Hunt_page2
About this time, too, the 3rd Lord Darlington, afterwards the 1st Duke of Cleveland, who owned the Bilham estate among his other properties, began to bring his hounds to the Badsworth country for the Spring and Autumn hunting, and established the Badsworth Hunt Club at Ferrybridge.
In 1809, Sir William Gerard, temporarily forsook his stag-hounds, a family pack for many generations, and hunted the Badsworth country till 1814, when he returned to Lancashire.
The next three Masterships, though of short duration, are interesting. First came the great John Chaworth Musters, who had temporarily given up his South Notts. country to George Osbaldeston. Following him came that great Yorkshire sportsman, Sir Bellingham Graham, who brought his own hounds and did things in style. He stayed at Ferrybridge, and built new kennels at Ackworth, moving from the old site at Audlin.
Sir Bellingham's successor was in direct contrast, being the young and impecunious Tom Hodgson. Sir Bellingham had only left twelve couple of hounds and three horses at the kennels, and Hodgson had to build up a new pack. But when it came to hunting hounds he proved himself a "natural," showing wonderful sport, and afterwards made history in the Holderness country. His whipper-in, Will Danby, was almost as famous as his master.
His successor, the Hon. Edward Petre (1821-26) was right at the other end of the scale. Well known on the Turf-he won the Leger four times-he had money to burn, and burnt it like a sportsman.
In 1826, Lord Hawke began his forty season Mastership. Things jogged along very peacefully, without any notable happenings, Lord Hawke was no great hound man, nor yet of the stuff of which great Masters are made. Nimrod, in his Hunting Tours, is rather scathing in his account of a visit to the Badsworth - chiefly due to the fact that, owing to a ball the previous night, neither the Master nor any of the field turned up till an hour after the advertised time. Moreover, Lord Hawke, when he did arrive, was none too gracious to the great Nimrod, the latter having a good opinion of himself.
Nevertheless, Lord Hawke had some good huntsmen during his time. Richards was succeeded by Will Foster, from Lord Fitzhardinge, and then came Will Butler, from Lord Ducie's. Will was no respecter of persons. Lord Hawke always carried a horn, which he blew incessantly. Unable to stand this for long, Will finally exploded with "Dam that horn, m'lord, I'll tell you when to blow it!" At the end of his tenth season, Butler was given a grand complimentary dinner at Doncaster. In 1848 he went as huntsman to Mr. Henley Greaves of the Cottesmore, to whom Lord Hawke sold ten couple of hounds, reducing his hunting days to two days a week. Lord Hawke died in 1869, as the result of a hunting accident, and then came Mr. J. Hope Barton. Hound breeding, possibly for the first time, was now taken really seriously, and much was done to improve the pack, drafts coming from Milton and the South Notts. Unfortunately the Master died in his seventh season, bursting a blood vessel when blowing his horn.
Fortunately his successor, Mr. C. B. E. Wright, was another great hound man-one of the most noted of his day. During his sixteen seasons he put the Badsworth hounds right on the map, the blood being much sought after by other kennels. He hunted hounds himself, mounting himself and his Hunt staff on the best of horses.