THE QUORN COUNTRY 7 



of course, unable to comply, and what had aforetime 

 been the Donington country once more reverted to the 

 parent pack, and is still (1898) hunted by the Quorn. 



Turn we now to the Harborough side. This was 

 hunted by Sir Richard Sutton, in common with the rest 

 of the Quorn country, down to the year 1S53, when, 

 finding the Quorn country too big for him, he entrusted 

 the Billesdon, or South Quorn, side to his son Richard. 1 

 The latter was not able to show very grand sport during 

 his first two seasons, his exertions being thwarted by 

 excessive drought. At the beofinnino- of his third season 

 Sir Richard died, when the two sons, Richard and 

 Frank, carried on the two countries for the remainder 

 of the season until Lord Stamford came to the fore. 



Ben Boothroyd, who had hunted the Donington under 

 Sir H. Seymour Blane and Mr. Story, went as kennel 

 huntsman and first whip to Mr. Richard Sutton, and on 

 his retirement hunted for Lord Stamford for one season. 

 This brings us to the date of Lord Stamford's taking 

 the Quorn Hunt in 1856. I believe that the actual terms 



1 Mr. Richard Sutton, the second son of Sir Richard Sutton, had a 

 somewhat varied career. Born at Sudbrooke Hall in Lincolnshire on the 

 21st October 1821, he entered the navy as a first-class volunteer on board 

 H.M.S. Pique, commanded by the Hon. Captain (afterwards Admiral) 

 Rous, of turf fame. Mr. Sutton was on the Pique during her memorable 

 voyage from Quebec, when, after getting ashore and bumping on the rocks 

 for about ten hours, with the loss of nearly all her guns, Captain Rous 

 brought her home very much disabled. From the Pique Mr. Sutton went 

 to the President, on the South American station, with Captain Scott, where 

 he remained for two years and a half. Then casting aside his blue coat 

 he donned a red one, joining the 1st Life Guards, in which regiment he 

 remained but a short time. Meantime his sporting proclivities had always 

 been strong. When no more than six years old he was put on a pony 

 which his father had bought from old Mason, the dealer, of Stilton. Sir 

 Richard then living at Lundford Hall, close to Buckenham, the residence 

 of General Peel, the younger branches of the two families were wont to 

 amuse themselves by having impromptu races on their ponies, and on one 

 occasion young Dick Sutton, after he had been beaten for speed on the flat 

 by a young Peel, jumped a gate three times and challenged his conqueror 

 to follow him. Then, as already mentioned, he was entrusted by his father 

 with the Harborough side. 



