Haydon Bicentenary
Haydon Hunt Mark their Bicentenary
Joint-master Francis Templar leads off for the Haydon Hunt bicentenary meet
Haydon Hunt are one of oldest packs in England and a special meet was laid on to mark their 2009 bicentenary at Langley Castle near Haydon Bridge on 25 November where their first recorded hunt meeting was held back in 1809.
They hunted on the vast Greenwich Hospital Estates, land obtained from the Earls of Derwentwater, and after a hunt of some three hours killed their first fox.
Evidence of that first definitive hunt remains today in a glass case in which that first fox is mounted with inscription. This stuffed fox is kept at the hunt’s kennels at Newbrough, its home since 1971.
The Haydon had no kennels back in 1809 and hounds were trencher-fed by farmers across the country. The hunt’s base was the Anchor Inn at Haydon Bridge, which like the hunt, is still thriving to this day.
The bicentenary meet was followed by a black-tie celebratory dinner dance held at the Castle. And a week, later the Haydon members gathered again at their former ancient base, the Anchor Inn, for a traditional night with hunting songs and storytelling, as would have happened two centuries ago.
A bicentenary map of the Haydon Hunt country is available to celebrate the occasion.
It’s a limited edition print reproduced from an original painting by Claire Myers a local artist. The prints are a fundraiser for the hunt and no charge was made for the artwork: all money from the sale of the print goes directly to the Haydon Hunt.
See the print on www.haydonhunt.com in the Gallery section under 'merchandise' or go to www.clairemyersart.com
Haydon Hunt Bicentenary Photographs: Click Here