A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



The late Mr. Ambrose Isted, of Ecton 

 Hall, began to keep harriers when about 

 fifteen years old, and had them for nearly 

 sixty years. This gentleman was born deaf 

 and dumb, and hunting was a great amuse- 

 ment to him. He hunted the hounds himself, 

 at one time with his old keeper, named Daniel 

 Tassell, as whip ; then William Pridmore, 

 and afterwards the well-known and genial 

 Tom Jolly, who died in Ecton village a few 

 years since. 



Mr. W. Wood, of Brixworth, for many 

 years kept harriers ; he had several men who 

 afterwards made first-class huntsmen to fox- 

 hounds, the celebrated Bob Ward being one 

 of the best. 



In Northampton a pack of beagles was 

 established in 1888, and was for some years 

 supported by the authorities of St. Andrew's 

 Hospital. In 1892 these hounds were taken 

 over by the late Mr. Horsey, and carried on 

 by him without any outside assistance. They 

 were then converted into a pack of about 

 twenty couple of 17^ inch (Stud Book) 

 harriers, and kennelled at Dallington, to 

 hunt the country within a radius of about 

 I 5 miles from Northampton, chiefly within the 

 limits of the Pytchley and Grafton Hunts, 

 meeting on the Tuesday and Thursday in 



each week. Mr. Horsey until 1901 hunted 

 hounds himself, with T. Pickford as whipper-in. 



In 1 90 1 Mr. Horsey sold his pack to 

 Mr. Henry Hawkins, of Everdon Hall, 

 Daventry, in whose possession they remain, 

 hunting much the same area of country. 

 Mr. Horsey died in 1903. 



Lord Alfred FitzRoy kept a pack of harriers 

 about 1880. 



Messrs. R. A. Cooper and C. A. Cooper, 

 of Delapr^ Abbey, in 1894, started a private 

 pack of basset hounds to hunt the country 

 within a radius of about 12 miles of North- 

 ampton. These hounds showed good sport 

 for five years, but they were not always 

 fast enough to catch their hares, sometimes 

 running for over 3 hours without killing. 

 In the spring of 1899 these hounds were 

 sold to Mr. E. H. Dunning, of Stoodleigh 

 Court, North Devon. 



The marquis of Exeter in 1899 estab- 

 lished a mixed pack of harriers consisting of 

 sixteen couples, which hunt on the Wednes- 

 day and Saturday round Stamford. The 

 kennels are at Burghley ; the master carries 

 the horn, and has two whippers-in. 



Lord Lilford in 1899 started a pack of 

 harriers to hunt the country round Lilford 

 and Thrapston. 



OTTER HUNTING 



The pack established by Sir Henry Hoare, 

 at Wavendon, in Buckinghamshire, and 

 carried on by subscription since 189 1, as 

 the Bucks Otter Hunt, under the master- 

 ship of Mr. W. Utthwatt, of Linford 

 Manor, hunts yearly the River Nene and its 

 tributaries. It also visits the Welland, the 



Cherwell, the Ouse, and the Tove, in this 

 county. 



In 1899 seven otters were killed by these 

 hounds in the streams of Northamptonshire. 

 The late Lord Lilford was master of these 

 hounds at one period, and took much interest 

 in their doings. 



COURSING 



At the present time coursing is not prac- 

 tised to any great extent in this county, but 

 there is evidence to show that at one time it 

 was a very favourite sport. 



Michael Drayton, who died in 163 1, sets 

 forth in his Polyolhion the properties of each 

 shire in England; and he refers to the Kel- 

 marsh hares as equal to those of the Chiltern 

 Hills in swiftness, and describes the coursing 

 of a Kelmarsh hare which the greyhounds did 

 not succeed in taking. 



Mr. Isham, writing in his diary at Lam- 

 port in November, 167 1, says that: 'Mr. 

 Wikes came with his hounds, and challenged 

 ours to a coursing match, but the beaters 



could not find a hare.' Next year, in Sep- 

 tember, * Richard Spriggs found a hare in the 

 kitchen close, which we hunted on foot with 

 the dogs and killed.' A few days later, 

 ' Valentine Woodd found four hares, two of 

 which we caught and killed with Mr. Sanders 

 about four o'clock.' 



Frequent similar entries followed, but 

 either the greyhounds were slow or the hares 

 were exceptionally stout, for comparatively 

 few hares were killed, certainly not more than 

 one a week. 



On 24 February, 1673, 'I found a hare 

 in Woolfige (Brixworth), and our greyhound 

 beat Mr. Sanders'.' 



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