History of the Albrighton Woodland Hunt

The Albrighton Woodland Hunt was formerly part of the Albrighton Hunt and can trace its origins back to the 18th Century when it was known as "The Enville" and hunted by Lord Stamford until 1792.

In or around the late 18th Century, the country fell naturally into two portions. The Northern part, principally in Shropshire (known as the "Shifnal country") and the Southern part being the Enville.

A visiting Master of the Hunt in the late 18th Century was Sir Richard Puleston of the Wynnstay Hunt in Cheshire. It is recorded that he hunted the Enville, staying at Pattingham so to do. Sir Richard kept outlying kennels at Ivetsey Bank and was one of the earliest breeders of hounds of note.

The notorious Jack Mytton (a visiting Master of the Hunt from 1817 to 1821 known as "the made Squire of Halston") hunted the Shifnal country using Sir Richard's kennels. Squire Mytton led a colourful life, to the ripe old age of 32, when he died of pneumonia, as a result of going out one frozen night in nothing more than a nightshirt to shoot a wild duck!

By 1823, the Enville was included in the newly formed South Shropshire Hunt under Sir Bellingham Graham. He also hunted the Shifnal country, but in 1825, gave it up to Mr Boycott who hunted the country on a subscription for the first time.  

Mr Walter Giffard succeeded Mr Boycott in 1830 with the patronage of the Earl of Stamford. Accordingly, new kennels were built at the Old Harp, Albrighton and it is from this event that the Hunt is said to take its name. Kennels moved five times in all including a decade at Enville once more, before becoming firmly established near Albrighton in 1856.

Many huntsmen of the early 19th Century believed that the new railways would severely curtail fox hunting. The opposite was quickly realised, as they used the trains to transport hounds and horses to the furthermost parts of their countries. However, the new found freedom encouraged the uninvited into "other countries" and the inevitable quarrels ensued. As a result, 1856 saw Masters of Hounds meeting at Bootles Club in St. James, London to form an arbitration body to resolve such disputes. In 1881, this became the official ruling body known as the Master of Foxhounds Association (www.mfha.co.uk), which still flourishes today.

In 1908, growing urbanisation made it impractical to hunt the country as a whole and it was decided to divide the Albrighton pack into Northern and Southern portions. The Southern portion was established as the Albrighton Woodland Hunt. The division in fact compares very nearly with the old Shifnal and Enville countries respectively. Captain James Foster presented the pack to the newly formed Committee of the Albrighton Woodland Hunt in 1916.

In the early years the Master of the Albrighton Hunt was also Master of the Albrighton Woodland Hunt. This practice came to an end in 1920. Since then, the Albrighton Woodland Hunt has had its own Master of Foxhounds and Committee to whom the pack of Hounds belong.

Recent huntsmen include Norman Stubbings, Nigel Cox and Austin James. The pack has also been hunted by its Masters including Ray Tatlow (before moving to the Clifton-upon-Teme Hunt) and Trevor Adams (before moving to the Duke of Buccleuch's Hunt) as well as the present Master Peter Swann.

In 2001, foot and mouth hit the hunt country around Chaddesley Corbett and all activities ceased immediately. Hounds were confined to the kennels for nearly 18 months and during this time the Masters reduced their guarantee from the hunt and its staff found jobs elsewhere to help with finances and maintain the hunt's infrastructure.