Two Sporting Squires

By: Brendan O'Regan and Seamus Crowley.

(Mallow Field Club Journal 2000 - by kind permission.)

 

Having purchased some odds and ends of Doneraile interest at auction, two items in the bundle are of particular interest in that they give insights into the lives of Irish country gentlemen in the nineteenth century, and also the management of the Duhallow Hunt of North Cork. The two items in question are correspondence exchanged by Hayes St. Leger of Doneraile and Henry Wrixon Beecher of Ballygiblin in 1850/51. One is the memo of a letter from St.Leger to Becher, and the second is a letter from Becher replying to St. Leger. That the memo of St. Leger's letter is not the full text of the original letter is evident from Bechers reply. The focus of this correspondence was St Leger's position as Keeper of Foxhounds. He had suffered a reduction of income to the extent that he could not see it possible for him to keep the hounds for the full season for which he had contracted. As Becher had recently suc ceeded his father, St.Leger hoped he would bein a position to take the expense of the hounds. From the text and the mention of Mr. Delacour contracting him to keep the hounds, it is evident that he is referring to the Duhallow Hunt Club's pack of hounds.

THE DUHALLOW HUNT.

The Duhallow Hunt, still going strong, has a long and distinguished record in the traditions of Foxhunting in Ireland. The first entry in the Duhallow Minute Book concerns a meet at Cecilstown on Monday the 29th September 1800. Prior to that date, the Wrixons of Ballygiblin had kept a pack called "The Castlecor Chace", which originally at any rate may have hunted deer rather than the fox. Grove-White in his Topographical Notes says that the Wrixons kept fallow deer in a deer-park at Ballygiblin, and the existence of a hunt uniform button depicting a fallow buck provides further evidence of deer hunting. Historians of the Duhallow Hunt trace evidence of the existance of the Castlecor Chace back to 1745, and by extension through the involvement of the Wrixons deduce that the formation of the Duhallow Hunt in 1800 was in effect a continuation of the same hunt, but now transformed from a privately hunted pack to become the Duhallow Hunt Club. In the first committee of the Duhallow Hunt in 1800, four out of the seven members were from the Wrixon family, and the ownership of the pack remained with the Wrixons until William Wrixon Becher resigned as Master in 1822. His brother-in-law Robert de la Cour then took over as Master and the Hunt became a subscription pack. De la Cour was Master from 1822 to 1849. The next Master listed is one John Courtenay of Ballyedmund, said to have served from 1849 to 1854, followed by Hayes St. Leger from 1854 to 1863. Thousands have hunted the Duhallow country over the centuries and the exploits of many characters, some eccentric, others humourous and daring can be read about in Baileys Monthly Magazine and other nineteenth century periodicals. One such character with all these attributes was Lord Henry Bentinck (1804-1870), the immensely wealthy son of the Duke of Portland, who hunted with the Duhallows and was a frequent visitor to Doneraile Court and personal friend of Hayes St. Leger, 4th Viscount Doneraile. Another contemporary rider to hounds was the writer Anthony Trollope. During the nine years (1848 - 1857) he lived in Mallow as Inspector of the Postal service, he hunted with the Duhallows whenever his work allowed him. His experience of Irish life in Dublin, North Cork and later in Belfast left an impression on Trollope, and led to a strong Irish flavour in many of his novels As can be seen from the letters successful foxhunting involved managing the pack and horses as well as coverts with a population of foxes to hunt. In spite of the many "characters' who graced the hunt from time to time, it appears membership subscriptions seldom matthed the expenses involved To keep the tradition alive meant that some wealthier member took upon himself the honour of Master/Keeper of Hounds at considerable personal expense.

HAYES ST LEGER.

Hayes St Leger (1818 1887) was the only son of Hayes St Leger 3rd Viscount Doneraile whom he succeeded in 1854 as 4th Viscount The St Legers proudly traced their lineage back many centuries through Sir Anthony St Leger Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the reign of Henry VIII As Lord President of Munster in the seventeenth century Sir William St. Leger acquired a large estate in Doneraile and his descendants over the centuries enjoyed a place at the apex of the ascendancy class in Munster St Leger was an avid huntsman in the tradition of the gentry at the time, asid over the course of his career was Master of the Duhallow Hunt and the Burton Hunt in England. His dealings with the fox led to him keeping a pet fox, which caused his death from rabies in 1887 - the story of which is recorded in other issues of this Journal. He had a lifelong involvement with the Duhallow hunt to which he contributed much1 but his relations with the Club became very tempestous in later years However in 1850, as heir apparent to the Doneraile titles, and on a capped income, he found he had taken on the keeping of the Duhallow Foxhounds without knowing what would be his exact income. Having signed the contract in August, and his income, not becoming apparent. until November, he found himself in a financial bind. His friend Henry Wrixon Becher had succeeded his father in 1850 and thinking Becher had become quite wealthy, St. Leger turned to him for assistance.

