EARL OF LONSDALE 383 



had befriended the Quorn ; so a short notice of the 

 family's connection with the Quorn Hunt may not prove 

 uninteresting. 



For how long the Cradocks had been settled in Leicester- 

 shire we do not know, but at any rate a Mr. John Cradock 

 was one of the most prominent leaders and supporters of the 

 Quorn Hunt from the time of Mr. Meynell down to that of Sir 

 Harry Goodricke ; and in consideration of the valuable honorary 

 services he rendered to the Quorn, a handsome piece of plate 

 was presented to him by the members of the Hunt. He was 

 about the oldest fox-hunter in Leicestershire at the time of his 

 death, which event took place in 1833, Sir Harry Goodricke, Lord 

 Plymouth, and Mr. Cradock all dying at about the same time, 

 so that within a very few weeks Leicestershire had to mourn 

 the loss of three of her best known sportsmen. Mr. Cradock 

 had the management of the coverts in Lord Foley's time (1802), 

 while during the reign of succeeding masters he was " the Metter- 

 nich of the hunt " ; he was an out and out sportsman, and did 

 more than all others put together to conciliate the farmers, and, 

 when he departed this life, no man was more sincerely mourned. 



Mr. Cradock's son John was born about 1792, and was, if 

 anything, even a more enthusiastic fox-hunter than his father 

 had been. He went to school first at Ashbourne, and then to 

 Rugby ; he afterwards became a solicitor, and in partnership 

 with his brother, Mr. Thomas Cradock, maintained the reputa- 

 tion which had long attached to the firm. Year in, year out, 

 every day that he could spare from professional duties — it has 

 been whispered that he induced his brother to do a fair share 

 of his work — was spent either in hunting or furthering the 

 cause of the sport. From November to April he was in the 

 field as often as possible, and from April to November scarcely 

 a day passed on which some scheme for the benefit of the 

 Hunt did not receive his serious attention. He was, too, a 

 capital judge of a horse, and no one ever saw him badly 

 mounted. When Mr. Errington (master from 1835 to 1838) was 

 absent Mr. John Cradock invariably acted as field master, and 

 on one occasion, after a fox had been found near Six Hills, 

 a gentleman, mounted on a headstrong grey horse, was seen 

 riding on the very backs of the hounds, a fog prevailing at the 

 time. Mr. Cradock on that occasion dispensed with his usual 

 easy and persuasive manner, and rated the offender in no 



