-fields of Newnham before enclosure in 1765 150 4.22 Copy of Enclosure Map of Newnham, 1765 150 4.23 1942 copy of the Enclosure Map of Isham, 1779 153 4.24 Part of Brigstock Enclosure Map, 1803 154 4.25 Enclosure map of Bugbroke, 1779 155 4.26 Part of Enclosure map of Ravensthorpe, 1795 156 4.27 Detail from the ‘North-east view of Wakefield Lodge’, P. Sandby, 1767 160 4.28 Detail from ‘Mares and foals on the riverbank at Euston’, G. Stubbs, 160 early 1760s 4.29 ‘The Billesdon Coplow Day’, F. Jukes after Charles Lorraine Smith, 1802 161 4.30 ‘The Kill. Mr Deverell and his favourite hunter Gay Lass at 162 Goadby Bulmer in the Vale of Belvoir’, Boultbee, 1793 4.31 ‘George Marquess of Huntly on Tiny, with Hunt servants and Hounds’, 164 Ben Marshall, 1806-1807 4.32 ‘Full Cry’, Charles Hunt, 1838 164 4.33 ‘Breaking Cover’ by John Herring Junior, date unknown 165 4.34 ‘An indiscreet friend on a rash horse who spoils a good hat 170 and utters an evil execration’, Edgar Giberne, 1878 4.35 ‘Romford disturbs the dignity of his Huntsman’, John Leech, 1864 172 5.1 ‘Mr John Corbet, Robert Leighton and John Kynaston, members 181 of the Shrewsbury Hunt’, Francis Sartorius, 1779 5.2 ‘The Old English Hound’, Bewicke, 1790, and ‘The Meynellian 186 Foxhound’, artist and date unknown 5.3 Memorial tablets at Euston, Suffolk for Trouncer, 1788 and 191 Garland, 1799 5.4 Detail on stitched cover of ‘Taverham Fox Hunt’ poem, 1791 192 5.5 Final lines of ‘Taverham Fox Hunt poem’, 1791 193 5.6 ‘Members of the Carrow Abbey Hunt’, Philip Reinagle, c.