SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



Darkness coming on the fox was lost at the 

 bottom of the steep hill, after hounds had been 

 running this wonderful stout varmint for over 

 four hours. They never went over the turn- 

 pike road but once from find to finish ; and the 

 distance by road from old Dewlish Turnpike 

 Gate, where this fox was turned out, to the 

 bottom of Harnham Hill is just 30 miles. About 

 three days afterwards the old woodman at Milton 

 Park declared he saw this same ' old stumpy ' 

 walking about in the same wood where he had 

 been dug out about a week before. 



In 1806 began Mr. Farquharson's long reign 

 of over fifty years, during which he hunted the 

 whole of Dorsetshire at his own expense, al- 

 though Mr. Yeatman's hounds, Mr. Hall's 

 hounds, and Mr. Drax's hounds were co-existent 

 at different periods. After leaving Oxford 

 Mr. Farquharson bought a pack of hounds from 

 Mr. Wyndham, at first hunting them himself, 

 but afterwards handing the horn over to Ben 

 Jennings who came from Essex. Langton was 

 his head quarters, and there he had stables built, 

 the finest perhaps in the south of England. The 

 kennels were at Eastbury, and at Cattistock on 

 the other side of Dorset he had another hunting 

 box, for the time he hunted that side of the 

 country. Ben Jennings remained thirty years 

 with him, and during his time, in March 1825, 

 occurred one of the runs of the century. The 

 meet was Buckland Wood, and a very large field 

 of the old school were present. A fox was found 

 which broke away over the Vale to Dairy-house 

 Coppice, and then through Clover Willow-bed to 

 the Waddon and Corton Eweleaze. Up to this 

 point the hunting had been very slow. In the 

 long heather at Blagdon it was supposed a fresh 

 fox must have moved out of a pit, and all at once 

 the hounds took up the running, and turning to 

 the left, went away over the Dorchester and 

 Abbotsbury road and the higher side of Bridehead 

 Farm into the Gorwell covers, and then turning 

 to the right over the hill to Lower Kingston 

 Russell. Crossing the meadows the fox went up 

 the steep hill (leaving the Whatcombe earths on 

 the right), on over the big downs, across the 

 Bridport road (leaving Winterbourne on the right), 

 and put his head straight over Higher Kingston 

 Russell Farm. He crossed the Roman road into 

 East Compton Farm ; bore to the right again over 

 Southover and Littlewood farms into Frampton 

 Hogleaze, and on into Frampton Court. Here 

 this stout fox went down by the side of the water- 

 meadows at Grimston and Stratton to Bradford 

 Pevereli, and from this place the horses began to 

 stand still, one after the other. The chase, how- 

 ever, still continued over Fordington Down to 

 Poundbury, thence to the Dorchester Barracks, 

 and entering the top of the town this good fox 

 ran down Durngate Street into the 'Plume of 

 Feathers ' yard, whence he was brought out and 

 killed. The Dorset Assizes were being held. 



and the excitement was so great that the judges 

 closed the courts for a time, and came out to see 

 the fun. Lots of the horses died in Fordington 

 fields and in the town that night, and many more 

 were of little use afterwards : yet horses at that 

 time of the year, says an old account of this 

 wonderful run, were in good hunting trim. 



When Jennings became too old for his duties, 

 the famous Jim Treadwell came with some of 

 Mr. Hall's hounds to be Mr. Farquharson's hunts- 

 man. Treadwell was born in 1800 at Stoke 

 Talmage, and was for a time whip to Mr. Lowndes 

 Stoke. Then he went into Berkshire to Mr. Cod- 

 rington, one of the greatest scientists of his day 

 in fox-hunting matters, and during the sixteen 

 years that he remained with Mr. Codrington he 

 learned all that was worth learning both as to 

 breeding hounds and then hunting them scientifi- 

 cally. From Mr. Codrington he went to 

 Mr. Hall, and thence to Mr. Farquharson. 



Treadwell had two sons. One was first whip 

 to Lord Scarbrough and the other. Jack, was 

 huntsman of the Quorn, whilst his brother Charles 

 was for many years huntsman to the Bramham 

 Moor. In 1846, whilst he was huntsman, the 

 great Hilton Down run took place, and Mr. 

 Symonds has left this account of it: — 



April 26th, 1846. Met at Bulbarrow in a co!d 

 sleet and snow, anything but a hunting morning. The 

 old squire was not out. We found a fox at Balmer's 

 Coombe, [which] ran across into Melcombe Park, and 

 went into a drain. We left him there for another day. 

 About two o'clock we went up into some short furze 

 above the house towards Hilton, and up jumped a 

 brace of foxes ; the hounds caught the vixen, full of 

 cubs, just going to lie down. Treadwell got off his 

 horse, threw the vixen up on the hedge, and put the 

 hounds on the old dog, which had ten minutes' start. 

 They went through the Coombe, all down over the 

 Cheselbourne downs to Bagber Coppice, which he did 

 not enter ; on to Milborne Wood, which was at that 

 time all one cover (the middle part not being rooted), 

 ran the straight ride right through without a turn, 

 crossed the Dorchester turnpike, where Treadwell and 

 myself viewed him going across a fifty-acre field on 

 Milborne Farm, in the direction of Tolpuddle. On 

 we went, over the large fields, tried the big earths in 

 Tolpuddle Eweleaze, which had been stopped a few 

 days before when the hounds met at Milborne Wood ; 

 went over the road between Tolpuddle and Burleston, 

 through the water-meadows to Parke's dairy-house, 

 right ahead to the end of Tincleton Hanging, leaving 

 Cow Pound on the right, over Little Admiston farm 

 into Ilsington Big Wood, which he went straight 

 through without a check. All over Ilsington Heath 

 to the top of Yellowham Wood, where he heard some 

 guns (rabbiting going on) and turned short to the left, 

 raced down over Bhompston and Duddle Heath to ' 

 Morris Mill, down the water-meadows the north side ^ 

 of the River Frome to Lewell MiU on to Stafford, 

 crossed over the river into Mr. Floyer's shrubbery ; 

 over Stafford Eweleaze, where the navvies were making 

 the South Western Railway from Southampton to 

 Dorchester, but they did not see our fox ; on to Came, 

 where nearly every horse came to a trot ; turned to 



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