THE -HDrmNG • LIBR3W FOX- HUNTING INTHE-SHIRES TF-DHL ^o B9J± J^-'l TUFTS UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES 9090 014 537 100 Waster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University 200 Westboro Road North Grafton, MA 01536 T'he Hunting Library EDITED BY F. G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S., F.Z.S. Volume II. FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES The Hunting Library Edited by F. G. AFLALO, F.R.G.S. Pro/usefy illustrated, small demy ^vo, cloth ^It, 7s. 6d. net each volume I HARE-HUNTING AND HARRIERS BY H. A. BRYDEN Author of " Gun and Camera in Southern Africa, &c. II FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES BV T. F. DALE, M.A Author of "The History of the Belvoir Hunt," &c. Ill THE MASTER OF HOUNDS BY G. F. UNDERBILL Author of "A Century of Fox-Hunting" With contributions by Lord Ribblesdale Lt.^olonel G. C. Kicardo, Arthur ' Heinemann, John Scott, itc. London : GRANT RICHARDS 48 Leicester Square, W.C. FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES BY T. F. DALE, M.A. AUTHOR OF "the HISTORV of the BELVOIR. HUNT," "THE VIII ' " DUKE OF BEAUFORT AND THE BADMINTON HUNT," ETC. ILLUSTRATED FROM PHOTOGRAPHS BY R. B. LODGE AND OTHERS LONDON GRANT RICHARDS 48 LEICESTER SQUARE 1903 1 >3 Printed by Ballantvne, Hanson S' Co. At the Ballantyne Press PREFACE In this volume Mr. Dale has given the results of his experience in the hunting fields of Leicester- shire and the surrounding counties, and has treated his subject from the dual standpoint, for which his earlier work so fits him, of hunting historian and hunting correspondent. His chapters are almost en- tirely practical, though he digresses where necessary to criticise, always briefly and to the point, such modern questions as the presence of ladies in the field, the latest development of the capping system, and the question of hunting dress and hunting morals. For the most part, and with some few such exceptions, he gives us minute descriptions of the country known somewhat vaguely as " the Shires," and some very excellent advice as to the purchase or schooling of the right kind of horse for hunting that country. The photographs obtained by Mr. R. B. Lodge, with considerable guiding assistance from the author, have here and there been supplemented, with a view to illustrating in as practical fashion as possible the main features of the book. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE Introduction ix I. FOX-HUNTING IN THE SHIRES I II. A Week at Melton 25 III. A Week at Market Harborough ... 64 IV. Rugby, Leicester, Northampton and Grantham I. RUGBY 96 II. BUSINESS AND PLEASURE. LEICESTER AND NORTH- AMPTON . , . , .105 III. GRANTHAM ........ lOQ V. The Hunts and their History .... 120 I. the quorn 127 II. the COTTESMORE . I32 III. THE BELVOIK I 35 IV. MR. FERNIe's hunt , , . , . 1 44 V. the pytchley 152 VI. the w^oodland pytchley 171 VII. THE ATHERSTONE . I72 VIII. THE . WARWICKSHIRE AND NORTH WARWICKSHIRE 1 77 VI. Riding over the Shires— I. Precept . .187 VII. Riding over the Shires— II. Example . 203 viii CONTENTS CHAP. I'AGE VIII. A Week at Oakham and a Glimpse ok Stam- ford 221 IX. The Horse for the Grass Countries . 231 X. The Horse for the Grass Countries {contd.) . 250 XI. Sport in the Shires 264 XII. Ladies in the Shires 274 XIII. Dress and Equipment 284 XIV. Expenses 294 XV. The Prospects of Hunting in Grass Countries 307 XVI. Principal Fixtures within Ten Miles of the Chief Hunting Centres 319 INDEX 326 ILLUSTRATIONS Plate I. The Quorn Huntsman and Hounds Frontispiece H, Melton To face page 25 HI. At the Covertside with the Quorn 33 IV. Market Harborough 64 V. The Belvoir Vale . 109 VI. The Quorn Hunt . 127 VII. The Cottesmore Hounds 132 VIII. View from John Ball, and A Cut and Laid Fence .... 144 IX. The Pytchley Hounds . 161 X. Billesdon Coplow . 195 XI. Smeeton Corse from Gumley, and A Hairy Place .... 208 XII. A Well-known Weight Carrier 231 XIII. A Typical Horse and A Brilliant Performer 250 XIV. A Cottesmore Glimpse 266 XV. A Pytchley Panorama . 