THE BADMINTON HUNT 



If we turn back to the early days of the century, 

 we shall find that the Oxfordshire, or, as for the 

 sake of convenience we may call it, the Heythrop 

 country, was the most favoured by the Dukes. A 

 few years before the date (1824) of which I am 

 writing, there were some famous riders who regu- 

 larly sent their horses to Woodstock, Chipping 

 Norton, and Chapel House. Among these were 

 Sir John Fagge, a Kentish baronet, and Jack 

 Willan, who drove the Brighton coach up and 

 down in a day, and who often exchanged ideas on 

 driving with Lord Worcester (seventh Duke). 

 Lords Granville and Charles Somerset, too, were 

 both fair riders to hounds. But the most famous 

 men in hunting story who gained their experience 

 in the Heythrop country, were the two brothers 

 Rawlinson. Of these, one, who later bore the 

 name of Lindow, went into Leicestershire, where 

 he gained great fame, being not only a very hard 

 man to hounds, but a fine horseman, who could 

 make the most of his horses, and see the end 

 of a long run. His portrait on the lids of snuff- 

 boxes and in the print shops " going a slapping 

 pace," was very familiar to our sporting for- 

 bears. 



Then there was Jack Bunce, who used to come 

 down either to Chipping Norton or Woodstock. 

 He was a very hard man, especially on his favour- 

 ite horse, Vagrant, bought for ;^40, but which 

 eventually was sold to the Lord Erroll of that 



237 



