Robert Bakewell,, Esq. 
long settled at Dishley, as in the chancel of Dishley 
Chapel, where the remains of this celebrated man lie 
interred, are deposited the bodies of his father, Robert 
Bakewell, who died in 1773, in the 88th year of his 
age ; and also that of another Robert Bakewell, proba¬ 
bly his grandfather, who died in 1716, at the age of 
73. Mr. Bakewell himself ended his valuable life on 
the 1st of October, 1795, at the age of 69—too early 
for ££ his country’s good.” 
Perhaps, during the last century, no man did so 
much towards increasing the agricultural interests of 
the country as Mr. Bakewell. He was unwearied in 
his exertions, and enthusiastic in bringing to perfection 
his favorite pursuits. In every branch of the science 
he was persevering to the end ; and by strenuous exer¬ 
tions made himself master of the different modes of 
cultivation pursued not only by the English farmers, 
but also those of Foreign cultivators. He did not 
content himself with the mere knowledge which he 
had thus laboriously and industriously obtained, but 
he introduced that system into his own farming prac¬ 
tice which is now generally pursued in Leicestershire.* 
But the great glory which is attached to the name of 
Robert Bakewell is in the vast improvements which 
he made in the breed of cattle. The different nations 
of Europe supplied him with the materiel, and Nature 
herself might have wondered at the skill which he dis¬ 
played in bringing her works to a greater degree of 
perfection. It was from Flanders that he principally 
procured his famous breed of black cart-horses, now 
nearly, if not quite extinct, which have been thus des¬ 
cribed. They were lighter-legged and flatter-boned 
than those now in use, but of great strength, more es¬ 
pecially in their fore-quarters, with erect heads and 
fine crests. One of this breed was of such . excessive 
beauty of proportions, that he was likened to the fan¬ 
cied war-horse of the German painters. He must in¬ 
deed have been a splendid and picturesque animal, for 
a man of moderate height seemed to shrink -under his 
fore-end, which rose so perfectly upright, that his ears 
stood, (a qualification that Mr. Bakewell deemed in- 
dispensible to the beauty of a horse,) perpendicularly 
over his fore-feet. This animal was the entire horse 
which Mr. Bakewell christened K, f and which was 
perhaps one of the most elegant creatures of his class 
that was ever bred within the British dominions. 
Mr. Bakewell was allowed to be the first breeder of 
horses of the age in which he flourished ; and King 
George the Third, who claims the honorable distinc¬ 
tion of adding to his regal titles that of being the farm¬ 
er’s friend, particularly distinguished him by his 
notice and approbation. This conferred honor both 
on the Monarch and the subject, for it is unfortunately 
now too much the fashion to neglect the agricultural 
interests of the country. A horse which Mr. Bakewell 
submitted to the inspection of his Sovereign, and 
which was afterwards publicly shown for some months 
in London, was ££ the meanest of the breed yet its 
* In Mr. Nichols’s valuable work, ££ The History of 
Leicestershire,” honorable mention is made of Mr. 
Bakewell. We are there told, at the time that work 
was compiled, that ££ he worked the drill and horse- 
hoe as they are now used; and the identical imple¬ 
ment with which he drilled his grain and his turnips, 
was then used in the neighborhood, and by the same 
person who worked it upon Mr. Bakewell’s farm in 
his life-time.” 
f Of this breed Mr. Bakewell used frequently to let 
out his entire horses for the season, for the sum of 
150 guineas «ach. 
symmetry was beautiful, and its form not deficient in 
utility; it was, in fact, a picturable animal. 
Mr. Bakewell had too much good sense to keep use¬ 
less stock ; he made even his mares work in the team, 
but they were treated as gently as a man would treat 
his wife, and the use of the whip was entirely prohibi¬ 
ted at Dishley.* It is somewhat unfortunate that this 
fine breed should have been surperseded by a heavy¬ 
legged race whose movements are snail-paced, and de¬ 
cidedly inferior for agricultural purposes. Is there no 
one among our friends who would devote his attention 
to this important subject; 
The pride of Mr. Bakewell was to improve the class 
of domestic animals, and his celebrity as a breeder of 
long-horned cattle will ever shed a halo over his name. 
It appears he selected the finest individuals of the War¬ 
wickshire species, principally from the herds of Mr. 
Webster, near Coventry, and Mr. Fowler, of Rolwright, 
which, being crossed with the most excellent of the 
Lancashire breed, produced a stock of cattle that was 
held in the highest estimation for a considerable time; 
but fashion varies, even with respect to animals, though 
the Dishley breed was kept up for some years after the 
death of Mr. Bakewell, by Mr. Paget, of Ibstock, Mr. 
Astley, of Addeston, and to a more recent period, by 
Mr. Huskisson, of South Croxton ; though when a sale 
of the latter gentleman’s stock took place, about thirty 
years after that of Mr. Paget’s, there was a great 
depreciation in the intrinsic value of the cattle, al¬ 
though they were allowed to be some of the best and 
purest specimens of the Dishley herd. We cannot 
give a better proof of the value that was attached to 
this breed than to attach the prices a few of the lots 
fetched at the first day’s sale of Mr. Paget’s stock on 
the 14th of November, 1793 :— 
Guineas. 
Lot 8 Short-tail, by Shakspeare. 38 
9 Eyebright, by a bull bred by Mr. v 
Yarnam. 51 
14 Strawberry, by a Dishley bull. 31 
16 Brindled Eyebright. 33 
26 Penn. 35 
29 Young Dandy. 30 
30 Brindled Finch-Tidy. 29 
At this sale the famous bull, Shakspeare, which was 
bred by Mr. Fowler, by Shakspeare, pere, out of Young 
Nell, fetched 400 guineas, to which the seller appended 
the condition that he should have the privilege of hav¬ 
ing the use of him for two cows yearly. The heifers 
by this animal also sold well, one two-years old, realis¬ 
ing 84 guineas, and another, one year older, 70 guineas. 
Mr. Bakewell preferred rearing small-boned cattle, and 
considered them to be in every way the most profitable, 
both to the farmer and the consumer. He also strong¬ 
ly recommended great attention being paid to the quality 
of the cows intended for breeders, and justly remarked 
that, when a sound discretion was not used, the produce 
often failed, and then the bull was frequently unjustly 
blamed. He was exceedingly particular in his own 
selections, and he prized his favourite bull, called Two¬ 
penny, so highly, that he refused 200 1. for him ; and he 
appears to have been somewhat choice of his produce^ 
* These mares were valued, about the year 1785, at 
30Z., 40Z., and 50Z., each. The famous Corinthian 
Bulls, which are described as being wonderfully beau¬ 
tiful, and symmetrical in their proportions, are made 
to do all the heavy work on the rich land that is 
termed the Terra Firm,a of Italy. Their color is de¬ 
scribed as being, generally, a bluish roan ; horns long, 
tapering off to a point, white as polished ivory, and 
finished with a bright black tip at the end. 
