LORD SHREWSBURY AND COLONEL NUGENT. 45 



jVIr. "Wicksted hunted the country, the Doddington coverts 

 were regularly drawn by him. In 1842, during the 

 interregnum that occurred between Sir Thomas Boughey's 

 Mastership (who had succeeded ]\Ir. Wicksted in the 

 Woore country), Sir John allowed the Cheshire to return 

 to them ; but in 1846, owing to another dispute, they were 

 again warned off, and from then till after Mr. Davenport's 

 retirement they were hunted regularly by the North 

 Staffordshire. This dispute was referred to the Fox- 

 hunting Committee of Boodle's Club, and on July 4th, 

 1870, they published their award, in which they declared 

 that the North Staffordshire Hunt had established their 

 right to the coverts in question. 



Among runs and incidents worthy of notice between 

 1869 and 1874, was one on November 13th, 1871. A fox 

 was found in Shallowford Gorse, who took them through 

 Darlaston Wood, Tittensor Common, Swynnerton old 

 Park, and Maer Hills, and to ground in Willoughbridge 

 — fourteen miles from point to point, and an extraor- 

 dinary performance, when one considers the big wood- 

 lands traversed. Four days later they were running a 

 fox in Wrinehill Wood, when it was deliberately shot in 

 front of the hounds. 



On January 27th, 1873, a fox was run seven times 

 from Canridden to Bellaport and back before they suc- 

 ceeded in killing him. 



The Members of the Hunt were under a srreat obliofa- 

 tion to the late Lord Shrewsbury for the handsome and 

 liberal manner in which he came to the front at a crisis 

 in the history of the Hunt, on the retirement and subse- 

 quent death of Mr. Davenport. The Hunt was very well 

 managed, and the men well mounted, during the joint 

 Mastership of Lord Shrewsbury and Colonel Nugent, and 

 the prestige of the Hunt did not suffer during the three 

 years of the latter's sole Mastership. Good sport was 

 shown, the men and horses were well turned out ; and 

 although we do not find that so many foxes were killed 

 during those few seasons as afterwards, this may be 



