382 The Hunting Countries of England. 



Hunt, as then framed, an annual subscription of 

 11. lis. 6d. constituted a claim to membership; and it 

 was agreed that the members should dine together at 

 the beginning and end of each season — every member 

 not attending on either of these occasions to forfeit 

 five shillings, of which half a crown was to go towards 

 the dinner-bill, half a crown towards the general fund 

 of the Hunt. It was further enacted that ^' at each 

 dinner the President shall call for the bill two hours 

 after the cloth is drawn ^^ — an explanation for such 

 arbitrary legislation being* possibly contained in the 

 fact that those were the days of old port. The first 

 dinner under these rules of conviviality and sobriety 

 is accordingly recorded as having taken place at the 

 Bed Lion Inn on the 16th Oct. 1817. 



Mr. J, Andrew continued as President of the Hunt 

 till his death in 1835 ; when his son John reigned in 

 his stead. He too died, 1855, and was in his turn 

 succeeded by his son Thomas. The last named 

 gentleman also surrendered the reins of office only at 

 his death, a.d. 1870. During this lengthy period of 

 hereditary mastership, the hounds were kept, in a 

 very primitive and economical fashion, by the united 

 efforts of the members of the Hunt. Some good 

 strains of blood, however, had long been preserved in 

 the pack ; and on the accession of Squire Wharton of 

 Skelton Castle, it was decided to do justice to the 

 hounds by bringing them under orthodox kennel 

 management. Mr. Newcomen had the pack for a 

 time at his place at Ivirkleatham ; but eventually the 

 present site was fixed for the kennels. Mr. Newcomen 

 had the mastership for five years, and Mr. Proud, the 



