The Eton College hunt : $b A short history of beagling at EtonCrossley, Anthony Crommelin
History
The Eton College hunt : $b A short history of beagling at Eton
Crossley, Anthony Crommelin
Beagling; Eton College Hunt -- History
“I remember a good hunt being spoilt by a retriever dog at Langley
Village. It chased our hare into some nursery gardens, in which we
later found it again. A. D. Legard, Robin Lubbock, who died a few years
later from a boating accident, Henry Burroughes and the two Pawsons
were amongst the first flighters that year. I had to row again in Trial
Eights, which cut my season short, and in the photograph of a meet I see
A. D. Legard is carrying a whip—the famous Grenfell brothers are in that
photograph too. Old Lock was going strong all the time, his knowledge of
the country was marvellous, and he always turned up at the right place.
He ran a Turkish Bath too. I used to visit it, as I was bothered with
rheumatism, and the old fellow used to pommel you to bits after the bath.”
The other letter is from H. R. Milvain, Master of the Hunt of his own
name near Alnwick in Northumberland. He hunted the E.C.H. in 1898, the
last year of the High Street kennels.
“1898 was the year I hunted them, my whippers-in being Chapman, A. D.
Pilkington and W. Hodgson. Hodgson was laid up for some time in March,
and one of the Grenfells usually whipped in instead of him. I am sorry
I have no note of the number of hounds I had, but remember had to buy a
few at the beginning of the season from Wilton, the dealer at Hanwell—one
of them in particular, ‘Windsor,’ was a very good hound. Up till and
including my Mastership practically no hounds were bred, and at the end
of the season they were taken away to walk by any fellows who could
manage them, generally returning to kennel some time during the Christmas
Half. I brought about six or seven couples up here during the Christmas
holidays, December 1897, and hunted them here. Lock was still kennel
huntsman, and hounds were kennelled in the town behind his shop, which
wasn’t at all a good arrangement; old Lock did most of the walking out,
etc. I think Grenfell, who followed me, got the new kennels built and
got Champion as kennel huntsman. Lock by that time was getting old, and
couldn’t get about very well. You will probably have the old official
diary with accounts of all the hunts, but if not I’ve got it all down
in my hunting diary and can give you any more information you want if
you let me know. We had a good season and a fair number of hares in most
parts of the country.
“The best days I think were Saturday, February 12th, Shepherd’s Hut.
Found at once and ran fast for 55 minutes, killing in the open. Found
again near river, and running up to Dorney Village turned back over
Dorney Common and killed on river bank opposite Water Oakley in 20
minutes.
“Tuesday, March 12th, Shepherd’s Hut. Found Dorney Common, ran fast for
15 minutes, losing her on river bank near Water Oakley. Found again near
Dorney and ran hard for 1 hour 10 minutes, having to stop hounds in the
dark close to Bray Lock. Had some good days in Hargreaves Park country,
too.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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