King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

North Lancashire Bassett Hounds

The North Lancashire Bassett Hounds were kennelled at the Regimental Depot at Bowerham Barracks, Lancaster from 1907 to 1912.  Left to right is Mr Beadon, Lieutenant Clough, Captain Olive and Lieutenant Birley.
Accession Number: KO0116/15

North Lancashire Bassett Hounds, members and followers, 1908.
Accession Number: KO0314/01-014a

Reports on the North Lancashire Bassett Hounds appeared in the Regimental Journal, The Lion and The Rose.

North Lancashire Bassett Hounds, March 1908

On January 21st, these hounds met at Conder Green, where as usual there were a good number of hares. But a small field turned up, which is to be wondered at, when we consider what good sport has been enjoyed here during the season. Having drawn the Conder Green marshes blank, the Master drew the fields and circular wood near. The latter must have recently held a hare, for hounds soon spoke to a line, which led them a nice spin of quarter of an hour to one of Lord Ashton’s big coverts near the canal. Here we whipped off, as we did not wish to hunt in such a large covert, more especially as we did not know for certain whether it had been shot over yet.

The Master then took us along the towpath and drew one of the smaller woods near the canal. For once this wood was blank, but a couple of fields further on we put up a hare. Hounds pushed him due south, across the Galgate-Conder Green road, behind Sellerlea. Then crossing the road again we ran a good line across a large field or two and towards the place where we found. For a short time we checked, and the Master making a forward cast, we found her dead-beat near the Galgate-Conder Green road, and hounds rolled her over in the road itself. Most of the field were near at hand to see her broken up, and the pad was presented to Miss Phyllis Garnett, the second she has received this season.

The Master then took us across the canal to the land lying between Ellel Hall and Park Coppice. No sooner were we in the fist field than hounds viewed away a hare, who gave us a bit of a scramble up to the top of the hill near the railway, and then breaking down left hand, made for the canal where we left her.

On Saturday, January 25th, we met at Barnacre, Garstang, by kind invitation of Mr. Rushton. The day was threatening, but by the time we left Lancaster the sun was shining. We arrived at Garstang in time to have our share of the "breakfast" so kindly provided by Mrs Rushton, and moved off at 1.50 pm to draw some fields near the house. It was not long before we had a good hare on the move. It is difficult to describe this good hunt in detail, as the country is strange to the writer, so suffice to say that we had an extremely fast run at 2 pm till 2.30 pm when a welcome check allowed some of the stragglers to come up. The rest of the hunt, which lasted till 4.25 pm, consisted of many sharp bursts interspersed with some good slow hound work. At the end of the day the hounds were not ten yards from the hare, who was pretty well dead-beat and going very stiff, and only the large covert of Mr Rushton near the Wyresdale property prevented the hounds getting "blood".

North Lancashire Bassett Hounds, April 1908

On February 11th, these hounds met at Ellel Grange where there was quite a large number of followers; whether they turned up in such force to simply follow the hounds or whether Mrs. Preston’s kind and lavish hospitality influenced the numbers at all, must be left to the imagination. Mr Hodgson, second whip, carried the horn in the absence of the Master. The hounds first of all drew the fields immediately south of the Grange, and after a short time put up their first hare in the fields between the Grange and Hay Carr. Although she was seen to enter a spinney on the side of the wood, after a short run the hounds could make nothing of her.

North Lancashire Bassett Hounds, July 1909

The hunting season finished with one of the best days of the season. We met near Bay Horse Station, several hares were afoot, and we finally settled down to one and hunted him till it was dark. He was a magnificent hare and deserved his freedom.