Findon Village Antiquities www.findonvillage.com

This website, created by Valerie Martin, contains scenes from her home village of Findon, West Sussex, U.K.

SURREY UNION HUNT DAYS

Lawbrook House in Surrey.

Please note that I cannot enter into correspondence on valuations of paintings nor advise on where best to sell items.

Edwin Douglas, the Findon artist, and his wife Christiana continued to live at the Lawbrook manor house in Surrey during the mid-Victorian era.

I have found that their first son was born in 1875 when Edwin was 27 years old, and they named him Clare Henry. He was followed by William Bruce the following year. It is guessed that he was christened with this name to perpetuate the Robert the Bruce story. Edwin continued to use the image of a heart entwined with his signature on his artwork.

The couple's first daughter, Guendolen Blanche, arrived the next year. Charles Preston and Violet Constance closely followed Guendolen.

Christiana with one of her babies (perhaps the first, Clare Henry) outside Lawbrook House.

I have discovered that during their happy days in Surrey, Edwin achieved his ambition of becoming a member of the Surrey Union Hunt in 1875 under the mastership of a fine old sportsman, the Honourable Francis Scott. The artist was overjoyed and announced that there was nothing further in life to be wanted. He had no thoughts of moving to Findon — that was to come later.

Joining the Surrey Union Hunt gave Edwin a chance in 1875 to show his talent at painting the hunt in progress. His Royal Academy exhibit for that year depicted a cunning fox headed by sheep with an old shepherd waving his hat on high to show which way the varmint had gone. The sheep appeared to be attempting to put a bold face to the intruder and the attitude of the slinking fox was wonderfully executed.

The joining of the Hunt culminated in Edwin having a narrow escape when returning from a meeting of the foxhounds at Lord Onslow's place, Clandon Park. He was riding a mare only recently purchased through his first encounter with a swell West End dealer. He was to pay heavily for the venture in which he had parted with a hundred guineas for the animal. She was a good-looking horse and appeared to the couple to be perfectly sound. Edwin had her examined and the conclusion was a Norfolk bred mare with charming manners and very fine action.

Stanhope Phaeton

That is until the day when a servant was driving Christiana from Clandon Park in their Stanhope phaeton and Edwin was riding alongside. They were bowling along when Edwin's mare began bucking and refusing to move on. Before Christiana knew what was happening the mare fell over backwards on the top of Edwin in a very deep ditch beside the road.

She told Edwin afterwards that they seemed both to have been engulfed in the gully. The horse finding itself in the ditch was lathered and agitated and whinnied shrilly. The servant halted the Stanhope and Christiana was out of the vehicle as quickly as her long dress would allow. She called to her driver to help, which he did. Whereupon the carriage horse, left to his own devices, promptly made good use of his sudden freedom and set off on his own with the Stanhope.

Meanwhile, one of Edwin's legs was pinned so hard against the base of a tree in the ditch that he had to break the button of his top boot to wriggle his leg free. Men with spades eventually dug his mare out, and found that she was none the worse for wear. The same could not be said for Edwin's new headgear. These were the days before riding hats, and his hat was beyond recognition as it had been squashed quite flat.

By this time, the runaway horse and Stanhope had been returned intact to the scene, led by an intelligent yokel, who, with much presence of mind, had stopped its progress about a couple of miles down the track.

"Yonder He Goes!" painted by Edwin Douglas in 1875. Auctioned at Christie's in 1986 with an estimated fetching price of between £8,000 - £12,000.

It was during 1875 that Edwin also painted a canvas entitled "Yonder he goes!". This depicted a fox making its way across the furrows in a field that have just been turned and the excited ploughman gesticulates to the approaching "field". Was Edwin remembering his hunting days in the picture? This painting was hung at Lawbrook House and many years later in 1986 auctioned at Christie's and estimated to fetch £8,000 - £12,000.

1875 — Another work by Edwin Douglas entitled "Sight of the Fox".

Comrade by Edwin Douglas.

The Master of the Surrey Union Hunt, the Honourable Franics Scott was a great lover of art and one day around 1876 he brought his favourite hound, called Comrade, to Westcott to be painted by Edwin Douglas. Edwin decided that the likeness was to be performed on zinc. This was a novel idea that allowed the final image to be adapted as a notice board to permit hunt-cards to be inserted into Comrade's mouth to advertise future meetings. The result was hung on display on the gate to be admired by all.

One of the surviving February 1876 Hunt-cards held in Comrade's mouth outside Lawbrook House.

Edwin Douglas painted Mine Host in 1880.

It was not until moving much later to Findon that Edwin Douglas achieved one of his great ambitions. This was to become the owner of a really good fox terrier. For many years they had owned dogs of this type, but not one dog realised his expectations of what a really good-bred terrier should be.

Foxhounds and fox terrier painted in 1884

His first dog, which came from the Surrey Union Kennels, and is depicted in "The Bagged Fox" and "Dog in the Manger", was described as a very ill bred, though plucky specimen.

The Ferreters with Foxhounds

The next was "Ada" and given to Edwin as a present. She was a very pretty terrier, tan and white, a friendly little lady full of the joys of life and fun, and the mother of several puppies. Some of the puppies' portraits may be seen in "Hunt the Slipper" and "The Three Disgraces" exhibited R.A., 1878.

Brothers of the Brush

"Shibden Stump" a pedigree dog purchased from a Mr. Bignold, a breeder of terriers, succeeded "Ada". Unfortunately he was described as a terrible dog for roaming, and was, it is understood, finally given away in desperation for his extremely annoying behaviour that drove his owner mad.

While journeying for a second time to the island Jersey with Sir James Blyth, Edwin arranged with a Mr. Arkwright to have a terrier from his kennels at Sutton Scarsdale. The dog was to be in exchange for one of Edwin's sketches, and soon afterwards the artist received a beautiful, pedigree bitch terrier of about six months old. She was evenly marked, with perfect hanging ears, all white with the exception of those appendages, and had a splash of dark at the base of her tail.

When she was old enough Edwin mated her back with a dog that Mr. Arkwright had bred and the result was three delightful puppies. About a week after their birth she became most seriously ill with puerperal apoplexy. For eight hours Edwin was distraught with grief at the sight of her intense suffering and could not leave her side. After sending telegrams both to the Worthing and local vets, he wrote to his friend Professor Wortley Axe a detailed account of her symptoms.

He then decided not to wait for a reply and save time by obtaining immediate advice locally and ventured to write to a lady in Findon who made a study of medicine. She immediately sent a message by return, recommending a potion, which speedily gave relief to the poor little sufferer. She soon recovered and sat up and barked at the overjoyed Edwin. Unfortunately, this bitch was always subject to this complaint after giving birth, and had it on two other occasions.

Edwin kept two of her delightful daughters when he lived in Findon and these were called "Clytie" and "Psyche".

Edwin Douglas outside Fox Down with another of his favourite dogs "Fox Down Venus".

Two more hunting scenes...

"Train up a Child in the Way he should go" by the Findon artist, Edwin Douglas, in 1875. This above painting was sold at Christie's in London in March 1995 for £24,150.

Painting entitled "Brothers of the Brush" by Findon artist, Edwin Douglas in 1906. This painting came up for auction at Bonhams in recent years under their category "Dogs in Art" and was estimated to fetch £4,000 - £6,000.

Continue if you would like to read about Edwin Douglas and Iris From Jersey.

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This is Findon — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.

E-mail: valeriemartin@findonvillage.com