A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



have latterly been held for farmers and mem- 

 bers of the Herts Hunt at the end of the 

 hunting season. 



THE HARPENDEN RACES 



This meeting is the only one in the 

 county that has survived the test of time 

 and fashion. The first meeting was held in 

 the year 1848, and it has been held con- 

 tinuously ever since. At one time it was 

 considered quite an important meeting, com- 

 ing as it did on the Friday before the Derby, 

 and many were the favourites for that race 

 that were 'knocked out' at the Harpenden 

 meeting. Of late years however the number 

 of race meetings has so much increased that 

 several other races are held on the same day, 

 and Harpenden now enjoys the reputation of 

 being a small meeting with a well behaved 

 local crowd, differing much from the rough 



crowd of a few years back who turned the 

 Harpenden meeting into a byword of ruffian- 

 ism. In close proximity to the Harpenden 

 racecourse is the fine stud farm of Sir John 

 Blundell Maple of Childwickbury, established 

 some ten years ago. It is built on the most 

 approved modern lines, with boxes and pad- 

 docks for about 200 horses. It is the home 

 of some of the best bred thoroughbred mares 

 in the kingdom, but has not up to the present 

 time produced any phenomenal racehorse. 



There are several smaller stud farms in the 

 county where racehorses are bred, such as 

 Holwell near Hatfield and Mr. Forest Tod's 

 farm near Shenley. 



But in times gone by at least one Derby 

 winner has been owned by a Hertfordshire 

 man. Mr. Snewing, who lived near Wat- 

 ford, was the owner of ' Caractacus ' (an 

 appropriate Hertfordshire name), who won 

 the Derby in 1862. 



COURSING 



In tracing the history of coursing as a 

 national sport, and in comparing its de- 

 velopment to that of other sports of less 

 ancient origin, one notices with surprise 

 how strangely consistent the advocates of 

 coursing nowadays are to the rules of the 

 sport and to the manner of conducting it as 

 laid down by their ancestors. As long ago 

 as 150 A.D. Arrian describes the mode of 

 beating the ground to find the hares, and the 

 mode of letting loose the greyhounds to chase 

 them ; also the practice of some sportsmen 

 of following the hounds on horseback, and of 

 some of watching the course as best they 

 could on foot drawn up in a line. And such 

 points correspond almost exactly with what is 

 done at the present day. 



Coursing was popular in Hertfordshire from 

 the earliest days of her sporting history, and, 

 as usual, we can turn to the annals of Queen 

 Elizabeth's reign and find items of interest 

 connected with it. 



The queen herself used greyhounds at Hat- 

 field, and we read of her stationing herself, 

 when not disposed to hunt, so as to get a 

 good view of the coursing of the deer. 



The ' Laws of Coursing ' were drawn up 

 by the Duke of Norfolk by order of Queen 

 Elizabeth, and were agreed to by the nobility 

 and gentry who followed the diversion in her 

 reign, and these were recognized for many 

 subsequent years. 



James I. was devoted to coursing, but con- 

 sidered it inferior as a sport to hunting with 

 a pack of hounds. He often enjoyed watch- 



ing the coursing on the Royston downs, and 

 kept up the state and dignity of the ' keeper 

 of the greyhounds,' which was one of many 

 posts held by courtiers attached to the court. 



Many more or less private coursing meet- 

 ings have from time to time been held in this 

 county, but no public coursing club has ever 

 existed for very long. Lady Salisbury at the 

 beginning of last century held a meeting at 

 Hatfield every year. On the first two days 

 of the meeting the matches were run between 

 her own hounds and those of her friends, but 

 on the third day she permitted the public not 

 only to be spectators of the sport, but also to 

 enter and run greyhounds for the stakes. 



A picture of this coursing meeting at 

 Hatfield was painted, and several coloured en- 

 gravings of it are to be found in the county. 

 These engravings are very interesting, as 

 showing some of the practices of coursing 

 in those days, and in depicting the costumes 

 worn by the ladies and gentlemen about 100 

 years ago. It is a gay scene. About 150 

 to 200 gentlemen and ladies on horseback are 

 watching the sport, the former in full hunting 

 costume and the latter in long flowing habits. 

 Lady Salisbury herself leads, in her sky-blue 

 habit, which was the livery of the Hatfield 

 Foxhounds, of which she was mistress at 

 that time. It is difficult to understand how 

 she could have ridden as hard across country 

 as she was reputed to have done in such a 

 garment as the excessively long habit in 

 which she is depicted in this engraving. 

 Besides the riders there are many pedes- 



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