284 INTRODUCTION In the course of this book I have endeavoured to set before my readers a sketch of the sport of fox- hunting as it is throughout that part of the Mid- lands known as the Shires. Whatever may have been the case in the past, the fashionable hunting districts may now fairly be embraced within the wider limits treated of here. Such a book, though I hope it may not be without interest to those who know something of sport in grass countries, yet must naturally be of use chiefly to the man who wishes to learn more about fox-hunting in the historic hunts. It must not be forgotten, moreover, that the Mid- lands are not fashionable without reason, for people crowd to them because grazing districts are best suited of any to hunting in its brightest and most attractive form. But while I have striven to be of some practical service to the man who is, at the present day, anxious to hunt from some of the counties named, I have not been unmindful of the charms of the associations with the past so closely interwoven with hunting in these districts. No one who has not studied the subject can form any idea of the extent of the literature of hunting in the Midlands nor of its interest in throwing a light, not only on the sports but also on the social customs and ideals of. our im- mediate forefathers. But such a book as this could xii INTRODUCTION not be written only in the study. Its materials must to a great extent be gathered in the open air, and the advice contained in it suggested by participation in the scenes described. These chapters have, in fact, been written in the intervals of a busy season and in the rare leisure of a hunting correspondent whose duty and interest made him an observant spectator of the sport, and the book has therefore been put together in the atmosphere of hunting. I have hunted in nearly all the countries described ; and when I planned the book, I rode and walked over some of the most characteristic parts of the country, in order that the descriptions of fences might be drawn from nature. I have often been able to make use of the past to explain the present and in many cases to illustrate the book with instances which, though drawn from the past, are just as appropriate to our own times. I have thus avoided to a great extent the use of names of persons still living and yet have conveyed the instruction and examples I needed to make clear my meaning. I hope that the arrange- ment of the book on the principle of treating of the various centres and sketching the sport to be ob- tained from them will commend itself to my readers as being the most practical method of dealing with the subject. This has enabled me, at the risk of some unavoidable repetition, to make this book to some extent a guide from a hunting point of view to a visitor to the places dealt with. I need not say that each town is written of entirely from the point of view of its suitability as a hunting centre. A friend of mine once threw a guide-book down with " " indignation : Here," he said, is a fellow who writes four pages about the architecture of a church and dismisses the F hounds and their kennels in a " INTRODUCTION xiii single line. Why can't people write of what one " wants to know ? I trust that hunting readers will here find what they want. The important subject of capping has been dis- cussed in The Field, The County Gentleman and other papers. This has been a constant, almost burning topic of conversation both in the hunting field and at dinner-tables in the Shires. If worked with tact, courtesy and judgment, and not used as an instru- ment of oppression against the less wealthy residents " in the countries where it is established, " capping should work well. By casual visitors the " cap ought to be welcomed as a means of making them free of the hunt and of discharging a most undoubted obligation in a convenient manner. Experience will enable Hunt committees to determine the amount suitable and the best method of collection. It may be regretted that the various hunts in the Shires could not have agreed to united action in the matter, but the conference on the subject apparently failed to arrive at any arrangement that was satisfactory to all. This makes the subject more complicated, because it is obviously ungracious and perhaps im- politic to cap a man on Wednesday who has welcomed you to ride over his land on a Monday, or who is a member of a hunt which still freely welcomes the men from neighbouring hunts when they cross the border. But time and experience will no doubt settle all these questions satisfactorily. The spirit is the great thing, for we must always recollect that hunting is not like a polo club or a gate-money race- meeting, and its survival may be attributed as much to the friendly, neighbourly and hospitable spirit in which it has hitherto been carried on as to any other one circumstance. To say that the sport can no xiv INTRODUCTION longer be conducted on these lines is to confess that its decadence is far advanced and that the end is not far off.