The Scropes of Danby-on-Yore. 33 



Thus does an extract from Squire Scrope's lost diary* 

 run : 



"February 17th, 1780. — Mr. Simon Scrope (the son) says 

 they (the Bedale Hounds) run forty miles. Mr. Scrope had a 

 bad fall from his horse, in which he much hurt his leg. Mr. 

 Simon Scrope had four falls, in one of which he greatly hurt 

 his shoulder. Old Renny beat the whole field, though pursued 

 from six in the morning till three in the evening — rare work 

 for horses. Not a horse in the field but Mr. Scrope's 

 could make a trot towards the end, and even Mr. Simon 

 Scrope could not catch them. Brave old ' Cade ' and 

 'Matchem's' blood!" 



Mr. Scrope (the father) was seventy years of age when he 

 rode this historic run. There is a tradition in the family that 

 the dam of " Nutwith," which won the St. Leger in 1843, was 

 regularly hunted with Mr. Scrope's harriers by her owner, 

 Captain Wrather, a Masham wine merchant, and in the famous 

 picture, still at Danby, of one of the Simon Scropes hunting 

 his hounds at Middleham,! and just on the point of running 

 into a hare, there is a man in a green coat on a grey mare. 

 The dam of " Nutwith," like most of the daughters of 

 " Comus," was grey. The horse, " Danby Cade," was, perhaps, 

 the most famous horse ever owned by any of this historical 

 and ancient family. He was bred in 1747, and was by 

 " Cade," dam by " Soreheels." He beat Sir John Moore's 

 chestnut horse " Slough," nine stones each four miles over the 

 round course at Newmarket, in 1753, in a match for forty 

 guineas a-side and 160 guineas bye, and won many other races. 



* The late Mr. Simon Conyers Scrope sent the Editor the extract. 



t Squire Scrope had hounds at Danby from 1805 to 1829 when they were transferred to 

 Middleham with Mr. Chris. Topham as Master. 



