SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



Cambridge men seems to indicate that the 

 University authorities saw reason to exercise a 

 restraining influence. By 1870 the University 

 clement was diminishing and the meeting was, 

 we read, ' not attended with its usual success ; ' of 

 the ten events only two, the Undergraduates' and 

 Veterans* "Chases, were open to University men. 

 In 1874 the Aylesbury Meeting had ceased to 

 be described as 'Aristocratic ;' it received, how- 

 ever, a fillip in this year from the National Hunt 

 Committee which selected the course for the 

 Grand National Hunt Steeplechase. The course, 

 a very stiff one, had been modified for the occasion, 

 the wide ditches on the take-off side of fences 

 being hurdled up ; nevertheless, the fences were 

 formidable enough to give rise to objections and 

 several owners refused to start their horses. Of 

 seventy-three subscribers only twelve faced the 

 starter, the winner being a French bred five-year- 

 old named Lucellum, owned by Mr. Vyner and 

 ridden by Captain Smith. This year's meeting 

 was very successful ; there were no fewer than 

 fourteen races, including the Masters of Fox- 



hounds 'Chase, open to horses nominated by 

 Masters of Foxhounds. Great things had been 

 hoped of the venture ; each master had been 

 invited to nominate the two best horses hunted 

 with his hounds and a large entry of the finest 

 hunters in the kingdom was anticipated ; nine 

 entrants, however, made up the field, and the 

 attempt to establish this event was not renewed. 

 The meeting of 1875 (again and for the last 

 time described as ' Aristocratic ') was postponed 

 by reason of frost, and the change of date had a 

 prejudicial effect ; thirteen races were advertised 

 for the two days but the sport shown was very 

 moderate indeed. The meeting of 1875 was the 

 last held until 1882 when it was revived under 

 National Hur.t rules with the support of the 

 Rothschild family and Lord Rosebery, among 

 others. The events are open to those who hunt 

 with the Grafton, Whaddon Chase, and Old Ber- 

 keley Foxhounds, and Lord Rothschild's Stag- 

 hounds ; and thanks largely to the keenness of 

 the farmers in the Vale the meeting continues a 

 very successful career. 



SHOOTING 



There appear to be in existence no game- 

 books relating to sport in the county of a date 

 earlier than 1825. The oldest records the 

 writer has been able to discover are those which 

 were kept by the late Mr. William Goodall, of 

 Dinton Hall, Aylesbury, grandfather of the 

 present owner, Colonel Goodall. Mr. Goodall's 

 game-book contains particulars of the bags 

 obtained from the years 1825 to 1830, and 

 though the period covered is so brief the entries 

 have as much value for the present purpose, as 

 records covering a longer space of time, since 

 they may be accepted as typical of the sport 

 obtained in pre-Victorian days on estates of 

 average size in Buckinghamshire. The manor 

 of Dinton extends to about 1,000 acres of arable 

 and grass land with a few small ponds, and 

 having as one of its borders the river Thame, 

 is therefore very fairly representative, inasmuch 

 as every species of game found in the county 

 occurs thereon. It may be added that the lands 

 have not materially altered in character since the 

 'twenties, as some other tracts have been changed 

 by drainage, etc. 



The season's bag in those days ranged from 

 150 to 250 head, ten or a dozen brace of par- 

 tridges being the largest bag killed in one day. 

 In regard to this it must be said that the game- 

 book contains evidence that Mr. Goodall was 

 content to kill enough game for his household ; 

 he generally went out about twice a week. The 

 following entries show the nature of the bag : 

 December, 1827, I hare, 2 rabbits, 2 snipe, 

 I jack snipe and I moorhen, I crow. 16 De- 



cember, 1829, I rabbit, I pheasant, I snipe, 

 I jack snipe, I moorhen and I heron, I raven. 

 Other entries show that in addition to ordinary 

 game he shot water rail, quail (occasionally), and 

 various species of duck, including pochard, tufted 

 duck, shoveller, and teal. 1 Snipe were then 

 much more numerous than they are now. The 

 ' winged vermin,' destruction of which is noted 

 in the game book, were ravens, carrion crows, 

 and magpies. 



It may be added that Colonel Goodall has at 

 Dinton Manor a collection of the sporting guns 

 which belonged to his ancestors. These wea- 

 pons, representing as they do the development of 

 the gun during a period of about 200 years, form 

 a collection of very exceptional interest. 



Until about the middle of the nineteenth cen- 

 tury game was but little preserved in this county. 

 One of the most prominent game preservers of a 

 former generation was the late Sir George Dash- 

 wood, of West Wycombe Park, M.P. for High 

 Wycombe, who was in his prime about the 

 middle of last century. Sir George had an ex- 

 cellent kennel of pointers and setters ; he used 

 to ride a pony out shooting, dismounting when 

 his dogs pointed game. It is doubtful whether 

 there is a pointer in the county at the present 

 day. When the writer began to shoot (his first 

 licence was taken out in 1874), his uncle, Sir 



1 Mr. Goodall, who died in 1844 at the age of 87, 

 was an accomplished naturalist, botanist, and artist. 

 He left fifty volumes of water-colour drawings of the 

 birds, animals, butterflies, and plants of the neigh- 

 bourhood. 



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