James Barclay
Close Encounters with My Vulpine Friends
James Barclay was born to foxhunting. He, his sister, two brothers, mother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all served as Masters of Foxhounds—a family way of life that began in 1896. James served as Master of five hunts from 1983 to 2012: the Essex and Suffolk, Fitzwilliam, Cottesmore, South Wold, and Grove and Rufford. Click for a fuller introduction to James Barclay in Norm Fine’s Blog.
With over two hundred years involvement with various packs and types of hounds under our belt, you will understand it was and always will be the number one rule in the Barclay family to have the greatest respect for our quarry species, be it the fox, deer, or hare. The pleasure they give us is immense, and this comes from not only close observation on a hunting day but during the summer months when they are all, in their own distinctive ways, equally fascinating.
It is the fox, however, that has taken up a very large part of my life, and hardly a day passes when he doesn’t enter my mind in one way or another. And more than likely he will be discussed at some point, especially when he is being blamed for eating someone’s prime poultry! Whenever foxes are talked about, however, it is generally with a large degree of affection, except of course on the day a heinous crime has been committed in his role as the ruthless killer!
My pleasure in writing this has come from looking back and remembering moments when my vulpine friends have behaved in ways that remain etched on my mind. In the past, I have recollected their somewhat strange habits after the death of a particularly well-loved character. This enters another realm, although there are places where both realms meet and it is then when it really does become all the more fascinating!
A Sporting Tour Through Merry Old….Part 2
Join James Barclay---an ex-Master of five English foxhunts---for Part 2 of his personal and revealing tour of elite hunting establishments through Middle and Eastern England. Barclay went out with twenty-one packs in just two months during the informal season, the last of which on the morning before the first of six Opening Meets. Click for Part 1.
Fitzwilliam huntsman George Adams and hounds with birdman John Mees at the kennel meet, Milton Park / James Barclay photo
Fitzwilliam
Hunting with the Fitzwilliam is always a treat, especially as my family and I spent twelve very happy seasons there. Although Peterborough is on the doorstep, the Park is beautifully laid out for hunting and many good days are enjoyed there. The kennels are situated on the eastern side of the Park and have a history going well back into the 1700s.
The combination of these hounds hunting with an eagle---[The Hunting Act allows a pack of hounds to flush a fox to a bird of prey]---in close proximity to the action is something we are seeing in all but a few places now and is very much a sign of the times. George Adams has hunted these hounds for over thirty years and is certainly one of the most popular men in his profession. This particular morning was when one realises just how lucky we are. On our side of the Park wall was a great gathering of like-minded people enjoying something that has taken place here for generations. On the other side is four miles plus of new houses, factories, roads and the roar of urban noise. Is it therefore, not up to us—those who love our countryside and its activities—to encourage and involve those who may never have come across us before? Our worlds may be far apart in one sense, but they are not in another. There may be just a wall between us in this case, but it should never be looked upon us as a barrier.
A Sporting Tour Through Merry Old…Part 1
Master and huntsman Adam Esom and the South Wold Foxhounds midst the sugar beets in Lincolnshire. / James Barclay photo
Join James Barclay---an ex-Master of five English foxhunts---for a personal and revealing tour of elite hunting establishments through Middle and Eastern England. Part 2 to follow.
This last summer has been one of the busiest for a while with a fair share of weekends spent judging various Puppy Shows, which is always a pleasurable thing to do, but sadly does nothing beneficial for the waistline! It is always nice to look at hounds during their restful period, and we can soon start to gauge what there is coming on from behind the scenes and start to assess the breed’s general standard.
On that note, it is a great relief to see a lot of nice hounds about, as there was a time after that dreaded day in February 2005 when the Hunting Act became law that many packs cut right back to a minimum. However, to see that confidence returning is most reassuring to all of us who take the breeding of the Foxhound seriously.
Now the time had come to dust off the camera and get out there and firstly to take some early morning pictures of hounds on exercise. This is a wonderful time of year as, given the blessing of some good weather, harvest starts to move, and with those dewy late summer mornings and a hint of mist in the air, our countryside comes to life in a way any true hunting man knows. So visits to Badminton, Belvoir and the Bicester were a particular pleasure this year, as last summer, I had decided to cover most packs in the Eastern Counties as well as the Midlands.
The Stable Yard Is Silent
The hundredth anniversary this summer of the First World War has reminded all of us of that terrible conflict. In England, James Barclay, ex-MFH, tossed and turned through the early morning hours one night this month. Thoughts of the war, the carnage that took its toll on his family members and many horses, and what those years meant to a way of life that was so much a part of the Barclay family ran through his head. He got out of bed, sat down, and wrote this poem. At 6:30 am he finished writing. Twenty minutes later the South Wold Foxhounds came up his drive on summer exercise, making his world right once again.
The stable yard is silent, no equine friends, no ears twitching over the doors.
Where have they gone? They have gone to Europe to fight a war.
Will they be back to graze the summer pastures green?
Will they be back to see the autumn mist and hear hounds running?
Will they be back to enjoy the fifty minutes across the grass?
They and their Masters have gone to defend our freedoms.
In mud and wire they toil, no end in sight,
But the thought of hounds running and their cry deep in their veins,
Make our horse and human friends dream, dream of
A cold winter’s night, hacking homewards with the moon up high.
The Stable Yard Is Silent
The anniversary of the start of the First World War will be upon us July 28th. Four years ago, in England, on the hundredth anniversary of that terrible conflict, James Barcaly, ex-MFH, tossed and turned through the early morning hours. Thoughts of the war, the carnage that took its toll on James's family members, eighteen million people, eight million horses, and what those years meant to a way of life that was so much a part of the Barclay family ran through his head. He got out of bed, sat down, and wrote this poem. At 6:30 am he finished writing. Twenty minutes later the South Wold Foxhounds came up his drive on summer exercise, making his world right once again.
