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Mark Howcutt's retirement
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TWO VETERAN
HUNT SERVANTS After five-and-forty years’
service as whipper-in and huntsman to Lord Rothschild’s staghounds, Fred Cox
has laid down the horn to enjoy well-earned repose. From his earliest years
his tastes lay in the direction of the stable and kennel; he began his hunting
career as second whipper-in to the Tedworth, of
which pack Mr. Assheton Smith was then master. Mr. Assheton Smith was also one of the hardest working
masters that ever controlled the destinies of foxhounds, hunting six days a
week, and often having out two packs on a Saturday. After four years with the
Tedworth, Cox went to the Vale of Whitehorse
hounds, of which Mr. Villebois was master, and
thence to the Puckeridge country, where, he says, “I think I saw the best
sport I ever saw with foxhounds.” From the Puckeridge he went to the Cottesmore, with which pack he remained till Major
Burroughs sold the hounds, when he came to Baron Rothschild, in whose service
he has been ever since – five years as whipper-in and forty as huntsman. Not
only in the field has Cox made his mark; possessed of exceptional judgement,
he leaves the Ascott kennels proof of his ability
as a hound-breeder in as fine a pack as there is in the kingdom; the
Fitzwilliam, Warwickshire, Oakley, Brocklesby, and
also the Belvoir have contributed to make the Baron’s staghounds what they
are. As may be supposed, a man of Cox’s experience has much to tell worth
hearing about the doings of horse and hound; of one horse he speaks with
special fervour – Gay Lad, who earned renown by jumping thirty feet
(measured) over the Wing Brook. He also waxes enthusiastic over stags he has
known; the best of these was Sunlight, who was uncarted for six seasons, and
was rarely taken before he had given a run of fifteen to twenty miles. A few years ago the veteran met
with a very severe accident, and, though he recovered sufficiently to be able
to mount a pony, has not been able to hunt the hounds since. Cox’s retirement
was made the occasion of a pleasant little ceremony, whereat the Earl of
Orkney, on behalf of the members of Lord Rothschild’s Hunt, presented the
veteran with a substantial testimonial in the shape of a purse containing
£325. Lord Orkney voiced the feelings of the fellow members when he spoke of
the unfailing ability, courtesy, and tact with which Cox had discharged his
very difficult duties. At no time is the position of huntsman to a popular
pack a bed of roses; but his difficulties are magnified tenfold when he hunts
a country so easily accessible from the Metropolis, which sends down a crowd
of strangers not always versed in the unwritten laws of hunting. Cox is
approaching his seventy-fifth year, but is still in the enjoyment of good
health. Mark Howcutt, first whipper-in to
the Baron’s staghounds, also retires this season, after thirty-five years service with the pack. Since the accident to Cox
referred to above, Howcutt officiated as huntsman, and proved a worthy
successor to the man to whom he had turned hounds for so many years. The
members of the Hunt gave practical form to their appreciation of his services
by presenting him also with a purse of £325. Tom Whitemore,
who has been for thirty years huntsman of the Oakley, and who happened to be
on a visit to Ascott kennels at the time the
photograph was taken, appears in the background of the group. His name is a
household word in Bedfordshire, and his opinions on hounds and hound-breeding
are held in high respect. (2) Note This account was first printed in
"The Sketch", 26 May 1897. It was accompanied by separate pictures of
Mark Howcutt and Fred Cox and also a group picture of both of them with Tom Whitemore and some hounds. |
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