A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



a \early subscription of one guinea each. The 

 club ground at Childwall is fairly level and is 

 laid in such a way that close inside the boards the 

 turf is slightly raised. This prevents the ball 

 from hanging on the board, and causes it to roll 

 back into play, a most excellent system which 

 might be copied everywhere. The length of 

 the ground is 255 yards and its width 127 yards. 

 There is a splendid ladies' pavilion arranged with 

 a balcony, from which an excellent view of the 

 play can be obtained ; there is also a members' 

 pavilion fitted with dressing rooms, and other 

 conveniences, and seats on the roof ; attached 



to the pavilion and in prolongation of the line 

 there are extensive stablings. The Liverpool 

 Polo Club has sent a team annually to play for 

 the County Cup at Hurlingham, winning in 

 1 89 1, and getting into the finals in 1892, and 

 1897, and the semi-final in 1905. The club 

 plays many home and out matches, and has annual 

 fixtures with Wirral, Edinburgh, and Bowdon. 



The polo club started a most successful pony 

 race meeting in 1885, and now also annually 

 holds a gymkhana meeting on the ground at 

 Childwall. There is a show in connexion with 

 the club. 



SHOOTING 



The shooting in this county of great contrasts 

 is perhaps the most varied in the British Isles. 

 In the south the country is flat and highly 

 cultivated, and game of all sorts can be seen on 

 the stubble. North of Preston, however, the 

 scene changes. On the right of a line going in 

 the direction of Lancaster the country becomes 

 wild, with endless moors and Bleasdale in the 

 distance ; on the left the land though cultivated 

 is broken with great woods and coppices. 

 Farther north again, in the Lake district, we get 

 amongst the hills and broad stretches of moor- 

 land. 



Lancashire is not of course able to compete 

 with the more famous eastern counties of 

 England in the numbers of game killed, yet if 

 we deduct from the total acreage of the county 

 the huge manufacturing cities, the mining 

 districts, and those parts where mills abound, it 

 is probable that the county can show as good 

 an average head of game per acre as any in 

 England. 



The principal moors in the county are 

 Abbeystead, Grass Yard, Bleasdale, Anglezarke, 

 and Towneley Moors ; in addition to these 

 there are several smaller moors, of about a 

 thousand acres or so, among which we may 

 name Tatham Fells, Claughton, Pendle Hill, 

 and Boulsworth, where excellent sport can be 

 obtained. There are a few mosses still left 

 in the county, which though barely above the 

 le\'el of the sea, yet hold grouse. There 

 are two, Rixton and Holcroft, within only a 

 few miles of Manchester, on which grouse are 

 still to be found, though of course not in any 

 numbers. 



The Abbeystead Moor, about six miles south- 

 east of the town of Lancaster, is the biggest and 

 the best moor in the county. It is about eight 

 thousand acres in extent, and was brought by 

 the late Lord Sefton from Mr. Garnett of 

 \Vyreside, for the sum of ^^i 10,000. This 

 moor used to yield about a bird to two acres, 

 and a total head of game of 5,000, which is 



48 



a wonderfully good record. Contrary to all 

 expectations, the moor was improved in its 

 grouse-carrying capacity by the drainage opera- 

 tions of the Lancaster Corporation, an indi- 

 cation that though grouse like moisture, they 

 do not care for a water-logged ground. Towne- 

 ley Moor yields about fifteen hundred brace in a 

 good season. 



Anglezarke Moor, two miles east of Chorley, 

 is a good one ; and in a good season between 

 four hundred and fifty and five hundred brace 

 have been shot here. This moor now belongs 

 to the Corporation of Liverpool, and is let to a 

 syndicate ; it is 1,050 acres in extent. The 

 adjoining moor of Rivington, also the property 

 of the Corporation, was a good little moor, but 

 as far as grouse shooting is concerned it is now 

 ruined by the drives and walks which have been 

 cut across it in various directions. 



Bleasdale, situated about six miles east of 

 Garstang, is the property of Mr. William Garnett 

 of Quernmore Park, and consists almost entirely 

 of moorland, the moor being over 5,000 acres 

 in extent. The record bag of grouse in one 

 season for this moor is 1,600 brace, but the 

 average bag for the season works out at about 

 1,300 brace. 



Unfortunately old records are not to be 

 obtained, though some go back nearly one 

 hundred years. Lancashire shootings as a rule 

 are not very extensive, yet there are many small 

 shoots, on which many enjoyable days are spent 

 and excellent mixed bags are taken. Let us 

 take a small one, Holcroft, perhaps one of the 

 best in the south of the county, as an example. 

 This shoot is 1,700 acres in extent, but it carries 

 every description of game with the exception of 

 black game. It is situated about eight miles 

 from Manchester, and seven from Warrington, 

 and though the neighbourhood has an evil 

 reputation the shoot suffers but little from 

 poachers, owing to the fact that the farmers 

 take so keen an interest in legitimate sport that 

 they practically act as keepers. About three 

 2 



