THE WARWICKSHIRE HOUNDS. 



di 



Division of thb 

 Country. 



Mr.Vyner'sPack. 



Mr. Hellier* 



up their abode for a portion of the year at the rapidly 

 rising town of Leamington, naturally began to give 

 vent to loud expressions of disapproval at being left 

 in the cold. The result was that in 1834, Mr. Robert 

 Vyner, of Eathorpe, established a pack of hounds 

 to hunt the practically vacant district, receiving 

 hearty support from Mr. Bolton King, of Umberslade, 

 a Warwickshire sportsman worthy of remembrance, 

 and other county gentlemen. During the first season 

 he resided at Solihull, where he had about thirty 

 couples of hounds, but the next year he removed to 

 Leamington. He can hardly be said to have founded 

 a separate country, as a reservation was made that the 

 district should be returned to any future master 

 of "the Warwickshire," who might desire to hunt 

 the whole of his country. In 1838 Mr. Thomas Shaw 

 Hellier succeeded Mr. Vyner, and like him hunted the 

 hounds himself until 1843, when he removed to Lin- 

 colnshire. This again left a vacancy in the parts of 

 Warwickshire hunted by him, and Mr. Wilson, of MrWUson. 

 Gumley, came forward and filled it for about two 

 seasons, when the district was divided between "the 

 Atherstone" and " the Warwickshire," and hunting 

 matters in North Warwickshire re-assumed the posi- 

 tion of earlier days. 



The North Warwickshire country as it now exists 

 was not established until some eight years later, but as 

 I am now writing about the division of the country, I 

 may be allowed, perhaps, to anticipate a little in point 

 of time. For several seasons a great portion of the 

 country was without hounds. In 1850 it was arranged 

 with Captain Thomson, the master of "the Ather- 

 stone," that he should hunt it as far as Hampton 

 Coppice, Stonebridge, and Packington. The other por- 

 tion was to receive the attention of " the Warwickshire'* 

 two days a week. This made, however, somewhat heavy 

 demands upon "the Warwickshire," making their 



E8tablisi{meDt of 

 "the North 

 Warwickshire." 



