Winter - The Deerhound Club

'T'
Lodge Park
Lure Coursing Meeting 05/10/03
The National Trust contacted the Deerhound Club, a while ago, and asked them if it
was possible to put a lure coursing event on at Lodge Park. Great idea!! Everybody lurtl
a fantastic day and I'm sure that everyone who attended would agree that it was a gfcll
success. This was mainly due to Gill and Toby Srnith's hard work organising
everything and Patrick from the National Trust who did much of the organisation at thc
Park. So what is Lodge Park? Some of you might be wondering so here's a potted
history lesson! Lodge Park is in Gloucestershire part of the Sherborne Estate, just otf
the A40, near Burford. lt was designed and built to be a deer coursirrg Lodge. ln the
| 630's John 'Crump' Dutton a wealthy squire, with a passion for gambling, created thc
Lodge. The house itself was designed as a viewing platform so that coursing could be
observed from the roof or from the balcony at the front of the building. The style of
Lodge was modelled on Inigo Jones's new banqueting house in London that Dutton
had seen. The Lodge was not built to be lived in but was specifically designed for
entertaining his guests with good sport and fine fbod. There is a mile long walled
enclosure down which the deer would run, with a park and wood at the top, frorrr
which the deer were driven. The original hounds that ran were of a greyhound type and
were called talbots, but the hounds would have had more stamina than a rrrodern greyhound,
as they would have chased the deer over a mile long course.
It would not have been run on a stake system, like modern coursing meetings, but
individual wagers between men and their pair of hounds. The gamekeeper slipped the
hounds. There were two types of course, a'breathing'course which would cost half a
crown a dog, with twelve pence going to the slipper. The winner would be the first
over the pinching post that was just beyond the first ditch. The second ditch, which
was much larger, then separated the hounds fi'om the deer. tf any rnatch were lrrade of
twenty pounds a dog (large amount of money!) then they would have a 'fleshing'
course where dogs would be slipped on a shorter law to enable the hounds to strike a
deer, ideally in front of the grandstand. The winning hound of this type of course
would be the first dog to take hold of the deer. The park was fully operational in 1634.
It was used as a deer coursing Lodge for
less than a century as it was superseded by
racing and fox hunting.
OK, back to the day! The National Trust
asked if we could come in period costume.
We managed to borrow some outfits frorn a
Sealed Knot couple so we were authentically
dressed! | looked like a proper puritan
maid! lt was lovely to see that so many
members made the effort to dress up for the
occasion and didn't we look a rnasnificent sight? lt was super to see everyone parading
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lunch and then took a break.
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