1 8 The Sedgefield Country 



whose great-uncle was Hon. Secretary to the Lambton Hunt 

 during the whole of its existence in the Sedgefield country, 

 and may, at some future time, be called upon to display their 

 interesting contents ; but for the present purpose, it is not 

 intended to make more than a cursory allusion to events 

 that are not connected with the life and times of Mr. John 

 Harvey, the first Master of the South Durham Foxhounds, 

 and of his successors, until the year 1889, when the subject 

 of the reminiscences, hereinafter recorded, completed his 

 fifteen years' service with the South Durham Hunt. 



Mr. Ralph John Lambton showed wonderful sport in the 

 Sedgefield country, hunting the hounds himself for the greater 

 part of the time until the spring of 1838, when he met with 

 the fearful accident* which caused his retirement from the 

 sport which he had so long adorned, and incapacitated him 

 from again appearing in the hunting field. 



It need not be said that the grief of the members of the 

 Hunt was open and unsuppressed ; a fearful calamity had 

 befallen them, the loss of the one man who for nearly forty 

 years had hunted the country in a style befitting the sport, 

 at practically his own expense. f 



The mantle of Mr. Ralph Lambton fell upon one of his 

 most ardent disciples, Mr. William Williamson, better known 

 as " Billy " Williamson, who was elected to the Mastership 



• Mr. Lambton had a terrible fall in 1825, which nearly resulted in his death, and incapaci- 

 tated him from hunting the hounds until 1827, when he had recovered sufficiently to be 

 able to do so. Meanwhile, John Winter became huntsman and Robert Hunnum (better 

 known as "Bob") first whipper-in. Another fall in 1829 prevented him from taking the 

 command, and he never after this officiated as regular huntsman, though he did a good 

 part of the Covert work and very materially assisted his huntsman during the course of 

 a run. In March, 1838, he practically broke his back by a fall from his favourite mare 

 in a blind ditch, and, though unable to hunt any longer, lived more or less crippled until 

 1844, when he died lamented by every hunting man and good sportsman in the kingdom. 



t The largest sum ever collected by the Hon. Sec. of the Lambton Hunt was in the Season 

 1834-5, the amount being only £402 17s Od. 