The stable yard is silent, no equine friends, no ears twitching over the doors.
Where have they gone? They have gone to Europe to fight a war.
Will they be back to graze the summer pastures green?
Will they be back to see the autumn mist and hear hounds running?
Will they be back to enjoy the fifty minutes across the grass?
They and their Masters have gone to defend our freedoms.
In mud and wire they toil, no end in sight,
But the thought of hounds running and their cry deep in their veins,
Make our horse and human friends dream, dream of
A cold winter’s night, hacking homewards with the moon up high.
New Foxhunting Website Launched in England
James Barclay, ex-MFH, whose elegant prose has appeared (and will continue to appear) in Foxhunting Life, has launched a new subscription website titled, “For the Love of Hunting England. The new portal promises to be full of news, information, and features about hunting in Great Britain and further afield. James, whose family has been deeply involved in foxhunting for many generations and who has been a Master of several packs of hounds, including the Cottesmore, Fitzwilliam, Grove and Rufford, and Essex and Suffolk, said, “I hope that this new website will be of interest to hunting people all over the world, but I decided to call it For the Love of Hunting England because it is in Old England that the sport as we know it has its roots.” The site will be a portal for James’ passion for and knowledge of hounds across Britain, and the breadth of his interest in hunting and the personalities involved. The annual subscription fee will be £15. A special price of £12.99 is available for subscriptions purchased before Christmas. Visit the website for more information. Posted September 1, 2013
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An English Summer of Mixed Blessings
The Belvoir foxhounds at kennels after exercise / James Barclay photo
With the new season just about upon us, I thought I would have a look back over the last few months and see how we have been fairing. For the first time in some years now we can honestly say we have had something like a proper summer! Having said that however, the last two days have been nothing but torrential rain, which will have put the final week or two of harvest back somewhat. In June and July we bathed in endless days of sunshine which in many ways did much to pick up the gloom from previous years.
The hound shows began and some interesting results started to appear with the usual names not having it all their own way. This clearly demonstrates that the smaller packs over here now have an increasing amount of quality running through their kennels, which is not only a real pleasure to see for many, but it shows that the interest in breeding nice hounds is now not just with a few of the larger packs. For those who have produced hounds to a high standard for very many years, it must give them huge pleasure to see the others doing so well. After all, it will very likely be their lines that many of those winning today will go back too. Those in the past who have not only bred good hounds in their work but also to the conformation of body with which to last, deserve a great deal of gratitude. On a cautionary note however it would be wise that as Masterships are likely to change all too regularly nowadays, to have someone who can oversee the hounds, their welfare, and their breeding on a regular basis is a must.
Sadly, life being what it is, and with everything going along well as it was, something had to go wrong and sure enough it was not long before the dreaded kennel cough swept through large parts of the country, with some packs suffering badly.
A Bright Finish to a Challenging Season
Huntsman Donald Summersgill (right) and staff with the Devon and Somerset Staghounds
As I sit and write this on the 6th of May, finally we can say we have had two days of really good weather! The sun is shining, there is not a cloud in the sky, and the birds are in fine voice. A proper English early summer’s day, which even if I say it myself we richly deserve.
However, wherever I look there are fields of oilseed rape at half the height they should be, the wheat and barley crops are as thin as I have ever seen in my lifetime, and, what is more, the weather forecast for the next day or so is for high winds and rain. The rain believe it or not is much needed even after the wettest winter on record, but the wind is something we can well do without. We have just come out of the driest April in nearly a hundred years. Never mind; I hope that you all had a good end to season and that your weather is behaving rather better than ours.
The weather notwithstanding, I think we have come out of this last season pretty well. Having had two fascinating days beagling towards the end of March with the Christchurch and Farley Hill and the Royal Agricultural College, my season came to an end with the Exmoor Foxhounds and the Devon and Somerset Staghounds at the end of April.
An Introductory Letter from England
Photo by BothSidesPhotography
As our respective seasons come to an end in the northern hemisphere, I would not be sure how the weather has been behaving itself in the US, but here in England and the rest of the UK, we have experienced one of the wettest years on record. Coming on the back of one of the driest in memory it certainly has given Masters and those who are at the very sharp end of hunting considerable challenges in keeping the ‘tamborin a rolling.’ In some areas the season was curtailed by just a few weeks, in others the use of roads and tracks has been an obvious answer. However, the most gratifying aspect of all is to find that our farmers, be they arable men or stockmen, are still the greatest friends to hunting.
Coming from a family who seems to have been involved with the sport for rather a long time has been a privilege to say the least. This is largely due to the very large cross section of people we have worked with, the hounds we have bred, and those vulpine friends of ours who have kept us on our toes for many a year! It has not only been our way of life for four generations of our family, it is far more than that. Hunting seems to be engrained in us, and if you think that as a member of the Barclay family you can escape from it, that I can tell you will not be looked upon as an option!
Introducing James Barclay, ex-MFH
A young James Barclay while Master of the Fitzwilliam Foxhounds (UK)Allow me to introduce James Barclay, a retired Master of Foxhounds in England and descendant of a distinguished foxhunting family. I am pleased and honored to announce that Foxhunting Life will be publishing James’s informative and thoughtful essays in future issues.
James’s family roots are with the Puckeridge Foxhounds, a hunt in Hertfordshire dating back to 1725. His sister has served as Master since 1987. Two brothers, his mother, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather also served as Masters of the Puckeridge, that dynasty starting in 1896.
James’s first day of hunting was with the Puckeridge back in the 1960s. He was astride a donkey, and, by tradition, he wore a small version of the family scarlet coat which each family member going back at least three generations had worn on their first hunt!
