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 country.  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. This practice came to an end in 1920. Since then, the AWH has had its own Masters and Committee. In more recent times a small group of experienced former Masters are appointed by the Committee to be trustee owners of the hounds to ensure that traditional bloodlines are maintained. |
Recent huntsmen include Norman Stubbings, Nigel Cox and Austin
James; who later went on to become Master huntsman of the West
Somerset Vale. Our pack has also been hunted by a number of our
Masters including Roy Tatlow (before he moved to the Clifton-upon-Teme
Hunt) and Trevor Adams MFH (before he went to the Duke of
Buccleuch's Hunt). One of our present Masters, Peter Swann MFH has
since 2002 continued this tradition of hounds being hunted by a Master
huntsman.
In 2001, that terrible disease foot and mouth hit the country around Chaddesley Corbett and all activities with horses and hounds ceased immediately. Hounds were confined to the kennels for nearly 18 months and during this time the Masters reduced expenditure and staff found jobs elsewhere to help with finances whilst still preserving the hunt's infrastructure. Hunting returned after the country was declared free of foot & mouth and once again the many farmers and landowners welcomed us back to their land. The next major milestone was the coming into force on 18 February 2005 of the Hunting Act 2004. This unpopular and ill informed piece of legislation did nothing to promote animal welfare but instead pandered to prejudice providing some “red meat” for the then Government’s backbenchers and more radical supporters. Along with the hunting community across the country, the AWH rose to the challenge and found new ways of providing sport, entertainment to followers as well as a fox control service to farmers - all within the law. Numbers of riders wanting to try hunting for themselves for the first time increased. Amid the hoo-ha that the act would see hounds confined to kennels, we found new ways of enjoying the spectacle and exhilaration of following a pack of hounds across the beautiful English countryside. Long may it continue In 2008 we celebrated our centenary marked by a number of events and the publication of a book depicting the history of the hunt in photographs. Another is currently under preparation. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Masters of the Albrighton Woodland Hunt |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
For details about advertising on our web-site:
