SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



the district, but come down from London 

 once or twice a week, naturally leave a good 

 deal to their gamekeepers, and as these gentry 

 are often paid by results —i.e. by the head of 

 game killed — it certainly happens that foxes 

 are not favourably regarded in some particu- 

 lar places. On such properties the foxes dis- 

 appear, and the litters of cubs are often 

 interfered with in the early summer. 



Little is known concerning the earliest 

 masters of the Surrey Union. In the 

 year 1 841 Mr. G. Barnard Hankey held 

 oflRce, and he remained until 1858, when he 

 was succeeded by Captain Sumner, who was 

 master until 1866. The Hon. Francis Scott 

 followed Captain Sumner, being followed in 

 1872 by Mr. J. Barnard Hankey, whose 

 term of office lasted until 1882. Then 

 came Mr. N. Farnell Watson for a couple of 

 seasons ; he was followed by Colonel Blake, 

 who also only held the place for a couple of 

 seasons. In 1 886 the late Mr. T. H. Bennett 

 of Cobham Court became master, and hunted 

 the country for eleven seasons, his retirement 

 in 1897 being due to the effects of a bad fall. 

 Mr. A. H. Tritton followed Mr. Bennett for 

 a single season, Mr. A. Labouchere followed 

 for another single season, and Major Gould- 

 bourn, the third master in three years, also 

 held office for a single season. In 1 900 Mr. 

 Bennett, partially restored to health, again 

 went into harness, with Mr. G. H. Long- 

 man as joint master ; but the first named 

 died in September of the same year, and 

 since that time Mr. Longman has worked 

 the country single-handed. 



Though for long a three days a week 

 country, the Surrey Union Hounds now hunt 

 on Tuesday and Saturday before Christmas, 

 and on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 

 Christmas to the end of the season. The 

 hounds are now in new kennels, built for the 

 hunt by Lord Ashcombe, at Bookham ; to 

 these they were removed from Cobham Court 

 in 1902. They have been kennelled at 

 different places at various periods ; during 

 the Hankey era they were at Fetcham, 

 which is perhaps as central a spot as could 

 be found. On Tuesdays — when they are 

 hunting three days a week — the centre of the 

 country is requisitioned, the coverts about 

 Bookham, Fetcham, Norbury Park and Box 

 Hill, and the southern side of Epsom, being 

 drawn. On Thursday they hunt the vale 

 country between Guildford and Holmwood, 

 and on Saturday they are on the north- 

 western side of their country, hunting the 

 Oxshott, Cobham and Byfleet districts. 



As already stated the Burstow Fox- 

 hounds are comparatively modern, dating as a 



foxhound pack from 1866. Previous to that 

 date the same establishment was in existence 

 as a harrier pack, and according to old resi- 

 dents of the district very pretty sport was 

 shown. During the harrier period the vale 

 country, which forms the northern part of 

 the present hunt, was practically undrained, 

 and much of it was unrideable after the 

 autumn rains had fallen. Followers of the 

 harriers for the most part went on foot, and 

 carried jumping poles to assist them over the 

 broad brooks and big open ditches ; but with 

 the advent of the 3-inch drainpipe, in the 

 middle of the nineteenth century, the ground 

 became firmer and rideable. Hounds began 

 to travel much faster than they had done, 

 and an occasional burst after a fox whetted 

 the appetites of those who found it no longer 

 possible to follow hounds except on horse- 

 back. Then came the question of country. 

 The northern portion of the Burstow Harrier 

 country belonged to the Old Surrey, some of 

 the western portion to the Surrey Union, and 

 a great deal of the centre of the hunt — 

 practically from Crawley to East Grinstead — 

 to the Crawley and Horsham, while on the 

 south side the Southdown came further 

 north. All the hunts mentioned however 

 were a long way from their own kennels 

 when they went into what is now the Bur- 

 stow country, and thus the outlying districts 

 of several countries were welded together to 

 form a new one, the principal of the courteous 

 contributing hunts being the Old Surrey and 

 the Crawley and Horsham. 



The first master of the Burstow Fox- 

 hounds was Mr. Henry Kelsey, who for 

 many years had been master of the harriers, 

 Mr. Hooker of Crowhurst acting as hunts- 

 man. The last-named gentleman, an en- 

 thusiastic sportsman of the old-fashioned type, 

 looked after the kennels and the establish- 

 ment generally until he was over eighty years 

 of age, and hunted on wheels when he could 

 no longer ride. He did much to bring the 

 Burstow country into repute, and his name 

 is honoured to this day by the inhabitants of 

 the vale. When Mr. Hooker gave up hunt- 

 ing the hounds his place was taken by Mr. H. 

 Gerard Hoare, and when Mr. Kelsey died in 

 1 88 1 Mr. Hoare became master as well as 

 huntsman. He continued in office until he 

 died in 1896, hunting hounds until within a 

 few months of his death, when a professional — 

 White, who came from the Goodwood, and 

 only remained at Burstow one season — was 

 engaged for the first time in the history of 

 the hunt. Mr. Hoare was succeeded as mas- 

 ter by Mr. Edward Forbes of Tilburstow 

 Hill near Godstone, and in 1 900 Mr, Uve- 



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