232 England's oldest hunt. 



paragraph which appeared in the press in the summer of 

 1906, under the heading of "An Old Yorkshire Worthy " : 



This is indeed a fitting description of Mr. Thomas Parrington, 

 who resides at St. Hilda's, Kirbymoorside, and who celebrated his 88th 

 birthday on the 20th of last month. On that day the Earl of Feversham, 

 for whom Mr. Parrington was for many years agent, personally tendered 

 his congratulations, to the delight of the old gentleman. The history 

 of Mr. Parrington is a most interesting one. The grandson of a former 

 Vicar of Skelton, he commenced farming at Marton, in 1847, and after 

 occupying farms at one or two places he moved to Croft in 1870, where 

 he remained five years, leaving there to take up the position of agent to 

 Lord Feversham. Mr. Parrington's association with agriculture has 

 been a very prominent one. In November, 1864, he was elected Secre- 

 tary of the Yorkshire Show, which was a very different institution then 

 to now, but Mr. Parrington proved to be the right man to place the show 

 on a thoroughly sound footing, and on his retirement he was made an 

 honorary member of the Society. He was also for a number of years 

 Secretary of the Cleveland Hunt. He hunted the Hurworth Hounds 

 for four seasons as an amateur huntsman, and was for five years Master 

 of the Sinnington. His connection with Middlesbrough is unique, for 

 he was born in the farmhouse which was once all that there was of the 

 now thriving town, and he is said to be the only man living who saw 

 the first brick of the first house of the new town laid. Mr. Parrington 

 at present enjoys excellent health, he smokes but little, and his favourite 

 beverage is a glass of port, though he takes a little whisky with his 

 meals. 



In August, 1907, I accidently fell in with Mr. Parrington 

 at Helmsley, and found this hearty testimonial to the chase, 

 the saddle, and an open-air life, a living lie to his age, and as 

 interested as ever in the reports Mr. "Nimrod" Pearson had 

 to give of litters of puppies of a bitch which had strayed 

 away from the kennel to whelp, and in matters appertaining 

 to the chase generally. He talked of the Peterborough 

 Show — the feast of houndmen — which was to be held on the 

 following day. Indeed, his whole conversation, appropriate- 

 ly enough, was on those two subjects winch have interested 

 him most in his long life — sport and agriculture. I remember 

 some years ago when Mr. (now Sir) Alfred Pease introduced 

 me to Mr. Parrington at Stokesley Show he described him as 

 " the father of agricultural shows " ; he might have gone 

 even further, and added one of the fathers of an improved 

 agriculture in the North. In conclusion, let it be said, that 



