A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



The late Colonel Anstruther Thomson 

 permitted the writer to take the following 

 details from his notes' : — 



Charles Payne remained as huntsman, 

 Dick Roake was first whip, and Harry Jennings 

 second whip. Roake was well educated and 

 a good horseman. Jennings was also a fair 

 horseman and a good servant, but Payne said, 

 ' He was a worritting fellow ' with his hounds. 

 In 1865 Charles Payne heard that John 

 Walker was leaving Sir Watkin Wynn ; it 

 occurred to him that the blood of Sir Watkin's 

 kennel would cross well with the Pytchley. 

 He accordingly took some bitches to Wynn- 

 stay, a visit which resulted in his leaving 

 Brixworth for Wynnstay . He showed excellent 

 sport, and was as popular as he had been in 

 Northamptonshire. In 1883 a testimonial with 

 a large sum of money was presented to him 

 at Whitchurch, and Payne, in thanking the 

 subscribers, said that he had compassed the 

 death of some 5,000 foxes during his hunting 

 career. He died in 1894, at the age of 79. 



The sport during the five years of Captain 

 Thomson's mastership was of a very high 

 average, but the run of 2 February, 1866, 

 known as ' The Great Waterloo Run,' com- 

 pletely eclipsed all others. The meet was at 

 Arthingworth, the weather wet, and the wind 

 southerly. The first fox was found in Last- 

 land, and ran I hour and 10 minutes to 

 ground near Arthingworth. A move was 

 made for Waterloo Gorse; hounds (17^ couple) 

 did not at first find as the fox lay very close, 

 but when they had been all over the covert, 

 the fox went away at the top end straight for 

 Langborough, through that wood, then over 

 the Market Harborough road through Shipley 

 Spinney. Dick Roake here viewed what he 

 thought to be the hunted fox, and some of the 

 field were thrown out, but the hunt held on 

 up the hill towards Clipston. The master 

 fell at a bullfinch, and, stopping to pick up his 

 spur, lost some ground. On past the spinney 

 between Oxenden and Clipston; a slight check 

 occurred by Mr. Kirkman's house, but, reco- 

 vering the line, hounds ran on over the bottom 

 at East Farndon, and down the hill towards 

 Lubenham into the Harborough road, over 

 River Welland and the railway. Hounds then 

 ran hard towards Bowden Inn, where most of 

 the horses were about done, the master's mount 

 being reduced to a trot. Dick Roake, coming 

 up on Usurper, gave his horse to the master, 

 who soon caught the hounds. They crossed the 

 Midland Railway at the bridge near Bowden 

 Inn, through the yard at the inn on the right 

 of the Langton road, and down to the brook, 



' Afterwards (1904.) published as Eighty Tears' 

 Reminiscences. 



heading for Langton Caudle. Some got over 

 and some into the brook, Mr. Custance 

 amongst the former, and Mr. Frank Langham 

 amongst the latter. Mr. Mills and the master 

 jumped into the brook and out again at a 

 watering place. The fox was headed on the 

 next hill, and, turning up the valley, crossed 

 the road between Thorpe Langton and Great 

 Bowden. At this point Mr. Hay lent the 

 master his thoroughbred, which galloped well, 

 but gave him two falls. On between Stanton 

 Wyvill and Cranoe, past Glooston village and 

 through Glooston Wood, where Mr. Hay's 

 horse lost a shoe. However, another horse, 

 Rainbow, turned up in the nick of time, and 

 the master was once more able to be with his 

 hounds. They then ran through Keythorp 

 Wood and on towards Ram's Head, where a 

 brace of foxes were before the hounds ; how- 

 ever, they ran on to Fallow Closes, down to 

 Slawston Covert, and pushed on through the 

 meadows to the Welland, all the time close to 

 their fox ; they turned by the side of the river 

 to the road leading to Medbourne station, and 

 at half-past five, light failing, the master stopped 

 them. Graceful, the first hound to open on 

 the scent in Waterloo, was also the last to 

 speak on it. The point was about 18 miles, 

 and as the hounds ran it would be about 25 ; 

 the time was 3 hours and 45 minutes. The 

 master, who had been without a whipper-in 

 for the last hour and forty minutes, took hounds 

 back to the kennels assisted by Captain Clark 

 of Spratton. He had his dinner about eleven 

 o'clock at Lamport Hall, and then drove down 

 to Market Harborough to attend the hunt 

 ball.2 



In 1866 it was proposed that a separate 

 pack of hounds should hunt the woodlands. 

 Mr. George L. Watson, of Rockingham Castle, 

 was quite willing to become master, but Lord 

 Cardigan was so absolutely opposed to the 

 suggestion that nothing further was then done. 

 The establishment of the Woodland pack, 

 which was accomplished in 1876, will be 

 noticed on a future page. 



At this time Mr., now Sir Herbert, Lang- 

 ham was the honorary secretary of the hunt. 



In April, 1869, a deputation of farmers, 

 headed by that grand old sportsman, Mr. 

 Mathew Oldacre, of Clipston, called on Cap- 

 tain Thomson at his house. The Rookery, 

 Brixworth, with a very handsome address to 

 which 200 signatures had been appended. 

 It was then proposed to give the master a 

 testimonial, and at a meeting of subscribers 

 held at Rugby, it was decided that a portrait 



' A minute description of this historic run is 

 given in Three Great Runs, by Colonel Anstruther 

 Thomson (1889). 



364 



