SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



master, although unable now to follow his 

 pack. 



The equally well known Charles Miles, 

 who under the nom-de-plume of ' Dragon ' 

 has for many years recorded the annals of 

 hunting in Hertfordshire, has also been 

 treasurer and a regular supporter of the 

 hounds since the year 1876. It is due to the 

 efforts of keen sportsmen such as these and to 

 the energy of several others in the neighbour- 

 hood that the Berkhampstead Buckhounds 

 have had so many wonderful runs, and have 

 at the same time been kept up more or less as 

 a private pack, principally to provide sport 

 for the farmers and gentlemen of Herts, and 

 the fields have not been allowed to become 

 overrun by a crowd of uninvited non-sub- 

 scribers. 



Some of the great runs with these hounds 

 were as follows : one from Flamstead to 

 Missenden in Bucks, one from Flamstead to 

 Hitchin and back to Luton in Beds, and 

 another from the same place to Kenton near 

 Harrow in Middlesex. In 1880 they ran 

 from Harpenden to Puckeridge, where they 

 had to stop the night. From 1880 to 1890 

 one famous stag gave them many great runs, 

 notably one from Berkhampstead to Totte- 

 ridge, and from Sand ridge to Barnet Gate, 

 then on to Cannons Park, Edgware, where 

 very few saw the stag taken. 



jack Rawle has of late years taken his 

 father's place as huntsman and still occupies 



that position, and continues to show good 

 sport to a typical Hertfordshire field. 



ENFIELD CHASE STAGHOUNDS 



In 1885, when Colonel Somerset retired 

 from the mastership of the Hertfordshire Fox- 

 hounds, he took over the pack of staghounds 

 that had hunted the eastern portion of the 

 county, and had his kennels close to his resi- 

 dence at Enfield Court, and called his pack 

 the Enfield Chase Staghounds. He hunted 

 the country that was so much patronized 

 by Queen Elizabeth when she resided at 

 Hatfield House. No staghounds had hunted 

 it since the days of Queen Elizabeth until 

 Colonel Somerset's time. He adopted the 

 uniform of Queen Elizabeth's Hunt servants, 

 scarlet coat and orange cap. 



The country hunted by these hounds is 

 mostly in Hertfordshire, and there is a con- 

 siderable proportion of grass which when not 

 too wet is a fine country to ride over. 

 When the country is very wet the deep 

 going often drives the deer on to the roads. 

 In 1899 Colonel Somerset, much to the 

 regret of all the followers of the hounds, 

 resigned the mastership, and was succeeded 

 by Mr. Hills Hartridge, who has built new 

 kennels near Potters Bar, and has shown good 

 sport. Owing to most of the meets being 

 within easy reach of London many of the 

 followers hail from the metropolis. 



SHOOTING 



There are few counties in England where 

 game is more strictly preserved for shooting 

 than Hertfordshire. This county, though 

 adjacent to the metropolis, has yet retained to 

 a great extent its rural character ; it is there- 

 fore, almost as a matter of course, looked upon 

 as the natural sporting ground of those who 

 are obliged to make London their home. 



There is consequently a great demand for 

 shooting all over the county, and at the 

 present time it would be difficult to find a 

 farm or a covert that is not preserved. 



Pheasants are reared extensively for shoot- 

 ing all over the county, and in some parts, 

 notably the Hemel Hempstead neighbourhood, 

 they are kept in pens solely for the profits that 

 can be made through the sale of their eggs. 



In looking back to the early history of this 

 sport one finds that shooting with bows and 

 arrows was apparently brought to great per- 

 fection by the ancients. The crossbow 

 dates from the eleventh century, and con- 

 tinued to be used for sporting purposes until 



the sixteenth century. In King James I.'s 

 time it is recorded that the king, when stay- 

 at Theobalds in Hertfordshire, shot deer with 

 the bow, the deer having been previously 

 hunted with hounds from the thick recesses of 

 the woods into the open. 



An interesting bill for dainties appears 

 amongst the expenses of Queen Elizabeth's 

 visit to Sir Nicholas Bacon at Gorhambury 

 from Saturday, May 18, 1577, until the 

 following Wednesday, showing the variety of 

 game obtainable at that time. How the 

 birds indigenous to the county were killed is 

 a matter of conjecture, but presumably by 

 fowling or netting and hawking. 



Herons, 12 doz. and 8 (26 i$s. 4-d.) ; 

 bitterns, 8 doz. and 10 (i8s. "jd.) ; shovelers, 

 13 (2 3*. 4-d.) ; pheasants, 2 doz. and 5 

 (3 I2s. 6d.); partridges, 14 (us. 8d.) ; 

 quails, 1 6 doz. and 9 (8 Js. 6d.) ; May 

 chickens, 17 doz. (3 8s.) ; mallards, 23 

 (151. 4-d.) ; teals, 12 (4*.) ; larks, 3 doz. and 

 9 (21. 6d.) ; curlews, 3 (4*.), etc. 



359 



