SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



In 1896 Major H. Vyse Welch became master, 

 and except for the season 1900-1, when he was 

 absent on service in South Africa, he has re- 

 mained at the head of affairs. Major Welch, 

 who hunts his own hounds, is a good horseman, 

 and has a long and intimate knowledge of hare 

 hunting, and under his management very excel- 

 lent sport is shown. 



The Brookside. This old-fashioned pack, 

 long maintained by the Beard family, were 

 kennelled at Rottingdean, their last master being 

 Mr. Steyning Beard, who hunted them for 

 many years. His harriers were 21 in. hounds, 

 mainly of true harrier blood, with a touch of the 

 foxhound to give them the speed necessary for 

 the strong and extraordinarily fleet Down hares. 

 Mr. Beard, who hunted the country on the 

 Seaford side of Brighton, gave up hunting in 

 1 903, and the pack were dispersed. The pick 

 of the hounds were acquired by Major Welch 

 on behalf of the Brighton pack, and the Brook- 

 side country being taken over, the name of the 

 Brighton Harriers was changed to that of ' The 

 Brighton and Brookside.' This pack, consisting 

 of twenty couples of 20 in. hounds, is a very 

 smart one. The territory hunted by the Brighton 

 and Brookside is a large one, extending westward 

 as far as the River Adur, and north-west to 

 Stanmer Park ; while to the eastward hounds 

 hunt to Newhaven, Telscombe, and Kingston, 

 near Lewes. The minimum subscription is 

 jiO I Os. ; a cap of 5*. is taken from non-sub- 

 scribers. 



The Bexhill. These hounds have a history of 

 nearly a hundred years. In the early part of 

 last century they were started by ' Squire' Brook, 

 of the Manor House, Bexhill, who got together 

 a pack of real old-fashioned English harriers, 

 which showed strong traces of the Southern 

 Hound. Squire Brook hunted them with great 

 success for many years, and after his death they 

 were continued for a short time by his son and 

 successor, Mr. A. J. Brook. Upon the decease 

 of the last-named gentleman, the pack was ac- 

 quired by Lord Cantelupe. His lordship found 

 that owing to in-and-in breeding, which had been 

 persisted in with the idea of preserving their 

 ancient characteristics, the hounds had lost much 

 of their former dash and energy. He therefore 

 introduced a strain of the bloodhound, with the 

 result that in a few years' time he formed an 

 extremely fine pack of harriers, in colour all 

 black and tan, having great pace, a fine deep note, 

 and good hunting qualities. These hounds aver- 

 age from 21 to 22 in. They are kennelled at 

 Cooden Down, Little Common, near Bexhill. 

 They hunt a good country in East Sussex, in- 

 cluding a considerable portion of Pevensey Marsh, 

 the remainder comprising plough, grass, and 

 woodland. The farmers are excellent friends to 

 the pack, and there is very little wire. The 

 Bexhill, which hunt two days a week, show fine 



sport and kill a large number of hares. Lord 

 Cantelupe's rule was followed by that of a 

 committee for a short time. His lordship resumed 

 the mastership in 1895-6. In the following 

 year, having succeeded to the title of Earl De La 

 Warr, he resigned office, and was succeeded by 

 Mr. P. H. Trew, who carried on the hunt with 

 much success till 1905, when he was followed 

 by Mr. R. Guy Everard. Mr. Everard only 

 remained for one season and was succeeded by 

 Mr. C. Ward Jackson, of Woodside, Hailsham. 

 Mr. Ward Jackson hunts the pack himself. His 

 whipper-in and kennel huntsman is Carey 

 Witherden, who has been with these harriers for 

 21 years, during great part of which period he 

 has acted as huntsman. The minimum subscrip- 

 tion to the Bexhill Harriers is 5 5*. Capping 

 has been practised since 1898. 



The Hailsham. The forerunner of this old 

 established pack was, as has been said, that of 

 Mr. King Sampson, who kennelled his hounds 

 at Hailsham in the early part of the last century, 

 and thence hunted hare and fox over a wide 

 extent of country. Some time after Mr. King 

 Sampson gave up hounds, Mr. Algernon Pitcher, 

 of The Dicker, near Hailsham, got together a 

 pack of old-fashioned harriers, and for many 

 years hunted the country surrounding Hailsham 

 with great success. To Mr. Pitcher succeeded 

 Mr. R. Overy, a well known yeoman farmer, 

 of Hailsham, who showed excellent sport until 

 1893. Until this time the harriers had been 

 hunted on horseback. On Mr. Overy's resigna- 

 tion, which was due to his advancing years, 

 Mr. Holland Southerden, of Hailsham, who suc- 

 ceeded him, began hunting the country on foot. 

 His huntsman was W. Bridger. Mr. Southerden 

 was at great pains to improve his pack ; he re- 

 duced the size from the 22-24 m - f tne Old 

 Southern Harriers used by Mr. Overy and his 

 predecessors, and got his hounds down to the 

 19-20 in. standard of the present day. It has 

 been the constant care of Hailsham masters, 

 from early times, to retain as far as possible the 

 purity of the old English harrier strain. Mr. 

 Southerden got fresh blood from the Sandhurst 

 and Guestling and other neighbouring packs, and 

 purchased some old-fashioned blue-mottled bitches 

 from Essex. The present pack now consists 

 of typical old English harriers, showing much 

 blue-mottle colour and strong traces of the 

 old Southern hound. They have grand voices, 

 great scenting qualities, and possess good pace, 

 killing, as a rule, about sixty hares in the 

 season. 



In 1898 Mr. Southerden was joined in the 

 mastership by Mr. Rupert Williams, who hunted 

 the pack himself. Mr. Williams resigned in 

 1901 and Mr. Southerden carried on the pack 

 during the following season, 1901-2, having as 

 his huntsman and kennel huntsman James 

 Holmwood. In 1902-3 Mr. Alexander B. 



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