A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



currentes,' or running hounds for the forty 

 days of Lent each year. Soon after this time, 

 Thomas de Borhunte, who married John 

 Lovel's daughter, held of the king in chief cer- 

 tain land in Little Weldon by service of being 

 ' Venour le Roy des deymers.' His duty 

 was to take charge of twenty-four buckhounds 

 and six greyhounds of the king's pack, receiv- 

 ing for the feed of each a halfpenny a day ; 

 the two under-huntsmen received three half- 

 pence a day, with a robe of cloth, or a mark 

 in money by the year, and boots. The 

 ' ventrer ' or huntsman received two pence a 

 day, with a robe, or mark in money, and 41. Sd. 

 for boots by the year. Out of this pack the 

 master was to keep at his own cost, for the 

 forty days of Lent, fifteen buckhounds and one 

 ' berner ' or keeper of the hounds ; the other 

 berner, the rest of the hounds, and the ventrer 

 were to be kept at the king's expense for the 

 whole of the year. The master's salary was 



7^v/. a day when ' in court,' and when on the 

 king's business away from the court I2(^. a 

 day for salary and expenses, and two robes a 

 year in cloth, or 40J. in money. The ' seignc 

 en malades' to receive daily id. worth of 

 bread, a gallon of beer, and a mess of ' groos ' 

 or porridge from the kitchen, and a mess of 

 roast ; the other huntsmen (for their livery) 

 at the king's will. 



Thomas de Borhunte died in 1340, and his 

 widow then married William Danvers, who, like 

 her first husband, became master of the buck- 

 hounds in her right. Afterwards, Sir Bernard 

 Brocas, by purchasing certain reversions of 

 others in the mastership, and with the king's 

 assistance, made good his title to the same. The 

 mastership continued in the hands of the Brocas 

 family until the reign of Henry VIIL The 

 masters were after this appointed by the crown. 

 Since 1 69 1 the Royal Buckhounds do not appear 

 to have been connected with this county.' 



STAG HUNTING 



As in other counties, deer in the royal 

 forests of Northamptonshire were very strictly 

 preserved for purposes of chase. 



Queen Elizabeth in 1598 issued a commis- 

 sion to Henry Hastings, Eusabie Isham, Arthur 

 Brooke, and Thomas Palmer, esquires, to take 

 a general view of deer in the forest of Rocking- 

 ham.' 



King James in 16 10 gave warrant to Sir 

 Edward Mountacute, Sir Christopher Hatton, 

 Sir Edward Watson, Sir Thomas Brooke, and 

 Sir Thomas Tresham, ' from tyme to tyme to 

 cause diligente search and watche to bee made, 

 throughout all the Baylywyck of Rockingham 

 in our said Forest and the borders thereof, for 

 all such offenders and all such Greyhounds and 

 other Doggs, Bows, Crossbows, Buckstalls, 

 Deerhayes, and such like engines . . . You 

 doe take into your Custodie." The king 

 also commanded the same five knights to pub- 

 lish ' Certain auncyente Lawes and ordinances 

 of the Forest, commanded by His Majesty to 

 be published in the Parishe Churches within 

 the Baylywyck of Rockingham, and neare and 

 adjoineing unto the Borders and confines of 

 the same. 



' 1st. Noe man may chase or kill the King's 

 Deer and Game lyinge and feedinge within 

 the Purlieues adjoining to the said Baylywyck, 

 except he have Freehold Lands to the Yearly 

 value of xl. shillings within the said Purlieues. 



' Grafitt and Charters of Rockingham Forest, 

 privately printed by Sir R. E. de Capell Brooke, 

 bart., 1830. ' Ibid. 



' 2. Every Purlieu Man muste begin his 

 chase in his own Purlieu. 



' 3. No Purlieu Man may hunt his Pur- 

 lieues with any more company than his house- 

 hold Servants. 



' 4. Hee must not Gse anie manner of Fore- 

 stallinge with Quick Haye or with Dead Haye, 

 neither Gun, Crossbow, nor any other Engine, 

 to take or kill the Deer withall, but only 

 chasing with his Dogge. 



' 5. He must not hunt his Purlieues in the 

 night tyme, nor on the Sundaye, nor in the 

 Fence month, nor oftener than three days in 

 the week. 



' 6. He must not hunt his Purlieu 40 days 

 before the King's General Hunting, nor 40 days 

 after. 



' 7. He must not hunt his purlieues when 

 that the Forester is to serve any warrant near 

 unto the borders of the Purlieues having notices 

 given him thereof before. 



' Since the time of Henry VIII, with one short 

 exception, the place of the hereditary masters h.is 

 been practically taken by masters of the king's 

 privy buckhounds appointed by the crown, so that 

 the old office became merely nominal. During 

 Queen Mary's reign, Sir Richard Pexsall, son of 

 Edith Brocas, who married Ralph Pexsall, was 

 reinstated in the full execution of his office, but 

 the privy pack was once more established by 

 Queen Elizabeth, and soon took the old title under 

 masters appointed by the crown as at present. 

 See The Slucen's Hounds, by Lord Ribblesdale, 

 Master of the Buckhounds: Introduction by E. H. 

 Burrows, Esq. 



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