Articles

Sadly the “native” foxes of Lakeland appear to have become almost extinct in the very late 1890s or possibly early 1900s. No research was ever done on them and little documentary evidence is available. They pass briefly through the written reports of fox hunts prior to their demise and no doubt somewhere in a valley-head...

The Greyhound Fox “Fierce as a tiger, and long as a hay-band, and with an amiable cast of features very like the Chancellor of the Exchequer,” is very bad to kill “top o’ t’ ground,” and still worse when he gets into a burn (borran). Jackson Gillbanks 1870 NB Material reproduced on this thread is...

During the year 1877, an attempt was made to have the huntsman hunt the hounds with less assistance from their owners, but as they did not know him, being kept at home, they were gloriously independent, and hunted themselves to suit themselves.” If the huntsman was of no obvious use, however, the master asserted himself,...

The story of a hound type that is probably lost to history – the Old Pytchley sort Those who search for facts about the old-style Pytchley hounds will find very little in the usual books of reference on such topics, and it is only by an occasional passage in some old writer speaking of the...

Artist and diarist Joe Appleyard has a day with the Glaisdale, a Yorkshire based pack, where, after a day’s hunting he found himself warmly welcomed into the company of  “a hard hunting, hard riding, hard drinking crowd.” A quick glance at the map, shows Glaisdale and its environs tucked away in a northern part of...

In this article taken with permission from Joe Appleyard’s autobiography, the artist recounts a visit to the Bedale Hunt Kennels and outlines the steps he takes to capture an image on paper before retiring to his studio. A visit to Hunt Kennels by sporting painters is quite a frequent thing. The times most suited to...

This article and images from Joe Appleyard is republished with permission from the family. In this excerpt from his notes, Joe is invited to sketch and then paint the Bilsdale following a day with them Nothing could be more interesting and down to earth than hunting with a trencher-led pack of hounds. There are few...

Dick Simpson, was huntsman to Mr. Nicholas Parry, of Puckeridge, having entered service in 1838. A Yorkshire­man by birth, he had previously served his apprenticeship in his own county with the Holderness and York and Ainsty Hounds. He then travelled south; and for a few years was with the Heythrop, Old Berkeley, and Surrey Union...

The  majority  of  successful  hound  breeders  over  the  years  have  adopted  a  form  of  hound  breeding  known  as  ‘line  breeding’  so  that  they  can  make  and  retain  a  level  pack  of  hounds  that  can  hunt  and run up together. Line breeding is a form of inbreeding, as the method is to multiply the names of...

This article on Mr E.E  Barclay and the Puckeridge was intended as a two-part article with a family contribution from the late James Barclay. Unfortunately, James was unable to complete his research but we felt the article should be seen as a fitting memorial to him. Family History Mr. Edward E. Barclay, was the fourth...