Early Days 3 



Hounds, keeping them (of all places in the world !) at 

 Bermondsey. There, till comparatively recent times, traces 

 of the old kennels and stables could be seen at a certain 

 wharf belonging to Messrs. Dudin, two brothers, who 

 were members of the Old Surrey Hunt in the "sixties" of 

 last century. Their love of sport is not alleged to have 

 been an obstacle in the way of their commercial success. 



Whilst at this point we may mention that we com- 

 municated with Mr. John B. Dudin, now resident at 

 Southsea, asking for any information which he may 

 possess concerning the early history of the Old Surrey 

 Fox Hounds. He has been kind enough to reply (under 

 date of 13 December, 1905) in the following terms : — 



" I am afraid that I cannot enlighten you very much 

 on the subject of the early days of the Old Surrey Hunt, 

 as they were even before my time, but the little I heard 

 from my father I shall have much pleasure in imparting to 

 you. In 1805-10, the kennels were at East Hall, 

 Bermondsey, the residence of my father, Henry Dudin, 

 whose property it was.* He pulled the kennels down to 

 build stables, but I don't know if the hounds were then 

 removed to Garston Hall or not. In those days they 

 hunted in Peckham Rye and Forest Hill, and had to 



# There is a slight discrepancy of a few years between Mr. J. B. 

 Dudin's location of the kennels in Bermondsey as from 1805 to 18 10 and 

 the statements of other authorities, who place the kennels as being near 

 to Godstone. The latter is, we think, correct. In our account (which 

 appears in a subsequent chapter) of a run with these hounds in 1801 — 

 quoted from the " Sporting Magazine " — the fox is reported as having been 

 killed at Godstone, " close to the kennels of his enemies." 



