A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



break. For four hours they expected to kill 

 every moment, but in vain, and the master, 

 Lord Hopetoun, and Captain Newland, rode 

 home quite tired out, about three o'clock. 

 The country people were drawn up in one 

 corner, but the vixen slipped through their 

 legs many times. Even after the second whip 

 had brought four couple of the best bitches 

 from Brigstock, and they had tried their ut- 

 most for another hour she was as lively and 

 inexhaustible in her dodges as ever. Pillager 

 and Hellicon ran with the bitches to the 

 last, and not only went home with their sterns 

 up, but were first off the benches next morn- 

 ing. Every hound was stripped bare in his 

 breast and forelegs ; Jasper and his sister 

 Joyful dropped beaten on the road ; and 

 Payne was so anxious about them all that 

 he went twice to see them after feeding.' 



The run of 2i November, 1854, was said 

 by the author of The Pytchley Hunt the late 

 Mr. H. O. Nethercote, to have been the finest 

 ever seen with the Pytchley. Charles Payne, the 

 huntsman, describes it in the following words : 

 'On the 2ist November, 1854, found in the 

 spinney near Mr. Gough's, North Kilworth, 

 and run through Caldecote Spinney, bore to 

 the left, leaving Stanford Hall on the right, 

 over the Brook, and leaving South Kilworth 

 on the left and Hemploe just on the right, 

 run up the Pond Close leaving Welford Close 

 on the left, Nascby WoUeys on the right, then 

 bore to the left as if for Sulby Gorse. Skirt- 

 ing it, and skirting Naseby, skirting Tally- 

 ho, through Kelmarsh osier bed and Church 

 Spinney, over the Northampton and Har- 

 borough road to within one field of Johnson's 

 Firs, back through Scotland Wood, the fox 

 ran the ridings, and away through Maidwell 

 Dales, skirting Berry Dale, leaving Cottes- 

 brook close on the right. Creaton on the 

 right over the brook, and Spatton on the right 

 over the brook by Brampton Bridge, Chapel 

 Brampton on the right, and crossed the river 

 near to Brampton Toll Gate. Over Brook 

 Patterton's Farm, close to Mr. Vyse's house, 

 Boughton, turned back through Boughton 

 osier bed to the Clumps to ground in the 

 main earths. Two hours and 25 minutes. 

 Out of a field of two hundred only six got to 

 the end — Chas. Payne, J. Woodrock, Lord 

 Hopetoun, Mr. Edmunds, and Mr. Hunt. 

 John dropped in at the finish, and Wm. 

 Owen, second whip, came up some time 

 after, his horse very much beat. I never was 

 carried through a run better in my life on 

 Nobbier and Firefly. Lord Hopetoun tired 

 both his horses and finished on a hack.' 



On the resignation of Lord Hopetoun the 

 Hon. Frederick Villiers, with the Hon. Charles 



Henry Cust, of Arthingworth, had the hounds 

 as joint masters from 1856 to 1861. 



In 1861 John Poyntz, Earl Spencer, for 

 the first time became master, Charles Payne 

 being huntsman, George Fox first whip, and 

 Richard Roake second whip. Earl Spencer 

 kept careful diaries of his sport, which he has 

 kindly allowed the writer to see ; he has also 

 revised the accounts of the three periods of 

 his mastership. The first of Lord Spencer's 

 diaries begins with the meet at Althorp 

 Park on Monday, 4 November, 1861, when 

 they had a fair day's sport — 'country very 

 blind, not over soft.' On Monday 16 De- 

 cember, 1 86 1, hounds did not go out in con- 

 sequence of the lamented death of the Prince 

 Consort. On Saturday, 21 December, 1 861, 

 an extraordinary thing happened with the 

 pack. The huntsman, who had been with 

 the hounds for thirty years, had never seen 

 or heard of a similar occurrence. Lord 

 Spencer describes the incident : ' There had 

 been a burning scent all day, the night was 

 as dark as was possible, the latches of the 

 gates could not be distinguished. As Charles, 

 with a friend and the two whips, was coming 

 along, and had got into the first field after 

 Brockhall, the hounds burst away from them 

 with a rush, and, evidently with a fox in 

 view, ran desperately towards the Brockhall 

 Spinneys; they then turned to the right to- 

 wards Floore, crossed the Brington and Floore 

 Road, and ran as far as they could make out 

 to Harpole Hills. It was a perfectly still 

 night, and they could hear them singing away 

 all over the country, going best pace. Charles 

 took up his position in the road near Wade 

 Hills and blew his horn for about ten minutes. 

 At last, one by one they all came back, look- 

 ing as fresh and pleased as possible. He then 

 thought he should get home, but as he was in 

 the park, near the Northampton Lodge, they 

 again left him with a rush, and ran down the 

 Slip towards Chonlers. It had now got a 

 little lighter and they succeeded in stopping 

 them.' 



On Saturday, 21 February, 1863, the meet 

 was at Welton Place. His Majesty, then 

 the Prince of Wales, Lady Cecilia Molyneux, 

 the Marquis of Hamilton, Lord Bessborough, 

 Lord Cowper, Lord Grosvenor, the Hon. 

 Richard Grosvenor, Sir Fred Johnson, the 

 Earl of Listowell, Sir Rainald Knightley, 

 Mr. Craven, Mr. Morgan, the Hon. Mrs. 

 J. Villiers, and an immense number of other 

 people were out. ' Drew Braunston, the 

 Cleves, Ashly Park, blank. Found at Crick, 

 got well away over the Lilbourne Lane across 

 the canal to Crack's Hill at best pace : the fox 

 was then headed and turned alonj; the canal 



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