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 SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN FOX-HUNTING THE COTTESMORE THE Cottesmore, which dates from the same period as the Earl of Yar- borough's historic pack at Brockles- by, is one of the oldest hunts in the kingdom. Unfortunately the records of the Rutland hounds are not quite complete, for during the first sixty years of its existence the pack was the property of Mr. Thomas Noel, and was kennelled at Exton Park. It was not until 1788, when the hounds were purchased by Sir William Lowther, who built kennels at Cottesmore village, 4 miles from Oakham, that the hunt took its present name. Mr. Thomas Noel was an enthusiastic hound breeder, and in 1732 wrote one of the first books ever published on the subject. His hounds gained a great reputation for showing sport, and hunted an enormous tract of uninclosed country, extending over Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Not- tinghamshire, and Northamptonshire, in addition to their own country. In 1788 Mr. Noel's hounds were purchased by Sir William Lowther,^ who, after hunting a pack of his own in the north, came to Melton and established the Cottesmore Hunt. He held two masterships of the Cottesmore, from 1788 to 1802, and from 1806 to 1842. Of him 'The Druid ' says : ^ ' Perhaps the oldest foxhound blood in England at this time is to be found in the kennel of the Earl of Lonsdale at Cottes- more. The venerable peer himself has now superintended the pack for nearly fifty years.' Under his rule the hounds established a high record for excellence, and the sires were used by such famous kennels as the Belvoir, Badminton, Brocklesby, and Fitzwilliam. The standard of height was 245 in., and the noble master super- intended the management and breeding of the ' Created Earl of Lonsdale in 1 807. ' Silk and Scarlet. hounds himself, making sure that the huntsmen carried out his instructions. His skilled management during that half-cen- tury had a marked influence on the establishment of the type of the hound of the present day. Lord Lonsdale bred for work, favouring the slower system of hunting in preference to that shown about this period by Mr. Meynell, which so delighted the Meltonians ; and his massive type of hound was admirably adapted to the require- ments of the country, which abounded in huge tracts of deep woodland. Between 178 1 and 1843 ^^ ^"'^ '' recorded that so classic a pack as the Brocklesby drew extensively on the Cottesmore blood, using among numerous sires Dashwood, Damper, Galliard, Millwood, and Lexicon. The Belvoir lists of the same period show that the Dukes of Rut- land and their huntsmen laid store by the Cot- tesmore kennel, Dashwood, which sired a dog for Belvoir of the same name, being much in request as a stallion hound. Other famous sires were Dexter, Spider, Ajax, Sailor, Palafox, Lounger, and Marshal. The Badminton lists of hounds show that the Dukes of Beaufort and their huntsmen were breeding largely from Cottesmore Juggler, Jester, Lictor, and Jason, hounds of great size and stamina that mated well with bitches of that kennel. The Fitzwilliam also, with Tom Sebright managing the kennel, turned to Cottesmore for an outcross. It is worthy of note that Mr. Osbaldeston's celebrated Furrier, which enters the pedigrees of more hounds than any other known sire, was grandson of Lord Lonsdale's Wonder. This famous hound, bred at Belvoir by Thomas Goosey, huntsman in 1820, was a 24-in. hound. His pedigree combined the best hunting blood of the day, for he was by Belvoir Saladin out of Fallacy by Lord Lonsdale's Wonder. It may also be noted that Lord Lonsdale's Lounger 301