Page:VCH Kent 1.djvu/582

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A HISTORY OF KENT he hunted the country till 1873. The pack was known as the Brooksend and Isle of Thanet Harriers, and was made up of 20 to 2i-inch harriers and dwarf foxhounds. Captain Tom- lin succeeded Mr. White in 1873, the latter still carrying the horn. In 1875 Captain Cotton became master with Mr. J. White as huntsman, the pack being known as the Thanet Harriers. Then in 1877 came Mr. Graham Lloyd, who hunted the pack himself, followed by Mr. Johnson in 1878. The latter only remained two seasons. In 1880 Messrs. H. S. Russell and W. P. Cosier assumed the duties of joint masters for two seasons, with Mr. John White again as huntsman. Two years later Mr. E. F. Davis took the country, with Mr. Ambrose Collard junior as hunts- man. Mr. Davis was followed in 1884 by Mr. J. Chesshyre, who carried the horn himself, and in 1885 by Mr. Vincent Frisby, with Mr. W. N. F. Parsons as huntsman. Mr. Frisby moved hounds from Brooksend Kennels to Walter's Hall, Monkton. On Mr. Frisby retiring in 1887 a committee carried on the hunt for three seasons, with Mr. Ambrose Collard as huntsman. The pack was moved back to Hoo Corner, Minster, where they had been from 1840 to 1849, to kennels lent to the country by the Marquess Conyngham. The pack then consisted of fifteen couples of 18 to 19-inch harriers. In 1890 the Right Honour- able James Lowther, M.P. for the Thanet Division, became honorary master, Mr. Ambrose Collard retaining the horn, and Colonel Copeland assumed the duties of honorary secretary. This rule continued unbroken for eight seasons, but the name of the pack was in 1895 changed to the Thanet and Heme Harriers. In 189S Mr. Colling- wood Ingram was master and hunted the country with 20-inch dwarf foxhounds, being succeeded in 1900 by Dr. Kelly Paterson, who only remained one season. Mr. Ambrose Collard carried the horn with both the last masters. Lord Decies, who assumed the mastership in 1901, carried the horn himself, with Mr. Ambrose Collard as honorary secre- tary. He bought the pack from a committee and established his own hounds, which were 20 to 22-inch foxhound bitches. When he retired in 1905 Lord Decies sold the pack to Mr. B. Prescott-Westcar, who moved the kennels from Monkton to Strode Park, Heme, and is now (1907) hunting the country. In 1905 Mr. Ambrose Collard resigned the secretaryship, after having been associated with the pack for about fifty years, and was succeeded by Mr. Cooper Wacher as honorary secretary. The Thanet and Heme country includes the whole of the Isle of Thanet and the district of Heme as far as Whitstable. In the former neighbourhood there is a large proportion of woodland, but the rest of the territory consisted, until recent years, principally of plough. Latterly a large part of this has been laid down to grass. Wire is somewhat plentiful, but it is well marked, and during the season most of it is removed by arrange- ment. The pack hunts as far south as the Canterbury and Sandwich Road. It con- sists of eighteen couples of bitch foxhounds and five couples of harriers, and meets on two or three days a week. The West Street Harriers were established at Worth, and subsequently took up their quarters at West Street in East Kent in 1843. In that year Mr. Michael Nethersole took possession of the pack and hunted it at his own expense up to the year 1869, when it became a subscription pack. Granville George, second Earl Granville, was master from 1875 to 1887, and Mr. R. Coleman from 1888 to 1897. He was succeeded in the following year by the Earl of Guilford, who held the reins of management until 1901. In 1902 Mr. J. E. Allen and Mr. A. ffrench Blake held the joint mastership for a season, and from 1903 to 1905 Mr. Allen was master. Mr. A. flFrench Blake of Eythorne near Dover is the present master, and hunts the pack for a committee. The pack consists of seventeen couples of dwarf bitch fox- hounds, and the kennels are at Waldershare Park. Meeting days are twice a week, with occasional by-days. The West Street Harriers' territory consists chiefly of arable land with a proportion of down country. There are few jumping fences, but wire is somewhat prevalent. The country is bounded on the east by the coast-line between Dover and Sandwich, and on the north by the Isle of Thanet. The road from Dover to Canterbury marks the limit on the southern and western sides of the territory. POINT-TO-POINT RACING Point-to-point meetings are now regularly held in connexion with the three chief hunts in the county, viz., the East Kent, West Kent, and Mid-Kent Staghounds. The Tick- ham Hunt also promotes an occasional meeting. During the spring, too, the officers stationed at the various garrisons hold similar gatherings, the Chatham garrison usually having their meeting at Higham. In 1906 the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards carried out their programme at Goddington, whilst in 1907