MEMO OF ST. LEGERS LETTER TO H.W. BECHER

"Dear Becher.

I dare say you may remember a conversation we had last Summer at Ballygiblin concerning the Hounds and my then say ing I felt a difficulty in carrying them on as I feared the year would turn out a very bad one for me, as regarded my own income. I was not able know what my cap would be, or even to guess very closely at it, till November . But I was obliged to say on the 31st August whether I would or would not undertake to carry them on for the year = i.e. till August 31st, 1851 owing to Mr. Delacour having refused to alter the terms of my appointment so as to allow me to give up at the end of this season if I saw fit - hoping that things might be better than they Looked. I decided after much hesitation, to go on. In November I found my annual income reduced by £400 which cap will put it out of my power to continue to lose as I do at present about £200 per annum by the hounds. I therefore have decided upon writing this statement to you whom I consider the person most deeply interested in the continuance of a pack of Foxhounds in this country - wishing to know your feelings on the subject; as, as far as I can see, I must give them up, should you be disposed to take them I should probably make some changes in my present intentions as regards the selling of horses and reducing to the smallest possible scale of expense the establishment at the end of the present season. The hounds I am bound to keep till the 31st. Aug. next. the difficulty of getting this country up again even to its present state would be very great if one year only were to pass without its being regularly hunted, as many who even profess to be preservers take no sort of pains to keep their covers from trespass, and the lower orders are all inclined to destroy any kind of game in any way. You will see here the subscription and the main items of the expense : - Subscription list as it appears Dec. 1850 - about £330. Field money £50 or thereabouts. Keep of horses £120. Servants wages £120. Keep of hounds £120. In meal only and to add horseflesh etc. Fowl and stops £150. Purchase of horses - Expense of feeding foxes and paying cover keepers during Summer etc. etc. I do not think less than £600 pays the bill at the end of the year & I have been lucky in horses standing sound etc." This letter of 1850 is interesting from another angle in that the recorded history of the hunt states that St. Leger was master from 1854 to 1863, having been preceeded from 1849 - 1854 by Mr. John Courtenay. The Hunt historian Muriel Bowen noted that - "The kennels were continuously being changed throughout the last century. Usually the hounds were kept at the Master's place so that each change of Mastership meant a change of kennels" Here is written evidence that St. Leger had taken on the keeping of the hounds at least as early as August 1850, and all the inferences in his letter to Wrixon-Becher suggest he was "carrying on from the previous season His mention of Mr Delacour' havmg refused to alter the terms of his appointment seems to indicate that he had contracted to keep the pack while John Courtenay was Master. It seems extraordinary that he kept them at considerable personal expense without the honour of being Master at the same time. There would appear to be an inference in St. Leger's letter that if Wrixon Becher did not take the hounds there was, in St. Leger's view, no other member in a position to do so, or interested enough in the hunt. He suggests an overall lack of interest in the protection of coverts and the foxes in them, and if he or Becher did not keep the hunting going it might lapse, and even a year without hunting would make it very hard to recover the whole business. His note to Becher underlines the different views held by society towards the fox. The "lower orders" did eveything to protect their geese and hens, while the gentry could not see what the problem was when they paid "fowl money" albeit begrudgingly. The history of the Duhallow Hunt during the nineteenth century would generally indicate that St. Leger contributed very largely to its continued success. When he became master in 1854 he indulged in hound breeding, and through his friendship with imminent Masters in England, such as Lord Henry Bentinck and the Duke of Ruthland, he introduced English blood lines to improve the pack, again presumably at his own expence. During the period of his Mastership he hunted the Duhallows in a grand style, and it is said he copied hunting fashion from England, where prosperity from the industrial revolution far exceeded the Irish reality. Expence was no object, he established further coverts and hunted the country four days a week, providing 20 horses for hunt staff and fielding 27 to 29 couples of hounds In 1863, things got sour between St. Leger and the country and a deep rift developed between him the Hunt Club, when he advertised the pack for sale as his own private property St. Leger went off to England to hunt and became Joint Master of the Burton from 1864 to 1866. Meanwhile back in North Cork the Hunt Club put together a smaller pack which because of financial restraint they only hunted two days a week. They kept this pack still at Doneraile Court where the kennels were lent to them. On his return to heland in 1866, St Leger found no common ground with the Hunt Club, claiming that he was still maintaining the Duhallows while in England. He proceeded to set up his own private pack, which he hunted in opposition to the Duhallows who were ordered to keep off St. Legers land which stretched from Skehana to Ardaprior. There was continuous bad feeling between both hunts with unsporting events occurring in the field until the 1880's when the hunts were again united. St. Leger had by then become too arthritic to ride and followed the hunt in his coach, driven by his coachman Barer until his death in 1887 from rabies, having been bitten by his pet fox which had become rabid. With St. Leger in charge the Duhallow Hunt was a top outfit, and when he left it was down in the dumps. However his wealth and hunting ability and management led to an autocratic aproach which was not acceptable to the bulk of the membership and dissention more or less undermined all the good work he had done in the early days.

