1884.] THE CHARLTON HUNT. 185 



THE CHABLTON HUNT. 



bHE l)onds of sympathy between men in country districts are 

 undoubtedly drawn closer by tlie custom of all classes meet- 

 ing in the hunting-field. Fox-hunting afiects the rural 

 districts in many ways. It attracts the great and small, big 

 men and little men, lords, squires, and every class of farmers. And 

 besides the social influence of the sport, and its influence on men,' it 

 affects the breed of horses. Not to carry this argument further, those 

 who observed the recent accounts of the first meet of the pack of 

 foxhounds lately purchased by the Duke of llichmond, may be in- 

 terested in learning that the earliest pack of foxhounds in England 

 was kept at a retired spot, called Charlton, situated on the noi'th side 

 of the ridge of the South Downs, while Goodwood, the Duke of 

 Richmond's seat, is on the south side. Standing on the racecourse at 

 Goodwood, you overlook the very spot — a retired, solitary, wooded 

 district — where the fox was first hunted in this country in a scientific 

 manner, with hounds trained for the purpose, and 'the field' 

 following. 



Fox-hunting, therefore, is comparatively a modern sport. The name 

 of the Duke of Monmouth, who was brought to the scaffold for his 

 unfortunate connection with a not very terrible rebellion, may serve 

 to fix the date when this indispensable amusement of the country 

 was first invented, for the Duke of Monmouth was its earliest patron 

 and the chief supporter of the pack at Charlton. It appears that all 

 the materials for a ]iunt already existed — horses and hounds, with 

 ladies and gentlemen capable of riding across country. The earlier 

 sports of the country had encouraged horsemanship. From the times 

 when knights and squires came to IMass with their hounds at tlieir 

 heels, and ladies with their merlins perched on their gloved hands, 

 all the materials and accomplishments necessary for fox-hunting had 

 existed, and only a little special training was required. 



The earliest accounts of the Charlton Hunt lead us to suppose that 

 no difficulty was experienced in obtaining hounds to hunt the fox, 

 and none whatever in obtaining horses which could carry their riders 

 straight over ' plough and pasture.' The Duke of Monmouth was a 

 lover of horses and a sportsman, and he readily found among his 

 friends the members of the hunt. The little hamlet of Charlton 

 having been selected as head-quartei>s, an assembly room, called Fox 

 Hall, was erected for the entertainment of guests at night ; several 

 gentlemen from distant counties erected their own shooting-boxes on 

 the spot, where they resided during the season, rendering one of the 



