184 THE QUORN HUNT 



MR. THOMAS HODGSON 

 1839-1841 



THE retirement of Lord Suffield was so sudden, and 

 apparently so unexpected, that at the time of his 

 withdrawal no provision whatever seems to have been 

 made for the future hunting of the country. The names 

 of sundry gentlemen who were likely to come forward 

 were mentioned, but nothing was done ; and a good 

 many of the farmers who were not excessively predis- 

 posed to hunting took the opportunity of destroying a 

 great number of foxes, the coverts on the Laughton 

 Hills and some on Charnwood Forest being amongst 

 those which suffered. After a long interval, however, it 

 was announced that Mr. Thomas Hodgson, who had 

 shown good sport in Yorkshire, when master of the 

 Holderness, would come south and take the Quorn 

 country. 



That the Hunt was not particularly well off for funds 

 may be gathered from the fact that the Melton com- 

 mittee at once, on Lord Suffield's retirement, gave Tom 

 Ball, 1 the second whipper-in, notice to quit, as it was 



1 Ball, luckily for himself, left the Quorn with Treadwell and the 

 hounds, when the latter were sold to Mr. Robertson. His first situation 

 was in his native county of Bedfordshire, under Mr. Grantley Berkeley ; 

 then he came to the Quorn under Lord Suffield ; and upon the hounds being 

 sold he went for one season to the North. Then he took service with 

 Baron Rothschild and whipped in to Bill Roffey, and afterwards for two 

 seasons to William Berwick. He was somewhat of a failure as a huntsman, 

 and it was in the duties of a whipper-in that he chiefly excelled. He was a 

 consummate horseman, and no one could beat him over the Vale of Ayles- 

 bury, while no horse appeared to pull with him. 