HENRY WRIXON BECHER.

Henry Wrixon Becher, 2nd Baronet (1826-1893)was the son of Sir William Becher 1st Baronet of Ballygiblin, Castlemagner, Co. Cork. He was an officer in the Army in 1850 when his father died.While succeeding his father, he did not come into great wealth immediately. His father left him £600 per annum income but no ready money, while the house and demesne at Ballygiblin remained his mother's property He explained all this to his friend St. Leger as his reason for not being able to take on the Duhallow hounds. He did however offer to subscribe to their maintainance and relieve St. Leger of some of the burden.

Wrixon-Becher's Letter to St.Leger.

Dover,

January 3rd. 1851.

Dear St. Leger,

I have just received your note which was sent here from Canterbury. We marched in here on Monday. I was very sorry to hear that there had been some foul play about the Foxes especially Ballygiblin. I am sure that we have always taken as much care of them as possible. I know that there was a large litter of cubs there this year as I frequently saw them and shot crows and grey rabbits for them. I think with you that they must have got poison elsewhere as I am sure Robertson would not injure them. I agree with you that it would be a great misfortune if the hunting was to be discontinued for one season. Although I do not look forward to residing in the country for some time I am ready to subscribe to the Hunt but it would be quite out of my power to keep the Hounds. Since the conversation we had at the time you allude to my prospects have undergone a great change. I found after father's death that the property after paying my mother, uncles, brothers and sisters left me about £600 a year to spend. The House and Demesne at BG belongs to my mother and my Father left a quantity of ready money to my brothers and sisters without giving me any at all. I am not exactly disatisfied with this arrangement, but I wish all my Friends at home to know the position in which I stand that they may not either think me stingy or think that I am running away from home and shirking my duties as a country gentleman. I (thank God) owe no money to any and I expect to be very well off some day but at present I am in a very different position from that in which my poor father was when alive. Please excuse me for having gone into these details which are of course very uninteresting to you and I hope that before August 31st 1851 things may be better. I am going to remain in the army for some time as I don't like' idea of playing Second Fiddle at Ballygiblin at present. If you wish apply to Uncle John he will give you my subscription which though not great will prevent your being so much out of pocket as you otherwise might be. We expect to stop here for some time. Let me know when you stop in town and I will call on you any day you please. I suppose you will not be coming over for some time. I hope Crone is better. I have not seen any good riders in this country. I remain, Yours very truly, H.W. Becher. Ballygiblin. It would seem that Henry Becher's mother was a formidable woman. Before her marriage to Sir William, the 1st. Baronet in 1819, she was known as the famous actress - Eliza O'Neill. In 1814 she played as Adelaide or the Emigrant at Crowe Street theatre Dublin. In 1816 she played all over London and played "Florinda" at Covent Garden. In 1819 she played "Evanda" for 30 nights. She played to packed houses in Dublin, London and Paris. Her fee was £100 per night. The night she arrived as a bride to Ballygiblin she brought a fortune of more than £30,000. Henry Twiss wrote of her "Towards the close of her life Lady Becher was accostomed to drive into Mallow in a large yellow chariot with two white horses, and the impression made on beholders, of this stately old lady with snow-white hair, was a lasting one". She died in 1872, aged 80, and is buried in Castlemagner graveyard. Henry Wrixon-Becher went to live at Ballygiblin eventually. He married but died without issue in 1893, after witnessing the ignominious passing of his friend Hayes St. Leger, who died from rabies in 1887.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.

Bowen, Murial. "Irish Hunting" (c. 1954).

Burkes - "Peerage and Baronetage".

Crowley, Seamus - "Lord Doneraile and the Fox", Mallow Field Club Journal - vol 6, pp. 100-102.

Crowley, Seamus; Sleeman, Paddy - "Historical Rabies in Doneraile" Mallow Field Club Journal = vol. 13, pp79-86. Grove-White, James - "Historical and Topographical Notes Etc., on Buttevant. Castletownroche, Doneraile, Mallow and Places in their Vicinity".

Lynch, Stanislaus - "A Hunting Man's Rambles". 1951.

MacEwan, Michael - "Ten Great Irish Hunts". 1996.

Twiss, Henry F. - "Mallow and Some Mallow Men", Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society. vol. XXXI. 1926.

Watson, J.N.P. - "Brittish and Irish Hunts & Huntsmen". vol. ii. 1980.