SPORT ANCIENT 

 AND MODERN 



HUNTING 



FOX-HUNTING 



THE first pack of hounds that we 

 can trace as having hunted the 

 northern part <if Kent, between 

 Canterbury and Maidstone, now 

 icnown as the Tickham country, 

 flourished during the early part of the last 

 century, when Sir Edward Knatchbull kept 

 a pack of foxhounds at Provender. This 

 pack existed for many years under the name 

 of the Provender Hunt, but what became 

 of it or when it ceased to exist is not easy to 

 discover. At a later period Lord Sondes 

 had a pack of foxhounds at Lees Court, and 

 after its dispersal Mr. S. R. Lushington 

 hunted a pack under the name of The 

 Lodge Hounds. Mr. Lushington's venture 

 soon, however, came to an end, whereupon 

 a fresh pack was got together by Mr. Pryce 

 Lade, who acted as master for several years. 

 When Mr. Pryce Lade resigned the master- 

 ship of the hunt established by him, the pack 

 was removed about the year 1825 to kennels 

 near the hamlet of Tickham, after which place 

 they were named, and ever since that time, 

 the pack has been known as the Tickham 

 Hunt. 



Mr. William Rigden was apparently the 

 first master of the hunt in its new home 

 (although some of the records do not speak 

 of him in that capacity until the year 1832) ; 

 and with the help of a committee he looked 

 after its fortunes for some time, eventually 

 taking the whole management upon his own 

 shoulders. Mr. Rigden continued in this 

 position, with Giles Morgan as huntsman, 

 until 1844, when owing to lack of funds and 

 insufficient support, he gave up the pack, 

 which meanwhile had become his own 

 propert}-, and sold it to Mr. Marriott, who 

 at that time was hunting part of the Essex 

 country. 



The Tickham country was now without a 

 pack ; but Mr. Lushington again came to the 

 rescue and started a fresh pack, with Temple 

 and Thomas Tipton as his successive hunts- 

 men. So matters continued until 1852, 

 when Mr. Lushington resigned, and Mr. 

 Rigden once more took up the reins of 

 management with a fresh committee to assist 

 him. Tipton continued in the capacity of 

 huntsman, but in 1856 we find Mr. Rigden 

 and Mr. Hall managing the hunt by them- 

 selves. Five years later Tipton, who had 

 been an invaluable servant, severed his con- 

 nexion with the Tickham, and took the posi- 

 tion of huntsman to the South Berks, of 

 \vhich Mr. Hargreaves was then master. 

 Mr. Philip Barling was thereupon appointed 

 to the vacant position. 



Once more, after a more or less prosperous 

 period, the Tickham were in difficulties, and 

 in 1865, again owing to lack of financial sup- 

 port and a lamentable scarcity of foxes, 

 it was decided to break up the estab- 

 lishment, and advertisements appeared in 

 the papers offering the hounds for sale. 

 Before, however, a purchaser was forthcoming 

 a fresh committee took upon themselves the 

 task of trying to set the hunt on its legs once 

 more, and Mr. Rigden consented to continue 

 the mastership. In acknowledgement of 

 his good endeavours the master was the 

 recipient in 1868 of a testimonial, which took 

 the form of a silver centre-piece for the table 

 and was presented to him at a dinner held 

 at Faversham ' in recognition of his services 

 as a thorough sportsman.' 



In the following year another change in 

 the hunt establishment occurred, W. Fisher 

 succeeding Mr. Barling as huntsman. Fisher 

 only stayed one season and in 1870 was 

 succeeded by J. Machin, who came from the 

 Quorn. 



A year later a terrible catastrophe occurred 



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