Dorset History Centre has just acquired a set of records detailing the activities of the Blackmore Vale Hunt (BVH). Once again, we’re hugely grateful to the Purchase Fund of the Dorset Archives Trust which has supported this auction acquisition. DHC already held a small quantity of records relating the BVH but this new material (D-3383) provides a great deal more information on the inner workings of the Hunt, its activities and membership.
The Blackmore Vale Hunt dates its inception to 1831. Its ‘country’ (geographical hunting domain) stretches across the north of Dorset. The recently acquired records consist of a set of four record books dating from 1894 to 1945 – filled with miscellaneous information including minutes, accounts, subscriber lists and correspondence to and from Hunt officials. All of these items were carefully stuck into the books. The records cast an interesting light on the culture and customs of rural communities. The BVH was populated by members of the leading families of the area along with other wealthy individuals, but it is clear from the records that the impact of the Hunt was significant in other ways.
A key function of the Hunt related to the compensation to local people for poultry killed by foxes. The Hunt meticulously recorded all those certified to confirm any such activity although this had to be reported within 24 hours in order to qualify. Compensation was payable on the basis of the type and number of poultry killed; for example in 1902 a chicken was compensated at 6d; turkeys in May or June were 1 shilling, but by November this had risen to 5 shillings. In 1899, the BVH received £1004 into its Poultry Fund and paid out £554, suggesting a healthy surplus. The purpose of this custom was to encourage local people not to kill foxes themselves, but to allow numbers to be sustained at populous levels in order to provide sufficient animals to be pursued by the hounds. Despite the fact that evidence from the records suggests that the BVH was active up to six days a week, a letter of May 1899 references complaints received to the effect that there were too many foxes in certain parts of the Hunt’s ‘country’ and that mitigation of this problem should be sought.
Another phenomenon related to the Hunt’s attempts to discourage the practice of using wire to fence in fields – and in particular barbed wire which could of course present a serious impediment to horses and dogs. A letter of May 1923 from the Hunt’s leading lights suggests that working with farmers to promote other forms of boundary management. To this end a Wire Committee was formed to encourage the removal of wire and to supress its use.
As an incentive the BVH also held an annual competition for the best fenced farm and for the best hedging and ditching undertaken locally. In 1912 for example a top prize of £17 was offered to the best Class 1 entry (a farm of over 250 acres).
The BVH containing as it did many of the leading lights of the local area was not universally popular. Occasional letters appear in the records from farmers who expressly denied access to the Hunt across their land. Fox hunting with hounds has been illegal since 2004. However, these records offer a glimpse into what was at one time a highly organised rural pursuit.
