1 8 THE BELVOIR HUNT. 



lieve It will not be very far from the actual 

 date, if the establishment of the foxhounds 

 be assigned to a few years prior to 1750. 

 In further confirmation of this, in the 

 Brocklesby kennel book there is an entry 

 of four couples of puppies in 1 750, by Lord 

 Granby's Dexter, son of Mr Noel's Victor, 

 evidently a celebrity of his day, and it is 

 reasonable to suppose that Dexter's services 

 would not have been sought for had he not 

 proved himself worthy of distinction by 

 three or four seasons' probation in the Bel- 

 voir kennels. About that date there was 

 a hunting-seat at Croxton Park, the resi- 

 dence of the Marquis of Granby, but the 

 greater portion is taken down, and that 

 which now remains is appropriated as a 

 home for the widow of William Goodall. 

 Thus the pack, it will be understood, was 

 established by John, third Duke of Rutland, 

 whose life, by the invigorating effects of the 

 chase, was prolonged to the patriarchal age 



